Unforgivables - from a different angle

[Ceridwen]

No: HPFGUIDX 174584

catlady1949::
> I think that all this discussion about how curses are intended 
making the difference, and whether once wrong is always wrong was 
portrayed very accurately in this series of books. I see the whole 
thing as very real world realistic. That's the way human beings 
really are! You can state all day long that you would die before you 
would do this or that, and you can maintain forever that you so 
wouldn't cast this or that spells due to what you decide is plain 
immoral etc., but if it came down to real life, you just might do 
what you say that you'd never do, or act in a way you say that you 
could absolutely never act. We go back to Christian thinking and the 
Bible again. Pilot asked Jesus "what is truth?" Is truth a relative 
thing? Are not some of us more wise and, therefore, more truthful? Is 
what I think, the truth, even if I've been wrong, misinterpreting, 
etc? I see this series as a whole both a good and bad commentary on 
human beings and their basic nature, and if we can rise above all of 
it, these books help us see what we should be trying to do, not 
debating the intent, disappointment, personality of J. K. Rowling!


Ceridwen:
This is a series of children's and young adult books, not real life.  
While I do prefer my characters to be like real people, I also expect 
something different from a book than I do from real life.  In a book, 
I expect a clear resolution at the end of each book, and a resolution 
to the major plot at the end of a series.  In a book I expect to be 
shown only the necessary things for the movement of plot: I don't 
need to know that the hero went to the bathroom, or ate three times a 
day, or showered in the morning or evening, unless it has something 
to do with the plot.  In a mystery, I expect to be shown the same 
clues as the sleuth so I can play along.

I expect rules of physics, morals and law to be followed 
consistently.  They don't have to be the same rules as in real life, 
just consistent in the depiction of their world.  I expect morals to 
be static, not mutating.  When they change, I expect an explanation 
in the text.  I expect good deeds to earn rewards, and bad deeds to 
earn punishment.  I expect moral crises to be shown on-page.  I 
expect mistakes which take place on-page to be rectified on-page. 

I expect the hero to fail a number of times before succeeding, 
learning lessons along the way.  I expect a hopeful outcome at the 
end, even if that means the hero dies to find happiness with his 
deceased family.

I do not expect the hero to be so unwaveringly right that he or she 
has no moral crisis.   I do not expect that the hero is perfect in 
either the absolute sense of the word, or in the greater scheme of 
things.  This is an unbelievable characterization, and no amount of 
peripheral mistakes will erase the core issue of the hero not needing 
to learn lessons or to change.  The entire point of a story is to 
effect change.  A story is a journey from point A to point B, with 
scenery in between.

Once wrong is not always wrong in real life.  It was once all right 
to own slaves, and to tether people to professions and to the land.  
The changes which occurred in these and other real life issues took 
decades, sometimes centuries.  They did not change in the course of a 
year or two.  When these things changed, certain members of the 
population were not still allowed to keep slaves or peasants; other 
members of society were not forced to give up these things while 
others kept them.  Slavery was outlawed, feudalism went the way of 
the dodo.

Pilate asked Jesus, "What is truth?"  And has been vilified by 
various denominations since.  He had Truth right there in front of 
him and still had to ask.  Pilate is portrayed in the scriptures as 
being Less Than because of his moral relativism.  There were several 
stories outside of scripture, of his going mad and washing his hands 
maniacally for the rest of his life because of his failure.  Whether 
these stories were true or not, it was what people expected as the 
outcome of Pilate's arc in the crucifiction story.

These books did not, in the end, show what we should be trying to 
do.  The message is conflicting.  We should not be like the Bad Guys, 
yet the Good Guys can be as much like the Bad as they like.  There is 
no higher message, no means of rising above.  Everyone is as devious 
as the next person, therefore, Good and Bad must be relevant to who 
is on Our Side and who is Against Us.  The books, to me, actually 
say, "If you are not for Harry, you are against him."  Is it 
surprising that people don't care for that message?

Ceridwen.