While I begin to think through an essay on Choice and Temptation in Deathly Hallows, I wanted to pass on a couple of links that you all may have seen already (but just in case).
Lots of fascinating discussion about J.K. Rowling's "struggle to believe" comments on Dateline the other night. Here is the link the discussion on Hogwarts Professor about it.
And it's amazing how much more I like the epilogue to the book now that I'm getting so many of the other questions answered! Here is the transcript to the online Q&A session JKR did a few days ago, complete with answers (answers!) to questions ranging from what King's Cross really represents to why Dumbledore can see through the invisibility cloak to the meaning of "in essence divided?" to what Dudley saw when the dementors attacked and what Dumbledore saw in the Mirror of Erised. A treasure trove!
Enjoy....
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
THE PREDICTION COUNTDOWN
Stepping away from the deeper themes and elements running through Deathly Hallows, I think I should face up to how well I did (or didn't do) on predicting what would happen.
I made a lot of predictions, of two types. Here on my blog, I made out-and-out predictions. And in my book (you know, the one whose shelf life has totally expired!), I suggested not only predictions, but possibilities.
Let's start with the blog predictions, which I made primarily here, here, here, here, and here.
You guys can keep score, if you want.
Where I Was Wrong
Well, when I went wrong, I went really wrong.
Percy dies. I did not foresee the incredible strain of redemption that would run through the book. (Was there anyone out there who genuinely thought Kreacher would be redeemed?!) I thought Percy would stand as an example of lack of redemption. But I misread how important it was to restore families in the book. I'm glad I was wrong.
Harry is not a Horcrux. My hugest mistake. I suppose I could try to weasel my way out of it by saying, well, I didn't think Harry would be the sixth Horcrux. But no. I was convinced he could not be a Horcrux at all. I was wrong. Very wrong.
Harry goes to Azkaban. I anticipated a visit to Azkaban to track down Mundungus. I didn't predict that Azkaban would have had a mass breakout. Wrong. (But I'm glad we got a shot of Azkaban in the Phoenix movie.)
Harry tracks the cup down through Zacharias Smith. Shame on me for being misled by last names. Next thing you know, I'll think Mark Evans is significant.
House-Elves use wands. Apparently they do fine without them.
Someone apparates inside Hogwarts. I thought seven years of "you can't Apparate inside Hogwarts" was misdirection. Oops.
Tom Riddle's Award for Special Services is a Horcrux. Nope.
Where I Was Right
Harry doesn't die. Yup, it was (and is) the Boy Who Lived all the way.
Ron and Hermione don't die. Ditto.
Voldemort dies. But was this really so hard to predict?
Ginny lives. This seemed like a no-brainer to me, because Harry has to join the Weasley family somehow, right?
Draco lives. I thought all along that Draco had to live and that Harry had to show mercy on him.
Neville lives. And how!
Bellatrix dies. And by such an unexpectedly perfect hand!
Harry figures out the Locket clues quickly. And imagine how much faster it will be in the movie!
Nagini is the last Horcrux destroyed. Never, however, would I have imagined the wonderful way in which she was killed!
Peter Pettigrew saves Harry's life. The life-debt, after all. I didn't think it would happen quite so quickly, though!
House-Elves fight alongside the Order to save Hogwarts. Yup!
Fenrir Greyback appears again. And I'm glad he had as little page-time as he got, frankly.
Harry goes back to Grimmauld Place. I didn't see how we could solve the R.A.B./Locket clues without this.
Kreacher is important in the story. I wouldn't have predicted that his significance would include his redemption, but I'm glad it did!
R.A.B. is Regulus Black. But were there other serious contenders?
We learn what happened to Ollivander. I'm just glad he turned out to be on the side of good.
Grawp has a role. Not as much of one as he could have... but hasn't that always been true for Grawp?
Stan Shunpike returns. While I wasn't happy to see him Imperiused, I sure wasn't surprised.
Harry seeks information from Aberforth. Not a tough call to make, given hints in interviews.
Dragons appear. I thought this would happen from the number of mentions of dragons in Book 6, but the release of the British book cover showing the trio riding a dragon made it a gimme.
Where I Was Partially Right
Snape dies sacrificially.. Well, yes and no. Obviously Snape dies. But I sort of envisioned him throwing himself in front of a spell to protect Harry, rather than being dispatched by Voldemort as a precaution. I think what we saw was that it was Snape's life that turned out to be sacrificial more than his death.
Fred and George come close but don't die. If you want to shift this into the "Where I Was Wrong" column, feel free. Somehow it never occurred to me that one would die and the other wouldn't.
One of Lucius or Narcissa dies. Well, I got one right. Again, I misanticipated how important the theme of family would be.
The Sixth Horcrux is an object we have already seen, but which has played no significant role. Technically I suppose I could put this under "Where I Was Right." But I really didn't think it was going to be the tiara.
Harry uses Parseltongue. Yes. But again, not as I anticipated. I thought he would use Parseltongue to communicate with Voldemort or Nagini, not to open the Locket.
Harry casts the Cruciatus Curse. Yes, he did. But I thought his doing so would have dire consequences for himself, for his soul. Still waiting for the explanation on this.
Destroying a Horcrux involves confronting the wizard who created it. Not always, apparently. But the chillingly great scene where Ron is tempted before destroying the Locket certainly comes close to this.
The Draught of Living Death I made my biggest, boldest prediction about Book 7 here. Clearly I was wrong. So why I am listing it under "partially right"? Well, because even though Harry did not use the Draught of Living Death to reach Voldemort, the end result of the prediction -- Harry appears dead but isn't, his friends (Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, etc.) all believe he is dead and respond in grief -- actually did happen. Can I have half points for this one?
