I am about to rant....

[dwalker696]

No: HPFGUIDX 173584

> dan responded to the post " I think I'll go and find some soothing 
fanfic

" with:
> This is partially a response to your own post, right? Cause much 
> resentment seems to come from a proprietorial sense of the books 
> that is entirely false.
>
Donna replies:
Hi, I just wanted to say that I have read your posts, Dan, 
and 'ear 'ear, I agree. I must say I have actually been rather 
embarrassed at times for this group over the last week. The 
overwhelming number of posts with such an outrageous sense of 
entitlement just floors me. The gripes, the complaints, that JKR 
didn't fullfill what so many posters felt they were due, entitled to, 
is bewildering to me. The only person who owns the story is JKR. That 
doesn't mean she is perfect (well, she might be), that her pen is 
moved by the divine, and that everything she writes will be 
unquestionably loved by all. It is one thing to debate the structure 
and form of the work, and by all means, isn't that this group is for? 
However- it is quite another for readers to post that she didn't 
write it FOR THEM, that she didn't write what they needed or wanted, 
that she left things out they were somehow entitled to. It is 
confusing to me beyond my ability to express it. I know I never 
received my personal questionnaire from JKR asking me how best she 
could tailor book seven to my reading pleasure. 

If readers feel there are elements missing, I feel it is much more 
interesting to hear those arguments discussed within the realm of 
literary analysis and comparison, as opposed to a proprietorial 
standpoint.

Case in point, the camping trip. I intially was frustrated with the 
camping and the camping and the camping, primarily because the peak 
of my frustration came AFTER Ron left, and then I thought "Aha!" JKR 
needs US to feel the frustration, the boredom with the journey, to 
empathize a bit with what HRH are feeling (and we only had to read it 
for about 300 pages or so, not endure it from the first of 
September 'till past Christmas). I might have not been as surprised 
by Ron's departure had I felt that frustration earlier, but OK, hit 
me with a 2X4, I got it. 

> dan earlier wrote:
> ...look at my two posts this week - one in 
> response to someone else who identified the activist political core 
> of Rowling, which I jumped on, as if saying,"at last, a new 
> direction!" and one in defense of the camping trip as THE most 
> important part of book seven. Number of responses, zero. Why is 
> this? 
> 
> I think there is resentment and confusion that the books hold sway 
> without a lot of introspection, and that ethical implications are 
> just that, implied and not written out as sermons - the television 
> cues are missing, the literal moral at the end of the story is 
> complex, and slightly unfamiliar. Also, they remain children's 
> books, while not avoiding large symbolic gestures that can be 
parsed 
> as systems, but of course do not MEAN those systems.

Another reason I now have appreciation for the camping and the 
camping and the camping, is, similar to what Dan has written. The 
long, tedious camping is congruent with 1. The use of The Journey in 
literature, from everything from mythology to folklore to modern 
literature (LOTR, The Wizard of Oz, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle 
Maintenance, etc) 2. The camping is also reflective of pilgrimages 
that are seen in many religions. Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, 
and even Christianity embrace sites of pilgrimage, and the older, 
eastern religions also embrace pilgramage for the sake of the 
spiritual growth one gains from the journey 3. HRH's camping can also 
be seen as a reflection of several psycho-social and psycho-moral 
development models. Outside of the microcosm of DH to include the 
entire series, Harry certainly follows much of Erik Erikson's model 
throughout the books- one could relate the camping and camping and 
camping to Erikson's Generativity Vs. Stagnation crisis, except Harry 
isn't working towards having a family and establishing himself as 
socially valuable, his work is a bit more specific and desperate 
(find and destory the horcruxes). But certainly this camping phase 
leads directly into Erikson's final stage, Integrity vs. Despair, and 
certainly Harry has resolved and found meaning in his life, has 
overcome doubts that his life will have had meaning even if only with 
his death, and as he strides out to the forest he has certainly 
conquered his fear of death. 

I have heard readers decry the absence of a moral struggle for Harry. 
I personally don't see it. The most overwhelming emotion I had after 
finishing DH was pride- I was so proud of Harry, he could have been a 
real person. I actually called a relative of mine and cried 
discussing with her that I was so proud of him, he felt more like a 
real person than a fictional character, I was so proud. I was proud 
like a mother is proud (and I am one). Not all moral or internal 
struggles are worn on our character's sleeves, and Harry certainly 
has done a good job of stuffing emotion over the years. We only 
briefly see his grapple with this in OOP, but see it more in HBP "He 
was not ready to see their expressions when he told them that he must 
be either murderer or victim, there was no other way..." (OOP pg. 
849) I think it was perfectly clear that Harry didn't relish the idea 
of murdering anyone, even LV. And I rather suspected that JKR 
wouldn't require Harry to end up being a murderer, per se, I hoped it 
would be a device where he would be responsible for LVs death but not 
through a direct act of murder (the AK curse) - that is, "the Disney 
Death" - (Beast doesn't actually kill Gaston, Gaston falls to his 
death trying to attack Beast; Simba doesn't actually kill Scar, Scar 
falls to his death trying to attack Simba, etc) Heck, even with all 
the hatred Harry had towards any number of assorted DE's (namely 
Bella), he can't completely bring himself to a successful Crucio 
untill DH. And if choosing to Expelliarmus Stan vs. casting a spell 
on him that would make him fall to his death (has he been watching 
Disney films?) wasn't a moral decision (albeit a quickly made 
decision) I don't know what I am missing. I LOVED that JKR wrote 
Harry as maintaining his moral fiber throughout the book, I am sad 
that other fans might not see how hard it would be for Harry to do 
some of the things he did, if they have really considered what I 
believed JKR has intended his true character to be.

Donna