July 22nd, 2007, 03:27 PM
I finished reading the book in what I think is record time for me. I need to think about it some more but that won't stop me from sharing my initial thoughts.
I do want to say that I debated whether I should have ordered the book in advance or not. I decided not to.
I debated whether I should stand in line or not. I decided not to.
So yesterday I was out running errands and drove to a Wal-Mart, parked my car, walked in, grabbed a book from the very well-stocked pallet at the store's entrance, walked over to the self-checkout, paid, and was on my way. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the book.
I like hassle-free shopping.
So, anyway, I recently read all six of the books in my possession so that my mind would be fresh with the whole series. It was a fun read and I have come to appreciate, over the years, just how much J.K. Rowling's writing has improved with each book. But that sense of appreciation sets up an expectation for the seventh book. I'm not sure if everyone will be pleased with how she handled the storyline's conclusion.
So, on with my thoughts!
In May 2007 I asked here if a canonical Harry Potter Timeline was possible. I shared some guesswork in that post that I'll review here.
For example, I wrote "I'm not convinced that Sirius' brother is R.A.B." Okay, now I'm convinced. It was a noble death but the characterization was somewhat weak. I think, however, that J.K. Rowling will be forgiven for the same reason that J.R.R. Tolkien is forgiven some of his weak characterizations: this story has so much background information you just cannot tell every little anecdote in great, loving detail. And she does give Regulus the benefit of showing the reader how Harry learns about his death. It's a more sympathetic (if less epic) treatment than Tolkien gave to many of his minor characters who never played a part in main stories.
I also wrote:
Yes and yes. Not because I guess correctly, but because it was so well written with so little time, I applaud J.K. for giving these motivations to Snape (and I must say that the fact she led me and others to wonder about these things shows that Harry's last glimpse at Snape's motivations is not simply a deus ex machina).
Snape is easily the second most complex character in the series after Dumbledore.
In November 2005, I shared here my take on Severus Snape. In that discussion, I wrote:
I didn't realize then what the true significance of Snape's Patronus really was.
I also speculated on the Snape-Lily connection:
Well, close, but not exactly what J.K. gave us. Yes, Severus loved Lily but I did not see (I will say for an appropriate lack of clues) that Severus had known Lily since before childhood. He was her first wizard friend and but for his fascination with the dark arts he might actually have become a romantic friend. She didn't like James Potter even though they were both in Gryffindor. It seems to me that the chief distinction between James and Severus is that James grew up before Severus did.
All that said, I think Severus should have been given more stage time earlier in this story. Rowling could have (and I think should have) shown the reader that Snape was doing something to protect the students at Hogwarts while being his usual mean self. Neville's recap of events at the school is a letdown for me, although other people may be fine with it. This was a case where telling instead of showing weakens the story (which is usually what happens when you tell instead of show).
In 2005 I also wrote:
Although Deathly Hallows does not elaborate much on the point, I think my conclusion was correct. Harry makes the ultimate sacrifice for everyone and in that one defining moment renders Voldemort completely incapable of hurting anyone ever again. I think the scene dragged out a little too much, but then, I also think it needed to be dragged out. Voldemort had to fully believe that Harry was dead. The self-discipline that Harry exercised prevented Voldemort from seeing Harry's true intentions and from realizing what he had done to himself once he cursed Harry.
My last point in 2005 was:
Well, I was right about one thing. Harry did change the way he felt about Severus Snape. And one must say that he has to include Severus Snape in the people whom Harry avenged. But one lingering question remains: How should Harry have felt about the fact that Severus was willing to sacrifice him. Dumbledore had a plan, of sorts, but he didn't tell Severus everything.
In May I wrote:
It's almost like J.K. Rowling read my post and decided to answer the question. In a way it really has nothing to do with the story, and yet it has a great deal to do with the story. The Sorceror's Stone (Philosopher's Stone) represents Dumbledore's own serious flaw: his desire to cheat death. Dumbledore didn't simply want to continue on as a ghost the way so many other wizards had. He wanted to remain active in the living world. Nicholas Flamel had achieved at least that much more than either Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Voldemort.
I think Dumbledore wanted to protect the stone for himself as much as to prevent Voldemort from acquiring it. Dumbledore continued to struggle with his inner temptations right down to the last year of his life, when he put on the Peverell ring. He wanted to conquer death, not so much for himself, but for "the greater good" of others. When Dumbledore told Harry there was no spell that could bring back the dead, he was sharing his deepest grief with Harry.