...Ultimately, I stand by what I said in the intro to my book: The predictions are fun, but whatever J.K. Rowling writes is right.
And now that I've read it, I feel even more so. But it was still fun to predict, wasn't it?...
What predictions did you pull off?
I made a lot of predictions, of two types. Here on my blog, I made out-and-out predictions. And in my book (you know, the one whose shelf life has totally expired!), I suggested not only predictions, but possibilities.
Let's start with the blog predictions, which I made primarily here, here, here, here, and here.
You guys can keep score, if you want.
Where I Was Wrong
Well, when I went wrong, I went really wrong.
Percy dies. I did not foresee the incredible strain of redemption that would run through the book. (Was there anyone out there who genuinely thought Kreacher would be redeemed?!) I thought Percy would stand as an example of lack of redemption. But I misread how important it was to restore families in the book. I'm glad I was wrong.
Harry is not a Horcrux. My hugest mistake. I suppose I could try to weasel my way out of it by saying, well, I didn't think Harry would be the sixth Horcrux. But no. I was convinced he could not be a Horcrux at all. I was wrong. Very wrong.
Harry goes to Azkaban. I anticipated a visit to Azkaban to track down Mundungus. I didn't predict that Azkaban would have had a mass breakout. Wrong. (But I'm glad we got a shot of Azkaban in the Phoenix movie.)
Harry tracks the cup down through Zacharias Smith. Shame on me for being misled by last names. Next thing you know, I'll think Mark Evans is significant.
House-Elves use wands. Apparently they do fine without them.
Someone apparates inside Hogwarts. I thought seven years of "you can't Apparate inside Hogwarts" was misdirection. Oops.
Tom Riddle's Award for Special Services is a Horcrux. Nope.
Where I Was Right
Harry doesn't die. Yup, it was (and is) the Boy Who Lived all the way.
Ron and Hermione don't die. Ditto.
Voldemort dies. But was this really so hard to predict?
Ginny lives. This seemed like a no-brainer to me, because Harry has to join the Weasley family somehow, right?
Draco lives. I thought all along that Draco had to live and that Harry had to show mercy on him.
Neville lives. And how!
Bellatrix dies. And by such an unexpectedly perfect hand!
Harry figures out the Locket clues quickly. And imagine how much faster it will be in the movie!
Nagini is the last Horcrux destroyed. Never, however, would I have imagined the wonderful way in which she was killed!
Peter Pettigrew saves Harry's life. The life-debt, after all. I didn't think it would happen quite so quickly, though!
House-Elves fight alongside the Order to save Hogwarts. Yup!
Fenrir Greyback appears again. And I'm glad he had as little page-time as he got, frankly.
Harry goes back to Grimmauld Place. I didn't see how we could solve the R.A.B./Locket clues without this.
Kreacher is important in the story. I wouldn't have predicted that his significance would include his redemption, but I'm glad it did!
R.A.B. is Regulus Black. But were there other serious contenders?
We learn what happened to Ollivander. I'm just glad he turned out to be on the side of good.
Grawp has a role. Not as much of one as he could have... but hasn't that always been true for Grawp?
Stan Shunpike returns. While I wasn't happy to see him Imperiused, I sure wasn't surprised.
Harry seeks information from Aberforth. Not a tough call to make, given hints in interviews.
Dragons appear. I thought this would happen from the number of mentions of dragons in Book 6, but the release of the British book cover showing the trio riding a dragon made it a gimme.
Where I Was Partially Right
Snape dies sacrificially.. Well, yes and no. Obviously Snape dies. But I sort of envisioned him throwing himself in front of a spell to protect Harry, rather than being dispatched by Voldemort as a precaution. I think what we saw was that it was Snape's life that turned out to be sacrificial more than his death.
Fred and George come close but don't die. If you want to shift this into the "Where I Was Wrong" column, feel free. Somehow it never occurred to me that one would die and the other wouldn't.
One of Lucius or Narcissa dies. Well, I got one right. Again, I misanticipated how important the theme of family would be.
The Sixth Horcrux is an object we have already seen, but which has played no significant role. Technically I suppose I could put this under "Where I Was Right." But I really didn't think it was going to be the tiara.
Harry uses Parseltongue. Yes. But again, not as I anticipated. I thought he would use Parseltongue to communicate with Voldemort or Nagini, not to open the Locket.
Harry casts the Cruciatus Curse. Yes, he did. But I thought his doing so would have dire consequences for himself, for his soul. Still waiting for the explanation on this.
Destroying a Horcrux involves confronting the wizard who created it. Not always, apparently. But the chillingly great scene where Ron is tempted before destroying the Locket certainly comes close to this.
The Draught of Living Death I made my biggest, boldest prediction about Book 7 here. Clearly I was wrong. So why I am listing it under "partially right"? Well, because even though Harry did not use the Draught of Living Death to reach Voldemort, the end result of the prediction -- Harry appears dead but isn't, his friends (Hagrid, Ron, Hermione, etc.) all believe he is dead and respond in grief -- actually did happen. Can I have half points for this one?
...Ultimately, I stand by what I said in the intro to my book: The predictions are fun, but whatever J.K. Rowling writes is right.
And now that I've read it, I feel even more so. But it was still fun to predict, wasn't it?...
What predictions did you pull off?
Sunday, July 29, 2007
BLOOD THICKER THAN WATER, PART 2
While the concept of Family has always played a significant role in Harry Potter, highlighted by the moment where Harry looks in the Mirror of Erised and sees his extended family looking back at him, in Deathly Hallows Family becomes increasingly important.
