NECESSITY of killing/ What would DD want?

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 141914

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sherry Gomes" <sherriola at e...>
wrote:
>
> SSSusan:
> ...
> 
> You do realize when you say that this "may support the 
> interpretation that Flamels were going to choose their great 
> adventure soon anyways and they just made their choice faster," ...
> 
> That is, that DD was *dying* on the Tower and knew it, that he was 
> fully prepared for the next great adventure, that he wanted to die 
> in such a way as to prevent Draco from murder and to get the DEs out 
> of Hogwarts, but that he needed HELP to accomplish this?  ...
> 
> 
> 
> Sherry now:
> 
> ...  The Flammels made the choice and they died of their own
> volition by agreeing to have the stone destroyed. On the other 
> hand, on the tower, Dumbledore doesn't jump off the tower or 
> anything that would imply he sacrificed himself. The killing was
> done at the hand of a trusted friend.... the fact still remains 
> that Snape did the killing.  To me, it is completely different 
> ...  None of this seems like a good thing to tell children, that 
> it could ever be ok to kill.  ...
> 

bboyminn:

A couple of points...

First, Dumbledore could die and let his death mean nothing or he could
die and let his death have value; either way, he is dead. True, he
could have just jumped over the edge of the tower, but what value
would that have? If Snape kills him, Snape becomes the greatest (OK,
second greatest) Dark Wizard who ever live; he killed the great and
mighty Dumbledore. Voldemort can't help but honor and trust Snape
after that. Even if he is still suspicious of Snape, he will have a
hard time justifying that suspicion. Snape will now get what every
Death Eater has been vying for since the very beginning, he will be
'honored above all others', and more importantly TRUSTED above all others.

With Dumbledore's /actual/ self-sacrifice, nobody gets anything. With
Dumbledore's /assisted/ self-sacrifice, Snape is put in an extremely
advantageous position. That makes him closer to and more trusted by
Voldemort that any other living person. THAT certainly has advantages
to the cause.


> Sherry coontinues:
>
> Killing in war?  Even kids know that soldiers have to kill in 
> war, but as I've said before, soldiers do not kill their own 
> generals.  If they do, they have a court martial and it is 
> considered a very serious crime. I can't imagine how the 
> deliberate killing of Dumbledore by Snape can ever bejustifiable
> in terms of who the target audience of these books is.
> 
> Sherry


bboyminn:

Sorry, but these books were NEVER written as children's books. They
were written with GENERAL audiences in mind; no swearing, no sex,
etc.... JKR said she wrote these books for herself, and if other
people also enjoyed them fine, but she wasn't targeting any audiences.
She wasn't contouring her message for anyone's sensibilities.

It was the decision of the Publishers to promote the book to young
readers. They made a marketing decision on how best to SELL the books,
but again, they were never created with that audience in mind. JKR had
a story to tell, and she told it the way it needed to be told. She had
to satisfy herself and the story, and was willing to except whatever
outcome that produced. 

So, I would be careful about /assuming/ that JKR is constructing these
books with a child-specific audience, and therefore, child-specific
messages in mind. I think the true massive appeal of JKR's books, is
that JKR isn't targeting any audience; her books have a deep universal
appeal that is very rare in literature today. In a much broader sense,
much like Shakespear and other classics, JKR tells the only story ever
told; the universal hero's journey.

As far as soldiers killing their own generals, GOOD soldiers do what
must be done; they make the sacrifices that must be made. Sometimes
your generals, in general, really do need killing. ...sad as that may be. 

As I've said several times before, even under the best of
circumstances no good wizard will ever forget or forgive Snape for
killing Dumbledore, but I think when the circumstances are revealed,
they will understand. 

Just a few thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn