A sandwich

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 178729

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Annemehr" <annemehr at ...> wrote:
>
> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Bannister" 
> <gbannister10@> wrote:
>  
> > Geoff:
> <snip> 
> > What I am raising an eyebrow about  is Annemehr's comment:   

> Annemehr:
> 
> Well, a mere raised eyebrow is a lot less emphatic than "Hell's 
> Bells!" ;)  But I do think that the ideal is for every sentence to 
> have a purpose, and that it's appropriate for the readership to look 
> for it.  And, you know, the author has to actually write each and 
> every one; why would she bother, unless she had some purpose for 
> each?  Granted, some are there to carry a deeper meaning while others 
> merely set the scene or inject a bit of humor, but those are all 
> worthy purposes.
> 
> But it's a poor work of fiction indeed that has lines that are only 
> meant to be filler.

Geoff:
In example, I would feel that there are some sentences written by one 
such as JRRT which are only scene-setters - some of the description
of the countryside of Ithilien for example in ROTK - which, if left out, 
would not have affected the flow of the story.

Annemehr:
> That's not to say that I expect perfection from the author, nor that 
> *each* reader is going to examine *every* sentence.  You are free to 
> ignore the one in question, as you said you had until this thread 
> (your post #178644).  
> 
> But this particular thread is about a sentence that jumped out at 
> quite a few people and that (as I pointed out in my last post) has 
> prominence both of placement in the book and as the final word of a 
> rather large story arc.  

Geoff: 
You see, I would place Harry's last sentence -and the sandwich idea, 
which was not spoken but a thought, on the same level as the last 
sentence of LOTR:
'He (Sam) drew a deep breath, "Well, I'm back," he said.'
(ROTK "The Grey Havens")

This goes in the category of "I've had a long, tiring spell of action. 
I would like to put my feet up and relax." Which is precisely the 
interpretation I put on Harry's last comment.

If people feel that they wish to read into this statement that Harry, 
by expressing a feeling that he would welcome someone - like, say, 
Molly or Kreacher or, if he had lived, Dobby - offering to make a cup 
of tea and cut a slice of cake for him is undermining the structure of 
the Wizarding world, then that is *their* privilege and choice.

Personally, I just see this argument (using the word in its best sense) 
as a storm in a teacup, making a mountain out of a molehill and my 
use of the phrase "Hell's bells" is not emphatic. I say it in a tired voice, 
accompanied by a sigh and a feeling of déjà vu which is *my* privilege 
and choice. :-)

Geoff
Yearning for the long-lost days of pre-HBP when we could have dignified 
discussions on the location of Hogwarts and the Riddle Orphanage and 
comforting myself with the fact that Harry didn't die... Hot chocolate is 
called for in copious amounts.