And not just to those people with families that they love:
Voldemort and Family Values
Voldemort finds family bonds incredibly important in DH, though in what we might consider an overly... practical way.
For Voldemort, the value of Family lies in the hostage possibilities. One can easily imagine Voldemort seeing the love of family as a tremendous weakness. How simple it is to manipulate people, to get them to do one's bidding merely by threatening their families. Voldemort certainly doesn't share this weakness! No, that's made especially clear by his willingness to kill Snape, his most loyal follower, when it becomes expedient.
We're introduced to this concept almost immediately:
We'll never know if this tactic would have worked for Harry where the Dursleys were concerned, but the mere fact that the Order is going to such precautions shows that they are aware of Voldemort's potential abuse of family ties.
Ron and Hermione also firmly expect danger to their families resulting from their alliance with Harry, as we see when Hermione modifies her parents' memories to forget about her very existence, and when Ron (with help from his family) creates his ghoulish doppelganger in pajamas, the better to throw the Death Eaters off the track.
And of course, they're right. That's exactly what Voldemort does. We see how his taking Luna hostage gets Xenophilius to stop supporting Harry publicly. And we learn from Neville that this is now a standard tactic when he describes how Voldemort has flipped his usual strategy:
Neville's words are enough to paint the outlines of a world where parents can no longer trust children, where family members inform on one another, where hostage situations force people to do horrible things. We've already seen, of course, how Voldemort manipulates family members against each other in his treatment of Draco in Half-Blood Prince, setting him an admittedly impossible task merely as revenge for Lucius's screw-ups. Through Neville and Luna, we see how destructive Voldemort continues to be. And we see all the way to the end how Voldemort doesn't change his tactics, threatening to kill every family member of anyone who continues to resist after Harry's "death." Clearly Voldemort's tactics are, for the most part, working quite well.
But there's a presupposition on Voldemort's part that is part of his undoing: The presupposition that people will cringe upon any threat to their families, that they will never choose instead to stand side-by-side with their family members and fight on their behalf.
Voldemort obviously made that mistake with Neville. And it turns out there are many others, more than he could have imagined, willing to stand alongside their family members and fight: All of the Weasleys (of course), especially Molly in defense of her daughter. Tonks and Lupin. Bill and Fleur. Grawp and Hagrid. Even Aberforth, despite his deep estrangement with his brother, still helping carry out Albus Dumbledore's plan.
The importance of these Family Ties come to the forefront at the end of the story:
Family in the Climax of Deathly Hallows
Harry's parents died to save him. His godfather died in coming to Harry's defense. His father figure Dumbledore died protecting Harry rather than himself. You'd think Voldemort would have figured out by now that family doesn't always surrender, cringing. However, You-Know-Who could have, understandably, reasoned that he has already removed all of Harry's family, that there is no one left to stand at his side.
But he's wrong. Perhaps it's because Voldemort is so tied to the idea of "blood" -- purebloods, blood traitors, and the rest. Perhaps that's why he hasn't yet realized that sometimes people choose their families (notice the echo of the theme of choice, one we'll come back to later in these posts).
Ron and Hermione are not related to Harry (yet). But they make it very clear early on that they have lifted Harry to the level of family when they choose to stay with Harry over their own families.
And Ron and Hermione aren't the only non-blood-relatives to treat Harry as family, to stand before him in protection as Lily stood before his crib:
What a marvelous moment! Harry has to feel as if he has hundreds of brothers and sisters at that moment.
And why are all these people standing in his behalf? Why is this war being fought in the first place?
Dumbledore tells us flat out at King's Cross when he urges Harry to return to the world of the living: "...you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart." Notice that, with all the emphasis on the importance of the individual soul, of keeping it whole, throughout the series, Dumbledore here places as equal with it the wholeness of the family as a "worthy goal."
Dumbledore is of course right when he values family so highly. And he's not the only one. Showing an unexpected priority on family wholeness is none other than Narcissa Malfoy:
Narcissa, in standing between Harry and Voldemort, is really standing between Draco and Voldemort. She is doing exactly what Lily did when Harry was an infant.
Voldemort had a well-thought-out, well-executed plan. But the "Flaw in the Plan" was rooted in the love of a mother for her son, all the way back, 17 years ago. And as Voldemort's plan reaches its well-maneuvered conclusion, again the "Flaw in the Plan" rests on the love of a mother for her son, and her consequent willingness to do whatever she must do to protect him.
What a surprising, yet satisfying playing out of the theme of Family!
What's the conclusion of Harry and Voldemort's long story? Harry looks around the Great Hall to see "families reunited."
And what of Harry himself, the mistreated orphan whose heart's desire was to be part of a family?
As we see in the Epilogue, he got his heart's desire. Not only has he married his "high school sweetheart" in Ginny, but in doing so, he is now truly a member of the clan that has served as his surrogate family for so long, the Weasleys. (Remember all those times Molly hugged him "like a mother"? Remember when she saw Harry's "dead" body among her own family members when confronting the Boggart at Grimmauld Place?)
Not only does Harry end up having a place in a real family, he has a family of his own: Lily and James and Albus Severus.
Yes, I initially wanted the Epilogue to give us more information, to spin through a Dickensian list of where everyone was, what they were doing for a living. But ultimately, none of that matters thematically in the story. Harry Potter has never been about career paths and worldly (or wizardly) success. It has been about family, and we end the story showing that Harry has gotten what he always really wanted.
No wonder Harry can think "all was well" at the end of the story. He indeed has his heart's desire.....
