Disappointment Was: Deaths in DH WAS: Re: Dumbledore (but more Snape)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 177578


> Prep0strus:
> I think, for me, a lot is in in the expectations.  After the strong
> presence of Draco in the 6th book, as well as (what I surmised as the
> motivations) the sacrifice of Dumbledore, I expected a lot out of
> Draco's story in the 7th book. 

Pippin:
After the fifth book, a lot of people expected more out of Luna, and 
even Cho and Marietta, than they got in the sixth one. In retrospect
it seems that the fifth book was the book of Ravenclaw and the
sixth was the book of Slytherin. It's not that Luna and Draco don't
grow any more, but their persistence in the story  mostly shows
that Harry's new understanding of them was not mistaken.

The understanding we gain of Slytherin House through Dumbledore
at the end of Book Six is the one we are supposed to keep, IMO. As long
as they are not killers, they are innocents and there is hope for them.

Whether or not we understand Slytherin as an allegory of evil, it's
surely not healthy for the people in the books to do so.
If Harry hadn't thought Narcissa's love for her son would be
great enough to protect him for the sake of Draco, he (Harry)
wouldn't have been able to trust her. If Harry hadn't been able
to think of Draco as Dumbledore did, an innocent to be
protected, he wouldn't have understood that Narcissa
could risk so much for his sake. 

Shacklebolt says "Every life is worth the same and every life is
worth saving." It's not "Every life is worth something and some
are worth more than others because they share my beliefs."

JKR shows us that it is indeed much harder to live by the
first standard than the second, even if your name is Harry
Potter.  But then she never promised that doing what is 
right would be easy. She never promised us that Harry
would always do what is right.

To say that people are shown not to be worthwhile because
they died with their hopes unfulfilled  -- isn't that what 
Tom thought? That his mother must have been a worthless
person because she died? Do you think we're supposed to 
agree with him?

Isn't it the worst side of Slytherinism to judge the worth of people 
by how much they contribute to achieving our  ends? 

Prep0sterus:
> snape is... the lack of hope.  there is no hope in severus snape, or
> for severus snape.  

Pippin:
JKR showed us that her world does not end with death.

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." The
doe patronus not only shows us that Snape doesn't live in 
complete misery, it promises something more than memory.
Where Lily is, that's where his treasure, ie his reward,
will be.

Prep0sterus:
>  (i don't even know why i'm thinking of it, but something makes me
> think of dobby's death - dying and putting an end to the whole idea of
> elf freedom. a messy c plotline jkr devoted a ton of time to, and then
> threw away, because with dobby's death, no other elf even cares to be
> free.  dobby's death is the lack of hope for elves just as snape's
> death is the lack of hope for snape. 

Pippin:
Voldemort did not create House Elf slavery so why should
we expect that his defeat will be the end of it? The
House Elf slavery plotline does not go nowhere. It
goes to there being two wizards who are believe in
House Elf liberation instead of one. That's exponential
growth. 

I was  hoping for more  for Draco and Snape myself,
mostly because of The LIttle White Horse. But even in its 
own context, TLWH is a bit pollyanna-ish. And now it 
seems to me that if Draco or Snape had become friends 
with Harry, JKR would have lost something important, 
which is that people you don't like can be just as 
helpful  as the people you do.  

Julie:
> > Still, I agree that there shouldn't be a Slytherin House.
> > Children who have already been indoctrinated with bigotry
> > and the worst values should be sorted with those who have
> > the best values, not with more of the worst! At least then
> > they'd have an honest chance to experience a different 
> > way, and to absorb better values. 

Pippin:
Except their parents wouldn't stand for it. The Slytherins are
as proud of their House as the Gryffindors are of theirs. They'd
leave Hogwarts and start their own school, and if you think
Hogwarts would have been better off without them, consider
that Sirius and Snape would have been sent to that other 
school as well.

How are we going to stop children from believing in ideas
we disagree with? Make them carve "I will not tell lies" into
their hands?

Pippin