To kill or not to kill and resolutions of the storyline/ Slytherins (LONG )

[montavilla47]

No: HPFGUIDX 185633

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "julie" <juli17 at ...> wrote:
>
> Montavilla47 wrote:
> > 
> > Again, if it weren't for the vocal minority, we'd simply read that
> > passage as McGonagall justly expelling the dangerous, traitorous,
> > racist element from the school.  
> > 
> > That they are allowed back in eventually could easily be 
> > explained by the secret contributions of Regulus and Snape, 
> > and Slughorn's return, and the realization that the Slytherins
> > are, like Peeves and the moldy hallways, something to be 
> > tolerated.  Why, some of them are even all right.
> >
> 
> Julie:
> Just curious, but how do you know it is a "vocal minority"
> that noticed or felt a lack of resolution or redemption of
> the Slytherins after reading the books? This list itself is
> a very tiny minority of readers, and I'm not sure I could
> assert that a minority on *this* list read the passage as
> McGonagall justly expelling the entirety of Slytherin House
> as a dangerous, traitorous, racist element. 

Montavilla47:

It's vocal because, on this list, anyway, it's still being 
discussed.  I'm assuming it's a minority, because, as you
say, this list itself is much smaller than the general HP 
fandom, and from a cursory look at larger sites, most 
people don't seem to have any problem with DH.  

I looked back at Leaky Cauldron's poll about DH on
7/22/2007.  According to their results, 56 % thought
that the book was everything or more than they 
wanted it to be.  Only 18% thought it was less or much
less than they expected. 12% thought it was everything JKR
wanted it to be and thus great, while 11% were too 
distraught or sobbing to answer (I'm not sure if that
means it was good or terrible).
Over 18,000 people voted in their poll.  The link is here:

http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/polls/deathly-hallows/results


Julie:
> In fact, in an interview JKR was asked why no Slytherins 
> came back to fight, and she replied "But of course they did."
> This indicates to me that not only a few readers on this 
> list were left wondering about the Slytherins and the lack
> of definite resolution to their story in the books. Whether
> it adds up to a minority or a majority I don't know--and I
> don't know how we really would without a survey on the 
> subject representing a cross-section of all HP readers.

Montavilla47:
I agree, Julie, but in absence of such a poll, I'm going to 
assume that the majority is fine with the book as it is.
And not all those who do have a problem are going to 
base it on a lack of Slytherins in the final battle.

After all, there are others things one might object to,
such as the Elder Wand stuff, the distraction of the 
the Deathly Hallows, and the obsession with Dumbledore's
teenage fling.