Who’s to blame, the students or the professor, the readers or the writer.

[brwneil]

No: HPFGUIDX 134371

Who's to blame, the students or the professor, the readers or the 
writer.

If a professor teaches a class of 100 students and a few fail his 
class, it is probably to be expected and definitely the fault of 
those students.   If the failure rate increases, at what point does 
the rate reflect more on the professor's lack of ability to teach 
than on the students' ability to learn?

What does this have to do with Harry Potter?  Actually a lot if 
you'll bear with me.

I think that JKR made a distinctive writing decision when she decided 
to have Ron, the sidekick, end of with the girl instead of the hero 
getting her.  The problem is that she seemed to stop there as if 
making the decision was all that mattered.  In a love story--- and 
the shipping part of the HP series is a love story whether you want 
to admit it or not---you can't just make a decision to put two people 
together.  You must also sell this relationship to your readers.

There is no way I can produce actual numbers to support what I'm 
about to say, but I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that at 
the end of OotP probably at least 30% of HP readers still supported a 
H/Hr pairing.  Yes, we've all read by now that these people were 
delusional. Despite all the clues, all the anvils, all the comments 
by JKR these people still felt that the final pairing would be Harry 
and Hermione.  I guess they just couldn't see the forest for the 
tress.

That left 70% of the readers saying that the series would end in a 
Ron/ Hermione relation.   Now these were the smart people, the ones 
that could read the clues and noticed the anvils hitting them on the 
head.  Of course, not all these people actually supported R/Hr as a 
ship, but they had seen the clues and were not in denial.  Let's be 
generous and say that ¾ of these people actually wanted an R/Hr 
relationship to take place.  That would mean 52% of readers saw and 
supported an R/Hr relationship.  18% saw it, but weren't happy with 
it.  And, of course there were the delusional 30% that saw H/Hr.

You can adjust my numbers anyway you want, they are total guesses on 
my part.  I just ask that you try to be realistic and fair. Also bear 
in mind that these numbers change nothing; Ron/Hermione is a fact, it 
is official canon.  My numbers, if they are anywhere near correct 
would indicate that 52% of reader went into HBP supporting the R/HR 
relationship.  The other 48% weren't all delusional; some had 
accepted fate they just weren't happy with it. 

By now you have probably guessed my point.  Rowlings writes great 
books, but when it comes to romance she is lacking in ability to 
convince.  A writer must make her readers buy into her beliefs.  It 
is not enough for the writer to decide that she wants this or that to 
happen in relationships; she must also make her readers believe and 
want this, also.

Rowling has said in interviews that she blames H/Hr shippers for the 
great dislike heaped upon Ron in many fanfictions.  Rowling seems at 
a loss to understand why all readers didn't see and jump on the 
Ron/Hermione bandwagon.  If a professor has nearly half his students 
funk his class, it is he that has truly failed, not the students.  If 
a writer after 5 books has not convince her readers that a 
relationship is meant to be, it is her fault, not the readers.

Rowling made the decision to have Ron and Hermione be a couple at the 
end of the series, but quit there.  As she wrote her books, she 
continually showed Harry and Hermione as more compactable.  In my 
opinion, she even showed Neville and Krum more compactable to 
Hermione than Ron.  Forget clues; forget anvils, those things were 
hints as if this romance were a mystery story.  A relationship isn't 
based on clues, but rather on actions. 

I've read the series over and over again and I've seen the clues, 
especially in GoF, but after the clue there was always another 
fight.  All Ron and Hermione ever did was fight one another. Not the 
flirty, cute kind of fighting, but rather a bitter, want-to-bite-your-
head-off fighting. Sorry but that is no romance hints, or sexual 
tension to me.

Rowling forgot to draw the line.  She got carried away with the 
fighting and making Ron look the fool.  She had ample opportunities 
to show a real affection between Ron and Hermione, but she never 
choose to use them, rather she went for another fight or a laugh.  

We as readers did not fail to see the romance and affection between 
these two people; Rowling forgot to convey it in her writing.  She 
failed to convince half her readers that Ron and Hermione belonged 
together and now she basically calls us stupid for not seeing 
something she failed to write.

Neil