Harry Potter Thoughts
Jun. 30th, 2003 01:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiOr, why the hell did I make that Doug Ramsey post last week?
Why the Ramsey post?
Background: In the comic book New Mutants, there was a major "event" called "Fall of the Mutants." And it was widely promoted that "A New Mutant Will Die." All of us wondered if it would be Mirage, the leader; Sam, the smarter-than-he-seems redneck; Roberto, the hotheaded Sunspot; Wolvesbane, the shapeshifter; or one of the other powerful fighters.
Instead, Doug Fucking Ramsey bit it.
Doug was a member of the New Mutants in the same way Snapper Carr is a member of the Justice League -- he always hangs around the headquarters. His power? He can translate languages. No one cared about him when he was alive, and most folks wouldn't have noticed if he vanished from the book.
So the least fucking significant New Mutant bit it, and everyone was underwhelmed.
Flash forward to Harry Potter Five.
Rowling tells us how there's a major death in this book, and how she cried and cried when she wrote this scene.
Much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst HP fans occurs. Will Hermione bite it? Will Ron be toast? Will Dumbledore be no more? Is this the end of Hagrid? Even as I was reading it, I was trying to figure out if maybe one of the minor characters who was shining (Ginny and Neville both emerged as fully formed characters, and Cho and the twins also got some good screen time).
Instead, it's Sirius Fucking Black. A character who has really only played a major role in one book, and hasn't been in the slightest bit interesting, other than his relationship with Harry. I can see how his death would affect Harry, don't get me wrong. But if I had to pick a character to die from the Good Guys, he'd be my first or second choice. He's the Doug Ramsey of Harry Potterland, and, although I wouldn't have wanted any of the characters I listed above to die, the fact is, that's exactly what Rowling prepped me for.
As for the rest of the book:
I thought it was good. Damned good, actually.
Things I loved:
Harry actually acting like a teenager. He's pissy, and can't always control himself. Good. He actually reads like a real fifteen-year-old.
The above-mentioned emergence of Ginny and Neville. Both have become great characters, a sign of both their growth, and of JKR's as an author.
The twins. They just ruled this book.
The conspiracy. The bad guys are genuinely evil, which can be frustrating in some books (Pullman's complex villains are a lot more fascinating), but as we see more of them in action, and see more of the people (like Sirius, Snape, and even Harry) who could have gone over, they are slowly becoming more real in feel. And more threatening. To be blunt, the eleven-year-olds in the first book would have been toast against them, and that's the surest sign that they're growing up.
I loved Harry tutoring the students in DATDA. It was a perfectly logical and natural evolution.
Likewise, I love Ron and Ginnie joining the Quidditch team. As well as Harry's realization that his friends are accomplishing things without him, too.
Umbrage. No, I couldn't stand her, but she was a great representation of the fact that evil thrives more because of willful ignorance than anything else.
Things I didn't:
Cho. She devolved this book.
Worse, the relationship with Cho. They live in the same school, but only see each other once a month, when the plot calls for it? Um, okay. I know they're in different houses, but it's not like they can't socialize. It just rang false.
The Deux Ex newspaper interview. It just didn't work for me (although I realize that Rowling had written herself into a jam). I just don't accept that the people who weren't convinced by Dumbledore earlier would be convinced now.
Malfoy. This just continue to be too easy for him. Snape knows that his daddy's a traitor, and shouldn't be showing him that much favor within the house (I'm okay with showing favoritism over Harry, as Snape's still an asshole).
Come to think of it, I'm still bothered by how Slytherin acts. I mean, yeah' they're the elitist snobs in theory, but I'd like to see one of them who actually shows a serious amount of knowledge or skill, or even turns out not to be an asshole. They're painted too broadly.
Theories:
1. Sirius isn't dead. No body. Seems pretty bloody obvious to me.
2. Dumbledore will die. He's the Obi Wan figure of this book. Obi Wan has to die. It's just the way it is. Plus, Harry needs to emerge as the real hero, and can't be in the shadow of Dumbledore.
3. Neville will continue to gain importance, if only for his potential as a Red Herring (like Communism). The prophecy all but ensured this, as it otherwise becomes a completely self-fulfilling one for Voldemort.
4. The Twins will become the magical versions of Q for Harry, coming up with practical jokes that end up aiding his fight.
That's all for now.
Why the Ramsey post?
Background: In the comic book New Mutants, there was a major "event" called "Fall of the Mutants." And it was widely promoted that "A New Mutant Will Die." All of us wondered if it would be Mirage, the leader; Sam, the smarter-than-he-seems redneck; Roberto, the hotheaded Sunspot; Wolvesbane, the shapeshifter; or one of the other powerful fighters.
