Resolutive endings WAS: Re: a sandwich

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 178850

> revaunchanistx:
> > The whole thing that makes JKR's writing so good to me is that it 
is
> > ersatz to our own world. 

CJ: 
> Umm, sorry, but you consider a story about witchcraft and wizardry 
an 
> ersatz for the RW ?!

Alla:

Cannot speak for another poster, but personally while I do not 
consider it to be ersatz for RW, I certainly consider some issues 
there to be reflections of RW to larger or smaller degree - 
metaphorically often, often not even metaphorically.
IMO of course.

CJ: 
> Imagine if the HP saga had just ended abruptly after, say, OotP, 
with 
> DEs and good guys still battling for control of the WW with no 
> resolution in sight. Or worse, DH ending that way. THAT would be 
like 
> the RW, too. More so, in fact. But nobody would read it. Or they'd 
read 
> it, then complain long and hard about what a stupid book it was. 
("What 
> the --- ? But who WINS?")

Alla:

Hmmm, I would read it. And while I cannot remember of the top of my 
head the book that ends major war conflict as unresolved, I know 
plenty of works of fiction  as I brought before that end their arcs 
unresolved and you know, many read and love them.
 
CJ:
> HP is a work of fiction. Works of fiction are intended to be neatly 
> wrapped, self-contained packages full of conflict AND resolution. 
RL 
> doesn't have plots and climaxes and denouments or resolved story 
arcs. 
> Fictional works do, and that's exactly why we read them -- to 
escape the 
> messiness of RL.

Alla:

Says who? I guess it is good that plenty of great writers did not 
follow writing 101 rules then. Let's leave my beloved War and Peace 
alone and take a look at "Three sisters" or "Cherry orchid" by 
Checkhov. There IS no resolution for main characters at the end and 
that was sort of the point, I think.

There are plenty of books that have the resolution at the end, but it 
is certainly NOT a requirement for the great work of fiction IMO.

Oh, Oh and what is the resolution in the Eugene Onegin by Pushkin? It 
seemed that initially Pushkin intended him to join Decembrists, but 
abandoned this idea in favor of you know, unresolved ending. His love 
storyline gets resolved, but societal one not at all IMO.

While we are at it, how is Lermontov resolved 
the searchings of his Pechorin in the "Hero of our time"? Did 
Pechorin search for his place in society came to any satisfactory 
conclusion? I mean, he dies without figuring out pretty much 
anything, no?

IMO of course and other russian speakers could be in disagreement 
obviously. And people are 
still loving this book, despite the fact that it does not come in 
neat little package full of resolution.

And that is why I can so second what this list member said. I do 
think that it mirrors the realities of the society - that many 
smaller arcs leave hanging, just as everything did not get neatly 
resolve in the RL. It IS often satisfactory I agree when larger arcs 
are resolved, even if they are not in RL, that is why IMO Harry v 
Voldemort was resolved completely, but I am very happy that JKR did 
not do all conflicts resolution in one book. And yes, I consider 
House Elves to be among those unresolved ones in favor of showing RL 
reflections to some extent.


CJ:
> The second or third thing you learn in Writing Basics -- at least 
it was 
> the second or third thing *I* learned -- is that story arcs 
resolve. <SNIP>

Alla:

See above, I guess I am just very happy that many of my all time 
favorite writers did not attend Writing Basics.

CJ:
> If I want an ersatz for the RW full of unresolved story arcs and 
> un-concluding conclusions, I'll just read the newspaper.

Alla:

To each their own, I will go to russian literature for unresolved 
story arcs and will still enjoy the books tremendously. I think in 
this JKR had great teachers.

JMO,

Alla