**************************************************
(Next post, I'll look at how some predictions turned out, then future posts will look at the themes of Choice and Temptation, and of Redemption. Let me know your thoughts!
And not just to those people with families that they love:
Voldemort and Family Values
Voldemort finds family bonds incredibly important in DH, though in what we might consider an overly... practical way.
For Voldemort, the value of Family lies in the hostage possibilities. One can easily imagine Voldemort seeing the love of family as a tremendous weakness. How simple it is to manipulate people, to get them to do one's bidding merely by threatening their families. Voldemort certainly doesn't share this weakness! No, that's made especially clear by his willingness to kill Snape, his most loyal follower, when it becomes expedient.
We're introduced to this concept almost immediately:
"...The Order is sure Voldemort will target you, whether to torture you to try and find out where I am, or because he thinks by holding you hostage I'd come and try to rescue you."
Uncle Vernon's and Harry's eyes met. Harry was sure that in that instant they were both wondering the same thing...
We'll never know if this tactic would have worked for Harry where the Dursleys were concerned, but the mere fact that the Order is going to such precautions shows that they are aware of Voldemort's potential abuse of family ties.
Ron and Hermione also firmly expect danger to their families resulting from their alliance with Harry, as we see when Hermione modifies her parents' memories to forget about her very existence, and when Ron (with help from his family) creates his ghoulish doppelganger in pajamas, the better to throw the Death Eaters off the track.
And of course, they're right. That's exactly what Voldemort does. We see how his taking Luna hostage gets Xenophilius to stop supporting Harry publicly. And we learn from Neville that this is now a standard tactic when he describes how Voldemort has flipped his usual strategy:
"...That's when they decided there was only one way to stop me, I suppose, and they went for Gran."
"They what?" said Harry, Ron and Hermione together.
"Yeah," said Neville, panting a little now, because the passage was climbing so steeply, " well, you can see their thinking. It had worked really well, kidnapping kids to force their relatives to behave, I s'pose it was only a matter of time before they did it the other way around. Thing was," he faced them, and Harry was astonished to see that he was grinning, "they bit off a bit more they could chew with Gran..."
Neville's words are enough to paint the outlines of a world where parents can no longer trust children, where family members inform on one another, where hostage situations force people to do horrible things. We've already seen, of course, how Voldemort manipulates family members against each other in his treatment of Draco in Half-Blood Prince, setting him an admittedly impossible task merely as revenge for Lucius's screw-ups. Through Neville and Luna, we see how destructive Voldemort continues to be. And we see all the way to the end how Voldemort doesn't change his tactics, threatening to kill every family member of anyone who continues to resist after Harry's "death." Clearly Voldemort's tactics are, for the most part, working quite well.
But there's a presupposition on Voldemort's part that is part of his undoing: The presupposition that people will cringe upon any threat to their families, that they will never choose instead to stand side-by-side with their family members and fight on their behalf.
Voldemort obviously made that mistake with Neville. And it turns out there are many others, more than he could have imagined, willing to stand alongside their family members and fight: All of the Weasleys (of course), especially Molly in defense of her daughter. Tonks and Lupin. Bill and Fleur. Grawp and Hagrid. Even Aberforth, despite his deep estrangement with his brother, still helping carry out Albus Dumbledore's plan.
The importance of these Family Ties come to the forefront at the end of the story:
Family in the Climax of Deathly Hallows
Harry's parents died to save him. His godfather died in coming to Harry's defense. His father figure Dumbledore died protecting Harry rather than himself. You'd think Voldemort would have figured out by now that family doesn't always surrender, cringing. However, You-Know-Who could have, understandably, reasoned that he has already removed all of Harry's family, that there is no one left to stand at his side.
But he's wrong. Perhaps it's because Voldemort is so tied to the idea of "blood" -- purebloods, blood traitors, and the rest. Perhaps that's why he hasn't yet realized that sometimes people choose their families (notice the echo of the theme of choice, one we'll come back to later in these posts).
Ron and Hermione are not related to Harry (yet). But they make it very clear early on that they have lifted Harry to the level of family when they choose to stay with Harry over their own families.
And Ron and Hermione aren't the only non-blood-relatives to treat Harry as family, to stand before him in protection as Lily stood before his crib:
...Every head turned, every eye in the place seemed to have found Harry, to hold him frozen in the glare of thousands of invisible beams. Then a figure rose from the Slytherin table and he recognized Pansy Parkinson as she raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!"
Before Harry could speak, there was a massive movement. The Gryffindors in front of him had risen and stood facing, not Harry, but the Slytherins. Then the Hufflepuffs stood, and almost at the same moment, the Ravenclaws, all of them with their backs to Harry, all of them looking toward Pansy instead, and Harry, awestruck and overwhelmed, saw wands emerging everywhere, pulled from beneath cloaks and from under sleeves.
What a marvelous moment! Harry has to feel as if he has hundreds of brothers and sisters at that moment.
And why are all these people standing in his behalf? Why is this war being fought in the first place?
Dumbledore tells us flat out at King's Cross when he urges Harry to return to the world of the living: "...you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart." Notice that, with all the emphasis on the importance of the individual soul, of keeping it whole, throughout the series, Dumbledore here places as equal with it the wholeness of the family as a "worthy goal."
Dumbledore is of course right when he values family so highly. And he's not the only one. Showing an unexpected priority on family wholeness is none other than Narcissa Malfoy:
Hands, softer than he had been expecting, touched Harry's face, pulled back an eyelid, crept beneath his shirt, down to his chest, and felt his heart. He could hear the woman's fast breathing, her long hair tickled his face. He knew that she could feel the steady pounding of life against his ribs.