Instead, Doug Fucking Ramsey bit it.
Doug was a member of the New Mutants in the same way Snapper Carr is a member of the Justice League -- he always hangs around the headquarters. His power? He can translate languages. No one cared about him when he was alive, and most folks wouldn't have noticed if he vanished from the book.
So the least fucking significant New Mutant bit it, and everyone was underwhelmed.
Flash forward to Harry Potter Five.
Rowling tells us how there's a major death in this book, and how she cried and cried when she wrote this scene.
Much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst HP fans occurs. Will Hermione bite it? Will Ron be toast? Will Dumbledore be no more? Is this the end of Hagrid? Even as I was reading it, I was trying to figure out if maybe one of the minor characters who was shining (Ginny and Neville both emerged as fully formed characters, and Cho and the twins also got some good screen time).
Instead, it's Sirius Fucking Black. A character who has really only played a major role in one book, and hasn't been in the slightest bit interesting, other than his relationship with Harry. I can see how his death would affect Harry, don't get me wrong. But if I had to pick a character to die from the Good Guys, he'd be my first or second choice. He's the Doug Ramsey of Harry Potterland, and, although I wouldn't have wanted any of the characters I listed above to die, the fact is, that's exactly what Rowling prepped me for.
As for the rest of the book:
I thought it was good. Damned good, actually.
Things I loved:
Harry actually acting like a teenager. He's pissy, and can't always control himself. Good. He actually reads like a real fifteen-year-old.
The above-mentioned emergence of Ginny and Neville. Both have become great characters, a sign of both their growth, and of JKR's as an author.
The twins. They just ruled this book.
The conspiracy. The bad guys are genuinely evil, which can be frustrating in some books (Pullman's complex villains are a lot more fascinating), but as we see more of them in action, and see more of the people (like Sirius, Snape, and even Harry) who could have gone over, they are slowly becoming more real in feel. And more threatening. To be blunt, the eleven-year-olds in the first book would have been toast against them, and that's the surest sign that they're growing up.
I loved Harry tutoring the students in DATDA. It was a perfectly logical and natural evolution.
Likewise, I love Ron and Ginnie joining the Quidditch team. As well as Harry's realization that his friends are accomplishing things without him, too.
Umbrage. No, I couldn't stand her, but she was a great representation of the fact that evil thrives more because of willful ignorance than anything else.
Things I didn't:
Cho. She devolved this book.
Worse, the relationship with Cho. They live in the same school, but only see each other once a month, when the plot calls for it? Um, okay. I know they're in different houses, but it's not like they can't socialize. It just rang false.
The Deux Ex newspaper interview. It just didn't work for me (although I realize that Rowling had written herself into a jam). I just don't accept that the people who weren't convinced by Dumbledore earlier would be convinced now.
Malfoy. This just continue to be too easy for him. Snape knows that his daddy's a traitor, and shouldn't be showing him that much favor within the house (I'm okay with showing favoritism over Harry, as Snape's still an asshole).
Come to think of it, I'm still bothered by how Slytherin acts. I mean, yeah' they're the elitist snobs in theory, but I'd like to see one of them who actually shows a serious amount of knowledge or skill, or even turns out not to be an asshole. They're painted too broadly.
Theories:
1. Sirius isn't dead. No body. Seems pretty bloody obvious to me.
2. Dumbledore will die. He's the Obi Wan figure of this book. Obi Wan has to die. It's just the way it is. Plus, Harry needs to emerge as the real hero, and can't be in the shadow of Dumbledore.
3. Neville will continue to gain importance, if only for his potential as a Red Herring (like Communism). The prophecy all but ensured this, as it otherwise becomes a completely self-fulfilling one for Voldemort.
4. The Twins will become the magical versions of Q for Harry, coming up with practical jokes that end up aiding his fight.
That's all for now.
Re: not interesting?
Date: 2003-07-01 07:27 am (UTC)See, what you wrote about Sirius here is what I know Harry feels about him, but he never seemed to really become a three-dimensional character to me.
LIke you, I had a lack of parental figures in my life, and losses of father figures in particular almost always trigger the hell out of me (I mean, the end of Finding Nemo was almost painful). So I really was surprised when Sirius's death didn't bother me. But that's because although Rowling kept telling us how great a father figure he was, he never came across as one. Dumbledore was always the father figure for me.
That said, I think that what makes Sirius's death tragic is the potential he had as a character. What made him choose the path of light? What did he go through fighting his family? How did his friendship with Harry's dad evolve? Not knowing his entire backstory (but knowing there is a backstory in the first place) makes his loss interesting, even if it didn't personally resonate for me.
Good point about the mirror (and his finding it after the death was a nice ironic touch)