One of my wildly wrong guesses was that Hermione would figure out everything in the end. Curiously, Harry does a great job of putting together the clues he is handed. Hermione continues to provide Harry with great assistance (and Ron, despite his one failing in the seventh book, is just absolutely brilliant -- he does a good job of keeping his wits about him). But Hermione is not the key to Harry's success. He really does have a lot more going for him than most people give him credit for.
Harry illustrates for the reader that great wizards don't necessarily have to have great power. Grindelwald thought he was a great wizard. Dumbledore thought Grindelwald was a great wizard. Riddle thought he was a great wizard. Dumbledore thought Riddle was a great wizard. But the truth is that great wizards are those who succeed with their own capabilities.
Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Riddle all tried to cheat their way to greater power by relying on external sources of power. Dumbledore did his best to ensure that Harry Potter would not make the same mistake. I think that Dumbledore saw in Harry an opportunity to produce the kind of great wizard that he, Grindelwald, and Riddle should have become. But ultimately that greatness is derived from the choices one makes. Dumbledore forced Harry to make a lot of difficult choices on his own, without benefit of clear advice, so that by the time Harry had to make the most important choice of all Harry would be ready to make the right choice.
Dumbledore could not force Harry to make the right choice, but he gave Harry enough insight into the bad choices many other wizards had made so that Harry could weigh the consequences better than anyone before him. In a way Dumbledore stacked the scales against Harry's becoming a dark wizard. In a way Dumbledore was seeking to restore a natural balance that he (and other wizards who had pursued their curiosity too far) had disrupted.
Nicholas Flamel was probably the last of the truly great wizards, the ones who made the legendary devices. When Flamel died the wizarding world began the transition into a new age, probably one dominated by the thought that death is not to be feared. The old wizards didn't understand death. They continued to hang around as ghosts, paintings, and shadows of their former selves because they wanted to remain rooted in the living world.
Dumbledore was no different from his peers and predecessors in that respect, but I think he came to realize that things had to change. Tom Riddle had pushed the fear of death farther than any wizard before him and in doing so had almost brought the wizarding and muggle worlds into direct, total conflict with each other. And though the wizards seem to be very powerful throughout these stories, history teaches us that there is no benevolence in boundaries.
The wizarding world separated itself from the muggle world for a reason, and that reason had to be for the sake of self-preservation. The muggles would have won out in the end, despite whatever the cost might be to them. I think that Dumbledore did come to understand that benevolent dictatorships are still dictatorships and not everyone wants to live that way. His youthful quest for power resulted in a great loss to his family.
So, I could talk about all the deaths (2 major characters? PUH-lease!) but I'll leave that for others. The ending is not quite satisfying, which is the way it should be, I think. You cannot have a great drama where everyone survives. I'm not sure of who all the fallen truly are. For example, Cho Chang comes back in the book but we don't know if she lives or dies. I think she may have been hurt, but I'm not sure.
Who is the girl whom Ginny comforts?
Well, there is time enough for those questions later.
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
I do want to say that I debated whether I should have ordered the book in advance or not. I decided not to.
I debated whether I should stand in line or not. I decided not to.
So yesterday I was out running errands and drove to a Wal-Mart, parked my car, walked in, grabbed a book from the very well-stocked pallet at the store's entrance, walked over to the self-checkout, paid, and was on my way. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the book.
I like hassle-free shopping.
So, anyway, I recently read all six of the books in my possession so that my mind would be fresh with the whole series. It was a fun read and I have come to appreciate, over the years, just how much J.K. Rowling's writing has improved with each book. But that sense of appreciation sets up an expectation for the seventh book. I'm not sure if everyone will be pleased with how she handled the storyline's conclusion.
So, on with my thoughts!
In May 2007 I asked here if a canonical Harry Potter Timeline was possible. I shared some guesswork in that post that I'll review here.
For example, I wrote "I'm not convinced that Sirius' brother is R.A.B." Okay, now I'm convinced. It was a noble death but the characterization was somewhat weak. I think, however, that J.K. Rowling will be forgiven for the same reason that J.R.R. Tolkien is forgiven some of his weak characterizations: this story has so much background information you just cannot tell every little anecdote in great, loving detail. And she does give Regulus the benefit of showing the reader how Harry learns about his death. It's a more sympathetic (if less epic) treatment than Tolkien gave to many of his minor characters who never played a part in main stories.
I also wrote:
Quote:
Now Severus was quite offended when Harry kept calling him a coward after killing Dumbledore. It does seem to me that Dumbledore had ordered Severus to ensure that Draco did not commit murder. Was Dumbledore dying from the curse he had endured while breaking the horcrux in Slytherin's ring? Was Severus sparing Dumbledore a worse type of death?
Yes and yes. Not because I guess correctly, but because it was so well written with so little time, I applaud J.K. for giving these motivations to Snape (and I must say that the fact she led me and others to wonder about these things shows that Harry's last glimpse at Snape's motivations is not simply a deus ex machina).
Snape is easily the second most complex character in the series after Dumbledore.
In November 2005, I shared here my take on Severus Snape. In that discussion, I wrote:
Quote:[SIZE=2]
I believe Dumbledore trusted Snape for several reasons, but one of them must be the fact that Snape can produce a Patronus. J.K. indicates on her Web site that the members of the Order of the Phoenix communicate through their Patronuses (and you see this happen in at least The Half-Blood Prince as it is Snape who receives Tonks' Patronus). She notes elsewhere that Dark Wizards do not use Patronus spells -- I think she even says they cannot use them, and that is why the Order of the Phoenix chose to use them in the first place. They are very powerful anti-Dark magic protections.
I didn't realize then what the true significance of Snape's Patronus really was.
I also speculated on the Snape-Lily connection:
Quote:[SIZE=2]
But why would Snape behave the way he does? What could have led him to reject Voldemort in the first place? Is it possible that he was in love with Lily Potter, the only person (in the reader's knowledge) besides Dumbledore and Slugworth who ever showed Snape any kindness or respect? An insane jealousy over Lily's love for James Potter could have pushed Snape into serving Voldemort -- but when he learned that Voldemort had killed Lily, he might have realized (too late) that his feelings for her were too strong to suppress.
Well, close, but not exactly what J.K. gave us. Yes, Severus loved Lily but I did not see (I will say for an appropriate lack of clues) that Severus had known Lily since before childhood. He was her first wizard friend and but for his fascination with the dark arts he might actually have become a romantic friend. She didn't like James Potter even though they were both in Gryffindor. It seems to me that the chief distinction between James and Severus is that James grew up before Severus did.
All that said, I think Severus should have been given more stage time earlier in this story. Rowling could have (and I think should have) shown the reader that Snape was doing something to protect the students at Hogwarts while being his usual mean self. Neville's recap of events at the school is a letdown for me, although other people may be fine with it. This was a case where telling instead of showing weakens the story (which is usually what happens when you tell instead of show).
In 2005 I also wrote:
Quote:[SIZE=2]
Love, after all, is the one emotion Voldemort cannot understand or experience. Just as love protected Harry from Voldemort's killing curse, it could be love that protects Snape from Voldemort's Occlumency. Snape may despise Harry for being the son of James Potter, but he nonetheless could be "trapped" in his desperate love for Lily. And that may be why Dumbledore trusted Snape -- even to teach Harry Occlumency (a choice Dumbledore came to realize was a mistake).
Although Deathly Hallows does not elaborate much on the point, I think my conclusion was correct. Harry makes the ultimate sacrifice for everyone and in that one defining moment renders Voldemort completely incapable of hurting anyone ever again. I think the scene dragged out a little too much, but then, I also think it needed to be dragged out. Voldemort had to fully believe that Harry was dead. The self-discipline that Harry exercised prevented Voldemort from seeing Harry's true intentions and from realizing what he had done to himself once he cursed Harry.
My last point in 2005 was:
Quote:[SIZE=2]
Therefore, knowing he was probably going to die soon, Dumbledore may have devised a final plan to help ensure Snape's credibility with Voldemort. Snape may end up giving Harry some totally unexpected help before it's all over. Who knows? Maybe Voldemort will kill Snape for his treachery, depriving Harry of his revenge for Dumbledore's death. Maybe Harry will end up avenging Snape along with his parents and so many others.
Well, I was right about one thing. Harry did change the way he felt about Severus Snape. And one must say that he has to include Severus Snape in the people whom Harry avenged. But one lingering question remains: How should Harry have felt about the fact that Severus was willing to sacrifice him. Dumbledore had a plan, of sorts, but he didn't tell Severus everything.
