The New York Times tells me that the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is 24 days away. My friend Maggie might be astonished to know that I have not been keeping a count-down.
I largely haven't given in to speculation, because I don't want to ruin my last chance to be surprised by J.K. Rowling. We all know how we felt at the end of the first book, when you turned the page to the last chapter and were hit with the words:
IT WAS QUIRRELL.
Whoa. I remember my mouth fell open. Or the end of the third book, when all the messy details came pouring out and the light broke through the clouds and there was hope again, if only for a brief moment? I don't want to ruin my chance of getting knocked across the room by Rowling's smash-bang plot twists that you could have seen coming if you payed close enough attention (and you beat yourself up about not seeing it coming for at least a month).
From the New York Times (article by Motoko Rich):
John Granger, a professor of Latin and English at the Valley Forge Military Academy & College in Wayne, Pa., has written two books about the series and edited a third called “Who Killed Albus Dumbledore” that is filled with predictions.
He also runs a discussion group at HogwartsProfessor.com. “I’ve seen really intelligent, really literate women and men discuss these points and provide more than cogent arguments that Snape is X, Y or Z, and they all make sense in terms of all the clues she’s given in the book,” Mr. Granger said. “This has probably been the most fun that intelligent people can have with their clothes on in the 21st century.”
1) That's hilarious. 2)Do people have that much free time on their hands that they write BOOKS about what will no longer need to be speculated on come July 21??? The series will end! The characters that only Rowling knows inside and out will cease to be developed! Fanfictions are fine and dandy, but don't try to make a fantasy book into an alternate reality (or your ONE reality).
While I have to roll my eyes at all the "in-depth" analysis of the Harry Potter books (simply because you cannot analyze Hermione Granger at the same level as Jane Eyre), I must admit that Rowling is a careful plot constructor. She knows the path the story must take, and I also believe that she, as a self-respecting writer, will go where the story is taking her. A good writer knows her characters, and will not force them into the situations that the genre dictates.
All that being said, I will put forth, not predictions, but things I believe to be true about the characters: Snape is not good or evil. Because no real person is (and every good writer knows this). Even Voldemort was once a complex human, though he has been mutilated and distorted, and now cannot see goodness. Snape is still a real person, and I believe he has his own motives, on which I will not even try to speculate. The second point is that I remind readers that Wormtail still owes a life-debt to Harry that needs to be paid. Have you all forgotten this about the 3rd book? Not all the clues lie in the later 2 books. Book 6 had more to do with book 2 than any other. Try to think as Rowling would think: she is more loyal to the truth of her story than to pleasing her fans.
And relax. It's, what, less than a month away?
1 comment:
ah, you tempt me. here's my piece: dumbledore knows that the dada job is cursed, yet he gives it to snape anyway, knowing that he'll only last a year. that has to mean something, though i haven't figured out what yet...
Post a Comment