Gautam Mukunda wrote: >1. A few quick thoughts on the plot >2. Some more serious thoughts on the moral messages >and ideas I think Rowling is trying to convey (and why >they make me far more impressed by her writing than I >was before reading this one) >3. A few brief thoughts on the extent to which Rowling >is engaging in - at least to a small extent - some >political allegory S P O I L E R
S P A C E >Snape is revealed. Is he? I think Ms. Rowling *still* left enough wiggle room for Severus not to be the bad guy. Yes, he did kill Dumbledore, but there are signs both in that scene and in Harry's pursuit of him that suggest there's more to it than "Snape is on the Dark Side." For example, Dumbledore had to know he had no chance of surviving his encounted with four Death Eaters, weakened as he was by his (as it turned out, fruitless) pursuit of Voldemort's horcrux. Was his pleading to Snape actually a desire to save the lives of Malfoy and his family, and of Snape himself, rather than him hoping that he hadn't been wrong about Snape all along? Of course, on the flip side of that is how Dumbledore repeatedly insists that his few mistakes are inevitably enormous ones. Which only furthers the ambiguity, but I like that Ms. Rowling is trying to keep us guessing. :) >Well, I'm sure that Harry will, in fact, return to Hogwarts, >despite what he says at the conclusion. I hope you are right. I think a "quest for the horcruxes" book would be doing a disservice to the many secondary characters she's created, especially after giving Neville and Luna (two fan favorites from what I've seen) such short shrift this time around. >In this book, however, the situation is different - and here, in a >real sense, I am more impressed. Now, Harry is the king of Hogwarts. >A hero to most of his peers, adored by girls, the favorite of most >of the teachers, captain of the Quidditch team. Harry isn't the >downtrodden outcast. He's the elite. What does he do? He (in my >single favorite moment of the book) invites Luna Lovegood to a >prestigious party. Now that the books are being read by everyone, I >think Rowling is taking advantage of this popularity to send a new, >much rarer message. Now, knowing that the kings of the school will >also be reading her books, I think Rowling is trying to teach _them_ >something. This is how you should behave. You reach out to the >poor kids, the unpopular kids. That's not a common message, because >most kids lit doesn't have the popular kids as the heroes. That's a very interesting analysis, Gautum. It's one heck of a message to send, I agree, and it's the kind of quality of character I hope my own children will have. I see it in my son; he hates for anyone, even the "weird" kids, to feel left out, despite the fact that he has some quality about him that makes almost everyone want to be his friend. I can only hope that he keeps that as he gets older. >Character is, I have always thought, the product of choice. You are >who you choose to be. Absolutely. I remember reading a saying that said something along the lines of "Character is the choice you make when no one is watching." In the course of the books, Harry tries very hard to make the right choices. And even when they are the wrong choices, he makes them for the right reasons. >I could not imagine a better set of messages than the dual ones of >rejecting bigotry and accepting differences while also focusing >on the importnace of recognizing evil and fighting it when you see >it. Nor could I. Though Rowling doesn't seem to mind the wizards' anti-Muggle prejudices as much as their prejudices against other magical creatures. Yes, most wizards reject the term Mudblood, et. al., but most still look down on the non-magical as your average person on the street looks down at a mentally retarded person. That is one thing that's always bothered me a trifle about her books, frankly. I truly enjoyed your analysis, Gautum. Thanks for taking the time to post it. Jim When's book seven coming out? Maru _______________________________________________ Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com The most personalized portal on the Web! _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
