A good narrative strategy

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 125845


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <bob.oliver at c...> 
wrote:
> 
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214"
> <dumbledore11214 at y...> wrote:
> <SNIP>
>  
> > Alla:
> > 
> > I think this is one of the simplest and the best explanations of  
> > the split of muggle and magical worlds I have ever read.
> > 
> > I am still wondering though why JKR specifically pointed out that 
> > the two worlds will not mesh at the end of the story. You know, 
> > theoretically, when story is done, she  can briefly explore the 
> > good things which could come out of the fact that Wizards will 
> > make themselves known to the muggles and not to deal with 
> > possible messy issues.
> > 
> > Do you think it would still compromise the narrative if two 
> > worlds were to meet at the end?

Lupinlore:
> It would in a sense.  JKR has tried to create a world, the WW, that
> you can believe exists "in parallel" with ours.  It is a tough
> balance, because she has to refer to enough "real world" things to
> make us believe in the reality of the narrative.  But if you look at
> the hard questions the existance of wizards raises, the 
> believability disappears. So she keeps their world separate as  
> much as possible. She underscores her strategy of believability by 
> trying to bring in certain points of hard fact, like having Harry 
> year, etc.  But she tries to avoid talking much about the interface
> born in a particular because then all sorts of problems arise.
 
> If the WW and the Muggle World were to meet, all that would be blown
> out of the water.  Say they were to meet at the end of the series, 
> in Harry's seventh year.  That would be 1997-1998.  Well, obviously 
> no such happened, so believability would go out the door.  Even if 
> she projected the meeting into the future, say in 2010, I think it 
> would raise more questions than she wants to deal with.

Geoff:
I think this depends on whether you are prepared to participate in 
the "willing suspension of disbelief".

For many years, I have been a fan of Star Trek. Nowadays, I am 
slightly amused when I look back at the original series and in the 
episode "Space Seed", we meet Kahn Noonien Singh (later seen again 
in "The Wrath of Kahn" film) who rose to power and was involved in 
the Eugenics Wars from 1992 onwards.

Some of the UK posters may know of the comic strip sci-fi character 
Dan Dare who appeared first in the "Eagle" comic in 1950. In that 
story, there was a world government on Earth from 1965 and explorers 
were engaging with the inhabitants of Venus in 1998.

But we didn't have an Asian superhuman leader in 1992 - we didn't 
have people on Venus in 1998. It doesn't bother me. I can pick out a 
book from my shelves which has facsimile pages of the Dan Dare 
stories and still enjoy them. I can be lost in the world of Star Trek 
in the 24th century and still accept the Eugenics Wars because I 
allow myself to be absorbed into this particular world. I can go to 
Middle Earth, set in a long gone time on Earth without being troubled 
by "this isn't real" considerations. I can vicariously share with 
Harry and Frodo and co. because their worlds are so structured that, 
while I am within the pages, I am part of those events. It's a bit 
like going on holiday to a different country. When you return, you 
know that life continues out there but what you did on your visit 
doesn't interact with the daily routines at home. Eavesdropping on 
the activities of Hogwarts is more entertaining than going to the 
shops, washing the car or mowing the lawn.......