"Is Draco alive? Is he in the castle?"
The whisper was barely audible; her lips were an inch from his ear, her head bent so low that her long hair shielded his face from the onlookers.
"Yes," he breathed back.
He felt the hand on his chest contract; her nails pierced him. Then it was withdrawn. She had sat up.
"He is dead!" Narcissa Malfoy called to the watchers....
....Still feigning death on the ground, he understood. Narcissa knew that the only way she would be permitted to enter Hogwarts, and find her son, was as part of the conquering army. She no longer cared whether Voldemort won.
Narcissa, in standing between Harry and Voldemort, is really standing between Draco and Voldemort. She is doing exactly what Lily did when Harry was an infant.
Voldemort had a well-thought-out, well-executed plan. But the "Flaw in the Plan" was rooted in the love of a mother for her son, all the way back, 17 years ago. And as Voldemort's plan reaches its well-maneuvered conclusion, again the "Flaw in the Plan" rests on the love of a mother for her son, and her consequent willingness to do whatever she must do to protect him.
What a surprising, yet satisfying playing out of the theme of Family!
What's the conclusion of Harry and Voldemort's long story? Harry looks around the Great Hall to see "families reunited."
And what of Harry himself, the mistreated orphan whose heart's desire was to be part of a family?
As we see in the Epilogue, he got his heart's desire. Not only has he married his "high school sweetheart" in Ginny, but in doing so, he is now truly a member of the clan that has served as his surrogate family for so long, the Weasleys. (Remember all those times Molly hugged him "like a mother"? Remember when she saw Harry's "dead" body among her own family members when confronting the Boggart at Grimmauld Place?)
Not only does Harry end up having a place in a real family, he has a family of his own: Lily and James and Albus Severus.
Yes, I initially wanted the Epilogue to give us more information, to spin through a Dickensian list of where everyone was, what they were doing for a living. But ultimately, none of that matters thematically in the story. Harry Potter has never been about career paths and worldly (or wizardly) success. It has been about family, and we end the story showing that Harry has gotten what he always really wanted.
No wonder Harry can think "all was well" at the end of the story. He indeed has his heart's desire.....
**************************************************
(Next post, I'll look at how some predictions turned out, then future posts will look at the themes of Choice and Temptation, and of Redemption. Let me know your thoughts!
Friday, July 27, 2007
BLOOD THICKER THAN WATER: THE THEME OF FAMILY IN DEATHLY HALLOWS
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"I show you not your face but your heart's desire."
What does Harry see when he looks in the Mirror of Erised, way back in Sorcerer's Stone?
Harry's heart's desire, from Book 1 on, hasn't been to conquer Voldemort. It certainly hasn't been to be the most famous person in the Wizarding World. It hasn't even been to win the love of Ginny.
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Harry's treasure, his heart's desire, is clear from the beginning: To have a family, to be part of a family.
Given that that's where Harry started, back when he was 11 years old, it's no wonder that we end his story in Deathly Hallows [DH] with the theme of Family resonating clear and strong throughout the book. Everywhere we turn in the story, we are reminded of the vital importance of Family. Let's take a look at how this theme finds its expression.
Harry's Family
Harry has had his family taken away from bit by bit through his story. First his parents. Then his godfather. Then his father figure, Dumbledore.
And finally even the Dursleys.
I know, I know, it may seem as if the Dursleys shouldn't be included in that list. They only matter because of the link to Lily, because of the protection provided by her blood, which Petunia also shares. The only time Harry's even really thought of them as family was when he had the sudden realization, at the age of 15, that Petunia was in fact his mother's sister, after she shows some knowledge of the Wizarding World at the beginning of Order of the Phoenix.
But we start DH with a most unexpected reminder that the Dursleys are indeed Harry's family, when Dudley, shockingly, tells Harry, "I don't think you're a waste of space.". He even goes out of his way to shake Harry's hand. An embarrassing moment for Harry, but a lovely one, allowing him to leave the Dursleys' home with a sense of finality.
As Harry goes his way and the Dursleys go theirs, the end result is that yet one more layer of family is stripped away from Harry. He is truly alone, no longer protected by the love of his mother, as we see immediately when the Death Eaters attack "The Seven Potters."
So who does Harry have left? He has Ron and Hermione. And to make those relationships crystal clear, Harry tells us (and Ron) where he stands:
Hermione as Harry's sister makes Ron, ultimately, Harry's brother(-in-law), as does his eventual marriage to Ginny. No wonder it's of them he thinks when he's trapped in the "solid" enchanted air of Hogsmeade and he needs a happy memory:
So Harry is not alone, even as bereft as he has been of family through his trials. And yet... and yet... we see his longing for a real family when he looks up at the magically-transformed statue in the village square at Godric's Hollow. What a lovely image. Instead of a plaque or "official" memorial, the Wizarding World chose to commemorate Lily and James's sacrifice and Harry's victory over Voldemort with a statue of a happy family... A reminder of the image Harry saw, the longing he felt, way back when he looked into the Mirror of Erised.
Reminders of Harry's family aren't enough to drive home the theme in DH, however. Over and over, we see both crucial plot points and moments that make our hearts ache reflected in Parent-Child Relationships.
Parent-Child Relationships in DH
Over and over we see parent-child relationships come to the forefront in DH, in a way we really haven't through the series, given how absent most families are from the plot while we're at Hogwarts.
