[HPforGrownups] Re: Character Driven or Plot Driven

[Laura Lynn Walsh]

No: HPFGUIDX 155266

>Laura Lynn Walsh <lwalsh at ...> wrote:
>>Are the HP books considered to be plot driven or character
>driven? > Laura
>
>Sandra writes -
>
>Hi Laura,
>I would say that they're character driven, even though I don't feel
>as if I know the characters that well. We read of what they do as a
>result of events happening around them, but not enough in my
>view of what they're like when not responding to 'outside'
>stimulus.

I have thought so, too, but when I asked the same
question of a few people who are teachers of English
or otherwise knowledgeable about literature, they
answered emphatically and without hesitation - plot
driven!  I was curious to know if people who are
more involved with the books would see them more
as character driven, because that is what they spend
a lot of time doing - analyzing character.  People who
have only read them once or who have only seen the
movies might consider them to be more plot driven.
The movies certainly were plot driven.  In fact, that
is what I really dislike about the movies - they sacrifice
nearly all of the character development to concentrate
on plot only.  However, I know this forum is not to
discuss the movies.

>I know Hermione has compassionate moments of
>conscience (S.P.E.W) when she's not studying or doing H&R's
>homework for them, and Ron can land a tonsil-hockey girlfriend
>to pass the time and has a mild jealousy of Harry's wealth and
>attention, but beyond that I feel that even after all this time, they
>carry me from A to B with very few enlightening diversions in
>terms of personality along the way.

I guess I feel we know a lot more about each character
than this.  Just in the first book, we know a lot about
Hermione, for instance.  She is driven to excel and to
learn.  For her, it is as important as breathing.  She also
feels acutely that she is different, especially before Harry
and Ron become her friends.  We know that fear sometimes
paralyzes her (troll and devil's snare incidents).

>So I feel they're character driven, because the characters have to
>make up for the simple, protracted story which is being made to
>last seven books.

I agree with you.  I think the important thing is to look at the
characters and to understand their motives, their feelings, and
their actions.  It seems to me that the plot is there just to expose
different facets of their characters, which would make the books,
in my mind character driven.

But I can also see that people who have not immersed themselves
in analyzing the characters might view the plots of each book to
be more important.
Laura
-- 
Laura Lynn Walsh    lwalsh at acsalaska.net
http://llwcontemplations.blogspot.com