JKR and the boys (and girls)

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 161602

phoenixgod:
> > I've lost a lot of faith in JKR. The past two books have been 
> > disappointing in my view.  There have been pieces of greatness 
in 
> > both of them but a lot of disappointment as well. And all of 
that 
> > disappointment involved Characterization sacrificed for Plot.
> > 
Lupinlore:

> Similarly, because she has the reactions of the characters plotted 
> out in advance, she thinks they are well-thought out, when in fact 
> all they are is plotted and pre-determined.  Often it feels that 
> characters react in unbelievable ways simply because it is 
convenient 
> for the plot that they do so.  
<snipping>

Magpie:
This is something I really felt as I was reading in OotP, where 
characterization really seemed dependent on plot as I read.  In the 
past usually the times I was most aware of it in reading was where 
there was a scene I thought really worked emotionally but was then 
swept aside.

I know JKR is very partial to outlines and God knows what she's 
doing has been successful so it's not like I'd tell her she was 
doing it wrong, but I really never feel any emotional arc as real in 
the books. They seem like they work better in outline form. Like in 
the outline it makes sense to say: So Ron is angry at Harry because 
he thinks he put his name in the Goblet.  Fight fight fight. Ron 
sees danger of dragon in first task and apologizes. Fight ends.

She's got the catalyst all laid out, but it doesn't really follow 
the emotions or take advantage of the stuff that comes up. The fight 
ends with just Ron saying he was wrong, and all the emotions 
underneath just disappear as if they never existed or were never 
said. And I know teenaged boys are supposed to be more action-
oriented and they don't talk about feelings etc., but the subtext 
can still be there.  I thought the greatest emotional moment in GoF 
was Harry throwing the badge at Ron and accusing him of wanting a 
scar, but once the fight was over it was like it was all Ron and no 
Harry.  Unfortunately, a lot of my favorite emotional moments in 
canon are followed by exactly that kind of non-followthrough. (I 
almost wonder if that's yet another reason for the popularity of 
fanfic in this series.)

It's not that emotions are never important, it's just they're only 
important as motivators.  I understand, for instance, the reading 
that Sirius' death is supposed to be a factor that we just don't 
hear about in HBP, but to me it seems like Harry just announces 
early on that it's not going to be a storyline, and therefore it 
really might as well not exist--except for times when it helps the 
plot, like by drumming up anger at Snape, and even there it's one of 
many factors.  Even while I accept that Harry hasn't forgotten about 
Sirius, I don't think you can say that getting over the death of his 
beloved godfather is part of the main character of HBP. Plenty of YA 
books do deal with stuff like that, and this isn't. Harry's 
emotional motivations are right there in your face and cause him to 
do stuff--like in OotP there's parts where it's like Harry's playing 
anger pinball, being angry at one person and another.  Some people 
thought his anger was sudden in that book, others had handy reasons 
for why the events of GoF would cause it, but certainly the book 
isn't that interested in making a case for it why he's angry beyond 
what he's dealing with right there.  

There's a certain satisfaction to watching JKR juggle all of this 
stuff, but it's a different satisfaction, imo, than that of really 
engaging with emotions.  Harry's a great character more for what he 
goes through than his personal uniqueness as a character in himself--
that's not what drives the story.  (I think that's also why there's 
more room for something like angry!Harry in OotP--the books don't 
center on the uniquely special personality of Harry as an 
individual.)

-m