We begin with Hermione taking care of her parents, whom we've barely seen in the series. Normally we would expect parents to care of their child, but Hermione's parents are of course helpless in the Wizarding World, so the tables are flipped:
Hermione has here voluntarily turned herself into an orphan, making herself Harry's equal. And note that she hasn't even allowed herself the self-pitying luxury of letting others know the sacrifice she's made ("Well, frankly, I think Arthur and I have a right to know, and I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Granger would agree!" said Mrs. Weasley).
The importance of parents to their children comes up again when Lupin offers to join the trio in their quest. But Harry, who never knew his father, immediately sees through to the heart of this bogus offer: Lupin is trying to get out of his marriage to Tonks, trying to find a way to justify abandoning his unborn child:
In a book, a series, so full of reminders of pity and forgiveness, here we see Hermione ready to offer forgiveness and understanding -- and it's Harry who smacks down the possibility. Harry knows what it's like to grow up without a father. He knows, even though he grew up without his dad, what a father's love means: "My father died trying to protect my mother and me, and you reckon he'd tell you to abandon your kid to go on an adventure with us?"
Lupin wants to choose what is easy. Harry is here to remind him of, to force him into what is right.
For Lupin, the easy route is to abandon his child. For Xenophilius Lovegood, the easy route is to abandon his principles and beliefs to try to save his child:
Look at the contrast we see here. The parent who sacrifices herself for her child -- Lily. The parent willing to sacrifice his child to assuage his own feelings of guilt -- Lupin. And the parent willing to sacrifice someone else's children to save his own -- Xenophilius. (Fortunately Lupin will change his mind, thanks to Harry's refusal to accept his bad choice -- no wonder Harry ends up being Teddy's godfather!)
Parents aren't the only ones who can prove themselves (or not) on behalf of their children, however. Neville, who so gloriously comes into his own in the finale of DH, frames his incredible courage in the light of his parents: "[Gran] sent me a letter," he clapped a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, "telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."
The importance of parent-child relationships even echoes through the ages, we find, when we learn that the reason Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem -- the Fifth Horcrux -- has been lost is because her daughter, Helena Ravenclaw, stole it from her. Now there's a parent-child spat that ends up having crucial significance in Wizarding history!
Finally, any look at the importance of parent-child relationships in DH would not be complete without seeing the sheer force of a parent's love expressed in a way that does not involve sacrifice, as Molly Weasley rushes to defend her daughter:
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"
"You -- will -- never -- touch -- our -- children -- again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley.
More than just name-calling, note that the exchange between the two women is all about family, all about the relationships between parents and children...
More to come...
Family resonates through DH thematically in Harry's life, and in the multitude of parent-child relationships we see... but that's not all. I'll continue thoughts on the subject of Family in my next post, where we'll look at the one wizarding family we've really gotten to know as a family through the series, the Weasleys... and where we'll also question how the issue and theme of Family plays into what Voldemort is doing in DH, and in how the climax of the book and the series plays out.
Let me know your thoughts!
"I show you not your face but your heart's desire."
What does Harry see when he looks in the Mirror of Erised, way back in Sorcerer's Stone?
...A woman standing right behind him was smiling at him and waving. He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she really was there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air -- she and the others existed only in the mirror.
She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes -- her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. Bright green -- exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.
Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.
"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"
They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees -- Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.
The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hugrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.
Harry's heart's desire, from Book 1 on, hasn't been to conquer Voldemort. It certainly hasn't been to be the most famous person in the Wizarding World. It hasn't even been to win the love of Ginny.
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Harry's treasure, his heart's desire, is clear from the beginning: To have a family, to be part of a family.
Given that that's where Harry started, back when he was 11 years old, it's no wonder that we end his story in Deathly Hallows [DH] with the theme of Family resonating clear and strong throughout the book. Everywhere we turn in the story, we are reminded of the vital importance of Family. Let's take a look at how this theme finds its expression.
Harry's Family
Harry has had his family taken away from bit by bit through his story. First his parents. Then his godfather. Then his father figure, Dumbledore.
And finally even the Dursleys.
I know, I know, it may seem as if the Dursleys shouldn't be included in that list. They only matter because of the link to Lily, because of the protection provided by her blood, which Petunia also shares. The only time Harry's even really thought of them as family was when he had the sudden realization, at the age of 15, that Petunia was in fact his mother's sister, after she shows some knowledge of the Wizarding World at the beginning of Order of the Phoenix.
But we start DH with a most unexpected reminder that the Dursleys are indeed Harry's family, when Dudley, shockingly, tells Harry, "I don't think you're a waste of space.". He even goes out of his way to shake Harry's hand. An embarrassing moment for Harry, but a lovely one, allowing him to leave the Dursleys' home with a sense of finality.
As Harry goes his way and the Dursleys go theirs, the end result is that yet one more layer of family is stripped away from Harry. He is truly alone, no longer protected by the love of his mother, as we see immediately when the Death Eaters attack "The Seven Potters."
So who does Harry have left? He has Ron and Hermione. And to make those relationships crystal clear, Harry tells us (and Ron) where he stands:
"She's like my sister," he went on. "I love her like a sister and I reckon she feels the same way about me. It's always been like that. I thought you knew."
Hermione as Harry's sister makes Ron, ultimately, Harry's brother(-in-law), as does his eventual marriage to Ginny. No wonder it's of them he thinks when he's trapped in the "solid" enchanted air of Hogsmeade and he needs a happy memory:
He raised his wand: He could not, would not, suffer the Dementor's Kiss, whatever happened afterward. It was of Ron and Hermione that he thought as he whispered,"Expecto Patronum!"
