Harry's fate

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 155936

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Sherry Gomes" <sherriola at ...> wrote:

KJ: 
>     I wouldn't re-read the books because of disappointment with the ending,
> or dissatisfaction with the ending, at least I am trusting that JKR will
> ensure that doesn't happen.  It is more likely to be a case of a book or
> series of books that are so complete in themselves, tell the story so well,
> and end the story with such finality, that there is no need to re-live it. I
> also read LoTR, once in my high school days, with little understanding of
> it.  When I read it thirty years later, it was with greater understanding.
> It had the perfect ending, and no questions unanswered. I can safely say
> that I will not read it again. It has nothing more to tell me. If JKR does
> her job correctly, regardless, of the ending, the story will be finished. We
> can not go back to the innocence of PS/SS because we have a much more
> educated view of the WW. 
>   We all re-read the books now looking for clues, and looking for
> answers.Once we have those answers, I think most of us will keep the books
> as an enjoyable journey, without having to make the same journey over and
> over. I certainly would not burn, shred, slice or dice them as has been
> threatened by some. Regardless of the ending, it has been a great ride.

Sherry:
> But I do reread for the fun, for the innocence and all the rest.  I actually
> do not try to find clues or try too hard to figure out the plot.  I would be
> horrified to guess it before the last book, though I always try to beat the
> author to figuring it out before the end.  I guessed very early that Sirius
> Black was not trying to kill Harry and guessed part way through that moody
> was the person who put Harry's name in the goblet of fire.  However, where
> she shocked me was Scabbers in POA, and the true identity of moody in GOF.
> I expected Dumbledore to die in HBP, but was utterly struck speechless by
> the how he died.  Yet still I reread, just for the fun, for the magic, for
> the laughs, for the relationships.  Because the characters have become
> friends, and because I like Harry and want to visit with him again.  That's
> why I am an avid rereader of books, for the fun, for the characters.  I
> reread anything I enjoy.  I even reread mysteries.  I reread LOTR at least
> once every two years.  
> 
> However, if Harry dies, I won't be able to ever read them again, because no
> matter how it is done, it will be too painful to know that this poor kid,
> who had so much unhappiness in his life never got to be happy.  After all,
> at the end of the action, he will still only be 17, not like Frodo in LOTR
> who was an adult after all.  And Frodo wasn't necessarily the main
> character, though he was one of the main characters.  For example, I can't
> read OOTP, because knowing that Sirius is going to die is too upsetting for
> me.  Not only do I love the character of Sirius, but his fate is so
> dreadful, being in prison, at the mercy of dementors for a crime he never
> committed, then dying before his name was cleared and before he could do
> anything for his godson.  no, I don't mean like give him anything, but
> before he could fulfill the parental role.  So, even when I do try to read
> that book, I have to stop well before the ending.  I can't bear to think of
> Harry's pain in those moments.  So, if Harry dies in the end, no matter how
> well written the ending is--and I expect it will be well written--I will
> never be able to read the books again, because I can't handle endings
> without hope.  A book's ending doesn't always have to be happy, but there
> has to be hope.  So, for me, an avid and constant rereader, to the point
> that I can read my favorite mysteries many times, I just couldn't do it.
> That doesn't in any way mean that it hasn't been a great ride, going through
> these books, and I'll always love books 1 through 3, but just couldn't read
> them again if we lose Harry.

Geoff:
I'm coming in late on this thread because I have been away on holiday –
suffering slight HPFGU withdrawal symptoms - and have only just skimmed
through 400 messages since yesterday evening to get up to speed. Mark 
you, the Isles of Scilly are the place to go to drop out of the group for a while,
walking on white sand and just going into the sea with my ordinary shorts on
and no towel (we're having a heatwave in the UK if you didn't know). Bliss.
However, back to the topic.

First to the references to LOTR. Some of the group members will know that I 
have been an LOTR fan since about 1955 when I fist discovered the books. 
Until I got married and the demands of family got in the way, I used to read 
the book once a year and have certainly ploughed through it between 25-30 
times and strangely enough, I still seem to find some little nugget I have 
overlooked each time I re-read it.

But, I view it in a very different light to the Harry Potter saga.

I do not see Frodo as dying. In Middle-Earth, we see three main species of
intelligent beings, Men, Elves and Dwarves, "The Silmarillion" fills in much of
the back story about their creation by Ilúvatar. The important fact is that
Elves are immortal; other races are not. Unless they die in battle and go to 
the Hallsof Mandos, they choose the time when they decide to leave 
Middle-Earth andgo to the Blessed Realm to live for ever. Frodo is granted 
the right to leave Middle-Earth and board a ship at Mithlond by the gift of 
Arwen. He takes the decision because his wounds have troubled him and 
he feels that the time has come to go. He has not been killed in battle; or 
by the use of something equivalent to Avada Kedavra; or in any other way.

But, when we come to Harry, I view the story in a different light. 

Despite the machinations of Voldemort, there are no immortal races. we 
have only Men – Muggle or Wizard. Hence, the ultimate departure of any
character is through death, pure and simple – or in some of JKR's cases, 
impure and complicated. :-)

As I said back in June, I am an unashamed and unbowed life member of
the IWLHTLC (I want Harry to live club).

Harry for me is a character in whom I have invested more time and energy
since I first read LOTR. Selfish maybe, but I want to be able to read the 
booksagain knowing that, for our hero, there is life after Voldemort. I want 
to be able to let my imagination run on after the last sentence trying to 
visualise what happens to all the characters once we read the last sentence.

But above all, Harry has been an icon to many different people:
those who wear glasses;
those who feel that life has been unfair to them;
those who are not the stunningly handsome and athletic superheroes of
adverts for after-shave or command the sports arenas but are "small and
skinny with
 jet-black hair that was always untidy" (COS Chapter 1 p.9
UK edition);
those who read on girls' toes or become incapable of coherent thought
when going to their first dance;
those who like to dream of something marvellous happening to them out
of the blue.

And even many of us who are adults will identify with at least some of
those categories.

If Harry's story goes pear-shaped and he does not survive, what will this
say to people in those categories? "Don't bother to try, guys. The world is
against you. Just give up and roll over."

The tale of Harry Potter so far has been an encouragement to many, a
motivation to aim high (even if only improving reading skills for example)
and suggests that we can win through life's buffeting and achieve some
of our dreams. Back to the Isles of Scilly. :-)