The Too Unreliable Narrator (was: What really happened on the tower)

[wynnleaf]

No: HPFGUIDX 155887


>
> Mike says:  In neither case is Harry surprised by the outcome because he
> knows
> the truth. But in the case of Lupin cursing Sirius, you said you
> would feel cheated. Yet you don't feel cheated that for an entire
> chapter we are lead to erroneously believe that Harry spiked Ron's
> juice. Yes, I know the degree of importance is not equal, but we are
> talking about literary devices, aren't we? Does she need to use
> this "non-description" device to make the chapter work? Yes. But you
> have to admit that this is JKR *cheating* us, while we are in
> Harry's POV
 
> Lynda says:
> No, I do not have to admit that JKR is cheating here.  She's
> writing the books and she can decide in what manner she wants to do
so.  I
> didn't feel cheated with the above scene at all,  for one thing,
having read
> five other books by the same author, I did not really think that
Harry would
> put real Felix Felicis into Ron's juice!  So I wasn't surprised by the
> eventual outcome..
>

wynnleaf

Does this mean, Lynda, that if I am not surprised if Harry turns out
not to have PT'd Fennir, that JKR wasn't cheating?  I mean, I didn't
really think Harry did that PT.  So if *I* don't feel cheated, is JKR
in the clear?

My point is simply that what's "cheating" is in the eye of the
beholder.  There's no literary imperative that says that JKR can't use
this device -- even in the situation of the PT on Fennir.  And if JKR
did it some places -- and perhaps you felt it wasn't cheating there --
and then JKR does it with the PT on Fennir, and *I* don't think it's
cheating..... Well, hopefully you get the idea.  The real person who
will decide what's cheating her readers and what's not is JKR.

wynnleaf, who looks forward to all manner of surprises