So Harry is not alone, even as bereft as he has been of family through his trials. And yet... and yet... we see his longing for a real family when he looks up at the magically-transformed statue in the village square at Godric's Hollow. What a lovely image. Instead of a plaque or "official" memorial, the Wizarding World chose to commemorate Lily and James's sacrifice and Harry's victory over Voldemort with a statue of a happy family... A reminder of the image Harry saw, the longing he felt, way back when he looked into the Mirror of Erised.
Reminders of Harry's family aren't enough to drive home the theme in DH, however. Over and over, we see both crucial plot points and moments that make our hearts ache reflected in Parent-Child Relationships.
Parent-Child Relationships in DH
Over and over we see parent-child relationships come to the forefront in DH, in a way we really haven't through the series, given how absent most families are from the plot while we're at Hogwarts.
We begin with Hermione taking care of her parents, whom we've barely seen in the series. Normally we would expect parents to care of their child, but Hermione's parents are of course helpless in the Wizarding World, so the tables are flipped:
"I've also modified my parents' memories so that they're convinced they're really called Wendell and Monica Wilkins, and that their life's ambition is to move to Australia, which they have now done. That's to make it more difficult for Voldemort to track them down and interrogate them about me -- or you, because unfortunately, I've told them quite a bit about you.
"Assuming I survive our hunt for the Horcruxes, I'll find Mum and Dad and lift the enchantment. If I don't -- well, I think I've cast a good enough charm to keep them safe and happy. Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't know that they've got a daughter, you see."
Hermione's eyes were swimming with tears again..."
Hermione has here voluntarily turned herself into an orphan, making herself Harry's equal. And note that she hasn't even allowed herself the self-pitying luxury of letting others know the sacrifice she's made ("Well, frankly, I think Arthur and I have a right to know, and I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Granger would agree!" said Mrs. Weasley).
The importance of parents to their children comes up again when Lupin offers to join the trio in their quest. But Harry, who never knew his father, immediately sees through to the heart of this bogus offer: Lupin is trying to get out of his marriage to Tonks, trying to find a way to justify abandoning his unborn child:
Lupin actually seized handfuls of his own hair; he looked quite deranged.
"My kind don't usually breed! It will be like me, I am convinced of it -- how can I forgive myself, when I knowingly risked passing on my own condition to an innocent child? And if, by some miracle, it is not like me, then it will be better off, a hundred times so, without a father of whom it must always be ashamed!"
"Remus!" whispered Hermione, tears in her eyes. "Don't say that -- how could any child be ashamed of you?"
"Oh, I don't know, Hermione," said Harry. "I'd be pretty ashamed of him."
In a book, a series, so full of reminders of pity and forgiveness, here we see Hermione ready to offer forgiveness and understanding -- and it's Harry who smacks down the possibility. Harry knows what it's like to grow up without a father. He knows, even though he grew up without his dad, what a father's love means: "My father died trying to protect my mother and me, and you reckon he'd tell you to abandon your kid to go on an adventure with us?"
Lupin wants to choose what is easy. Harry is here to remind him of, to force him into what is right.
For Lupin, the easy route is to abandon his child. For Xenophilius Lovegood, the easy route is to abandon his principles and beliefs to try to save his child:
"They took my Luna," he whispered. "Because of what I've been writing. They took my Luna and I don't know where she is, what they've done to her. But they might give her back to me if I-- if I--"
"Hand over Harry?" Hermione finished for him....
"No deal," said Ron flatly. "Get out of the way, we're leaving."
Zenophilius looked ghastly, a century old, his lips drawn back into a dreadful leer.
"They will be here at any moment. I must save Luna. I cannot lose Luna. You must not leave."
He spread his arms in front of the staircase, and Harry had a sudden vision of his mother doing the same thing in front of his crib.
Look at the contrast we see here. The parent who sacrifices herself for her child -- Lily. The parent willing to sacrifice his child to assuage his own feelings of guilt -- Lupin. And the parent willing to sacrifice someone else's children to save his own -- Xenophilius. (Fortunately Lupin will change his mind, thanks to Harry's refusal to accept his bad choice -- no wonder Harry ends up being Teddy's godfather!)
Parents aren't the only ones who can prove themselves (or not) on behalf of their children, however. Neville, who so gloriously comes into his own in the finale of DH, frames his incredible courage in the light of his parents: "[Gran] sent me a letter," he clapped a hand to the breast pocket of his robes, "telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."
The importance of parent-child relationships even echoes through the ages, we find, when we learn that the reason Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem -- the Fifth Horcrux -- has been lost is because her daughter, Helena Ravenclaw, stole it from her. Now there's a parent-child spat that ends up having crucial significance in Wizarding history!
Finally, any look at the importance of parent-child relationships in DH would not be complete without seeing the sheer force of a parent's love expressed in a way that does not involve sacrifice, as Molly Weasley rushes to defend her daughter:
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"Get back! She is mine!"....
Mrs. Weasley threw off her cloak as she ran, freeing ehr arms. Bellatrix spun on the spot, roaring with laughter at the sight of her new challenger.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" shouted Mrs. Weasley to the three girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel. Harry watched with terror and elation as Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled, and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands, the floor around the witches' feet became hot and cracked; both women were fighting to kill.
"No!" Mrs. Weasley cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back!
"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"
"You -- will -- never -- touch -- our -- children -- again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley.
More than just name-calling, note that the exchange between the two women is all about family, all about the relationships between parents and children...
More to come...
Family resonates through DH thematically in Harry's life, and in the multitude of parent-child relationships we see... but that's not all. I'll continue thoughts on the subject of Family in my next post, where we'll look at the one wizarding family we've really gotten to know as a family through the series, the Weasleys... and where we'll also question how the issue and theme of Family plays into what Voldemort is doing in DH, and in how the climax of the book and the series plays out.
