DD's dilemma + owl post

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 126390


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <bob.oliver at c...> 
wrote:
> However, there are plenty of us who feel another way.  We very
> much DO want to read how DD tried to save Harry from the Dursleys,
> or agonized over his decision.  And it is not politically correct
> in any way, shape, form, or fashion.  Rather we have found or 
> ability to believe in Dumbledore's character, as JKR obviously 
> WANTS us to believe in it, to have been badly shaken by his 
> actions or lack thereof with regard to Harry and the Dursleys.
> Now, you might say that we suffer from too great a literalism, or 
> an inability to suspend disbelief.  You might even say, as with
> that excellent quote you used from JKR, that we are simply not 
> able to take the story as it is and react without analyzing.

SSSusan:
> I think you may well be right about this.  Or it may be a
> combination of how you responded to Jen and this issue.  IOW, Jen
> is happy with the package that has come from JKR, whereas you & 
> some others would prefer to see more detail in area X or more
> explanation in area Y. Different strokes for different folks.  Add 
> this to a possible cultural disconnect, and I can see where 
> distress comes in for some readers.

Jen: I misunderstood your point, Lupinlore, and think SSSusan summed 
up our differences well. At first I thought you were saying JKR owes 
us an explanation, which I would argue fiercely, but now I 
understand that you do not buy what JKR is selling up to this point. 
And that opinion, like you said, is inarguably your right to feel. 
The Dumbledore character, his actions & motivations, don't add up 
for you and you need a better explanation to make it all hang 
together. 

Lupinlore: 
> Similarly, we are under no obligation to like or be appreciative of
> what she has done, or to cease expressing our dislike simply
> because she sees things another way.  Personally, if she does not
> address these issues, or worse, provides some pat or off-the-cuff
> answer, I'll probably throw the books in the dumpster and regret
> having wasted my money.  That is just me, of course.  But it is a
> genuine expression of my feelings about the matter, which are not
> politically correct, or over-analyzing, or anything else.  They
> are just an expression of the jarring discord I feel with what I 
> read and the author's stated intent.

Jen: It *is* hard for me to understand the 'jarring discord' you 
feel from the characterization of Dumbledore and the situation with 
the Dursleys. But I won't try to change your mind! Like you said, 
you have a right to feel it and find the books somewhat diminished 
by it. There are possible scenarios which would mightily diminish 
the series for me, like ESE!Lupin. No matter how expertly Pippin 
argues this plot twist, I would not buy that JKR has prepared us for 
a twist such as that. No matter what sinister intent people invest 
in Lupin, mainly because of his actions in POA, I still maintain he 
was a victim of plot necessity in that one. The plot hinged on the 
ambiguity of his character so the reader would be left wondering 
about his true nature until the bitter end.

If JKR comes back to say, 'no, he actually *is* evil' I will feel 
duped and it will take some mighty acrobatics on my part to make 
peace with it. But I probably will go through the exercise.

Ginger:
> And so it is with Harry.  Had the Dursleys been a loving family, 
> Harry's entrance into the WW would have been interesting, but he 
> would not have garnered the sympathy he did coming from a loving 
> family.  As it was, we cheered with him.  He didn't make an 
> entrance, he made an escape.  And we cheer that escape in every
> book as the Durslays keep giving him (and us)reason to wish for 
> it. 
> 
> It just jacks the emotional level up a notch.  The Dursleys can 
> be "as bad as they wanna be" and as long as Harry keeps coming out 
> the winner, we'll cheer for him.

Jen: That's exactly where the emotional connection is, Ginger. The 
Escape. And even better was Harry's deep desire to find another life 
via the unknown man on the motorcycle who appears in his dreams. 
Heart-wrenching. And the dreams came TRUE. That's what I love. That 
Hagrid appeared one day, and Harry had the guts & the desire to 
ditch it all for a life he knows nothing about, but one he's 
*certain* will be better than the Dursleys. As he says in the 
celluloid version of POA: "Anywhere is better than here." Amen, 
brother. 

Jen