Broken potionvial WAS: Re: Bad Writing? (was: JKR and the boys)

[potioncat]

No: HPFGUIDX 163223

 
> wynnleaf
> JKR's intent is, to me, the most interesting part.  Your 
comment "did
> she even expect anyone would question what happened?" is even there 
a
> question -- because your question implies that she would expect most
> people to *assume* that they "got" what happened.  Was she
> intentionally ambiguous?  If so, for what reasons?  Some people 
would
> read it as the vial falling accidently, others that Snape dropped 
it.
>    Did she desire her readers to have different views of what really
> happened?  Or did she simply leave out the clarifying parts by 
mistake? 

Potioncat:
Well, JKR doesn't always foresee her readers' reactions to the text. 
She jokes about readers not getting the anvil-sized hints about 
Ron/Hermione; and she seems puzzled that anyone would ask if Snape is 
a vampire. So I'm not sure whether or not she intended this passage 
to be ambiguious. I wonder, if she were asked in an interview, if 
she'd even remember the incident well enough to recall the "unseen" 
events of it.

It's so clear to some of us that the flask fell and just as clear to 
others that Snape broke it. To a certain extent, both sides think the 
other side is stretching things to make their view fit. I think both 
sides have very good supporting arguments. So while I have my 
opinion, I really think we simply don't know what happened.


 
> Wynnleaf:
> I'm now inclined to think she simply left out the clarifying parts 
by
> mistake.

Potioncat:
Do you mean, that it was clear to her, so she didn't see the 
possibility of a misunderstanding? I wonder if she wrote it several 
ways, and found this version to have the most omph for Harry. If he 
had seen the flask drop by accident, or if he had seen Snape push it 
off, would the scene feel different? 

The posts about whoops vrs oops have been very interesting! The 
nuances of meaning different members give the two words have really 
varried. To me, whoops sounds less genteel than oops and that's why 
its use by Snape surprises me. I can appreciate how very silly that 
sounds. I agree with someone that I think folk tend to use one or the 
other. 

But it is interesting that whoops and oops have both been used in the 
HP series. Could that be the difference in copy editors, or does JKR 
also see a subtle difference? 

JKR could write 7 more equally thick books just answering our 
questions!