In May I wrote:
Quote:[SIZE=2]
But what I've never understood is why Dumbledore went to great lengths to protect the Sorceror's Stone in the first place. The book doesn't explain what led Dumbledore to be concerned about it. Was it the fact that Harry was finally leaving the safety of the Dursleys' home? Did he sense a change in Quirrel?
It's almost like J.K. Rowling read my post and decided to answer the question. In a way it really has nothing to do with the story, and yet it has a great deal to do with the story. The Sorceror's Stone (Philosopher's Stone) represents Dumbledore's own serious flaw: his desire to cheat death. Dumbledore didn't simply want to continue on as a ghost the way so many other wizards had. He wanted to remain active in the living world. Nicholas Flamel had achieved at least that much more than either Dumbledore, Grindelwald, or Voldemort.
I think Dumbledore wanted to protect the stone for himself as much as to prevent Voldemort from acquiring it. Dumbledore continued to struggle with his inner temptations right down to the last year of his life, when he put on the Peverell ring. He wanted to conquer death, not so much for himself, but for "the greater good" of others. When Dumbledore told Harry there was no spell that could bring back the dead, he was sharing his deepest grief with Harry.
One of my wildly wrong guesses was that Hermione would figure out everything in the end. Curiously, Harry does a great job of putting together the clues he is handed. Hermione continues to provide Harry with great assistance (and Ron, despite his one failing in the seventh book, is just absolutely brilliant -- he does a good job of keeping his wits about him). But Hermione is not the key to Harry's success. He really does have a lot more going for him than most people give him credit for.
Harry illustrates for the reader that great wizards don't necessarily have to have great power. Grindelwald thought he was a great wizard. Dumbledore thought Grindelwald was a great wizard. Riddle thought he was a great wizard. Dumbledore thought Riddle was a great wizard. But the truth is that great wizards are those who succeed with their own capabilities.
Grindelwald, Dumbledore, and Riddle all tried to cheat their way to greater power by relying on external sources of power. Dumbledore did his best to ensure that Harry Potter would not make the same mistake. I think that Dumbledore saw in Harry an opportunity to produce the kind of great wizard that he, Grindelwald, and Riddle should have become. But ultimately that greatness is derived from the choices one makes. Dumbledore forced Harry to make a lot of difficult choices on his own, without benefit of clear advice, so that by the time Harry had to make the most important choice of all Harry would be ready to make the right choice.
Dumbledore could not force Harry to make the right choice, but he gave Harry enough insight into the bad choices many other wizards had made so that Harry could weigh the consequences better than anyone before him. In a way Dumbledore stacked the scales against Harry's becoming a dark wizard. In a way Dumbledore was seeking to restore a natural balance that he (and other wizards who had pursued their curiosity too far) had disrupted.
Nicholas Flamel was probably the last of the truly great wizards, the ones who made the legendary devices. When Flamel died the wizarding world began the transition into a new age, probably one dominated by the thought that death is not to be feared. The old wizards didn't understand death. They continued to hang around as ghosts, paintings, and shadows of their former selves because they wanted to remain rooted in the living world.
Dumbledore was no different from his peers and predecessors in that respect, but I think he came to realize that things had to change. Tom Riddle had pushed the fear of death farther than any wizard before him and in doing so had almost brought the wizarding and muggle worlds into direct, total conflict with each other. And though the wizards seem to be very powerful throughout these stories, history teaches us that there is no benevolence in boundaries.
The wizarding world separated itself from the muggle world for a reason, and that reason had to be for the sake of self-preservation. The muggles would have won out in the end, despite whatever the cost might be to them. I think that Dumbledore did come to understand that benevolent dictatorships are still dictatorships and not everyone wants to live that way. His youthful quest for power resulted in a great loss to his family.
So, I could talk about all the deaths (2 major characters? PUH-lease!) but I'll leave that for others. The ending is not quite satisfying, which is the way it should be, I think. You cannot have a great drama where everyone survives. I'm not sure of who all the fallen truly are. For example, Cho Chang comes back in the book but we don't know if she lives or dies. I think she may have been hurt, but I'm not sure.
Who is the girl whom Ginny comforts?
Well, there is time enough for those questions later.
[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
o: Are slugs just homeless snails, or are snails gypsy slugs?