> > Why isn't anyone discussing this? Anyways, it's > marvelous. Rowling has, once again, surpassed herself > - this one is even better than the last.
John H. replied:
I must disagree. I was somewhat disappointed in #5. The plot was sort-of pointless, if you think about it. The great mystery of who would die was pretty obvious to me. And for both my wife and myself, there was ZERO emotional reaction when the death did happen.
I liked #5, but it did feel very transitional to me. Both Harry and Ron go through events that could be major turning points in their lives. I suppose, if Rowling has a one-sentence synopsis of the five novels so far, it would be something like this:
M I N O R
S P O I L E R S
1) This is where Harry finds out he's a wizard and first learns of Voldemort.
2) This is where he learns more about Voldemort's history.
3) This is where he learns about Sirius and Dementors.
4) This is where Voldemort comes back.
5) This is where they convince everyone that Voldemort is really back.
or
5) This is the one where we find out Harry isn't perfect.
I think a lot of the fifth book is setup for the 6th and 7th, with the students learning a lot more about Defense Against the Dark Arts, the core group expanding somewhat, and some new characters being introduced who are sure to have big parts in the last two books.
Also the fifth book adds some suspense to the series, in a way. In the first four, Harry really does no wrong. He breaks some rules here and there, but only because he is right about the threats facing him and the school. In the fifth one, Harry is very, very wrong about what's going on, and it costs him the life of someone dear to him. This is sure to be a big motivator in future books, and will make us (and probably Harry) start second-guessing Harry's conclusions and decisions. Now we have some doubt as to whether he will continue to be right.
Maybe the one sentence synopsis of the sixth book will be: 6) This is the one where Harry has to re-learn self-confidence.
Hopefully the seventh one will be: 7) This is the one where Harry defeats Voldemort.
By the way, Rowling was speaking to a large group of kids and was asked if there might be more Harry Potter stories after the seventh book. Her response was something like, "That would depend on whether Harry lives or not."
I do like how the books are becoming more mature and sophisticated as Rowling has gone on. I wonder how much of that is intentional or just a result of her maturing as a writer.
Harry has definitely become an angry young man in this fifth book, for sure. I think Rowling has paid very specific attention to showing the characters growing up. But her narrative style seems more sophisticated as well. I think it's a combination of both intention and her skills maturing.
Now that the kids are 16 or so, I've been wondering if there is some sort of anti-sex hex at Hogwarts! There must be!
Harry is 15 in the fifth book, I think, although I may be wrong, but you're probably right about the hex! There certainly doesn't seem to be any hex that prevents bullying, though, or at least there wasn't back when Sirius and Harry's dad were students. The amount of disillusionment that Harry goes through in this novel is pretty extreme.
Reggie Bautista
_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail
_______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