Let me know your thoughts!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
ON THE EPILOGUE...
I really didn't like the epilogue of Deathly Hallows the first time I read it. I found the writing weak compared to the sheer power of the last few chapters of the book in particular, and I was frustrated as all get-out not having so many questions answered.
So I started my second read-through, secretly telling myself that maybe I wouldn't even read the epilogue this time, maybe I'd just stop with Harry wanting to go up to Gryffindor Tower and have a sandwich. (I love it, by the way, that Harry just assumes, just knows, that his bed is waiting for him -- love it because it shows that Hogwarts is truly his home.)
And then I set my alarm to watch the Today Show today.
It was sort of humorous, actually. Lee watched with me, but he hasn't read the book yet; he is waiting for me to start reading to the family, which is waiting for our son to come home from camp on Saturday. So I spent the whole interview shouting "Cover your ears!" with Lee immediately sticking his fingers in his ears and calling out, "Can I listen yet?"
As I'm sure you already know, Jo let us know that Harry and Ron now run the Auror Department, have "revolutionized" it, and that Hermione (despite what she told Scrimgeour) is now high up in Magical Law Enforcement -- a perfect place for her, I must say.
And I suddenly felt fine about the epilogue. Turns out I didn't need all that stuff to be written out in the book, I just needed to know.
Many more questions to come, but now we will get answers. Yay!
So I turned off the TV and picked up Deathly Hallows to finish the end of my second read-through... And I went ahead and read the epilogue, and I found myself just fine with it. (Maybe that's why it was easy for Jo to be just fine with it -- she already knew the answers to all those questions!)
(Okay, I still am not crazy about the last paragraph, especially when Jo has written such magnificent closing paragraphs before, especially for Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince...)
One last funny thing. After the interview was over, Lee mentioned that he was really very diligent at making sure he didn't hear anything. "So I didn't hear," he said quite sarcastically, "that Severus Snape is now the new Headmaster of Hogwarts."
Boy, is he in for a surprise! I can't wait...
....(Next post will be about the theme of Family in the book... I really have to do some real work, have a huge important meeting to prep for today, but there's nothing I want to do more than write that post. And welcome to all the new readers here, especially all of you coming over from Sword of Gryffindor!)
So I started my second read-through, secretly telling myself that maybe I wouldn't even read the epilogue this time, maybe I'd just stop with Harry wanting to go up to Gryffindor Tower and have a sandwich. (I love it, by the way, that Harry just assumes, just knows, that his bed is waiting for him -- love it because it shows that Hogwarts is truly his home.)
And then I set my alarm to watch the Today Show today.
It was sort of humorous, actually. Lee watched with me, but he hasn't read the book yet; he is waiting for me to start reading to the family, which is waiting for our son to come home from camp on Saturday. So I spent the whole interview shouting "Cover your ears!" with Lee immediately sticking his fingers in his ears and calling out, "Can I listen yet?"
As I'm sure you already know, Jo let us know that Harry and Ron now run the Auror Department, have "revolutionized" it, and that Hermione (despite what she told Scrimgeour) is now high up in Magical Law Enforcement -- a perfect place for her, I must say.
And I suddenly felt fine about the epilogue. Turns out I didn't need all that stuff to be written out in the book, I just needed to know.
Many more questions to come, but now we will get answers. Yay!
So I turned off the TV and picked up Deathly Hallows to finish the end of my second read-through... And I went ahead and read the epilogue, and I found myself just fine with it. (Maybe that's why it was easy for Jo to be just fine with it -- she already knew the answers to all those questions!)
(Okay, I still am not crazy about the last paragraph, especially when Jo has written such magnificent closing paragraphs before, especially for Goblet of Fire and Half-Blood Prince...)
One last funny thing. After the interview was over, Lee mentioned that he was really very diligent at making sure he didn't hear anything. "So I didn't hear," he said quite sarcastically, "that Severus Snape is now the new Headmaster of Hogwarts."
Boy, is he in for a surprise! I can't wait...
....(Next post will be about the theme of Family in the book... I really have to do some real work, have a huge important meeting to prep for today, but there's nothing I want to do more than write that post. And welcome to all the new readers here, especially all of you coming over from Sword of Gryffindor!)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
THE SECOND TIME AROUND...
SPOILER WARNING....
I am almost through with my second read-through of Deathly Hallows. This time, instead of the mad rush with which I propelled my way through the final chapters, I am making myself stop after every chapter, the better to think, to feel, to savor. I know there are things I totally missed in the final battle, and as I approach it (Neville just came through the secret door into Aberforth's place, is where I am), I want to pay real attention.
But I have been TOTALLY LOVING reading all your favorite moments! After each one, I want to jump and down and say "Yes! That one, too!" Yes! to "Albus Severus." Yes! to Hermione's explanation of the I Corinthians passage, and to her explanation of the soul to Ron earlier on. Yes! to Potterworld. Yes! to Harry digging Dobby's grave by hand, and to "Here Lies Dobby, a Free Elf." Yes! to Ron destroying the Locket, and what it took him to do it. And of course, of course, Yes! to Neville proving he's a true Gryffindor.
Basically, what you all said (and are still saying). Yes.
I do feel some pressure to start posting something with more content (ha! not really, Travis, I am honored to be linked to...). But I'm finding so much less of a need to analyze this book, and more of a need to savor it (yes, I know I'm repeating the word. It's the right word.)
I will analyze. I've started wondering what it would take to do the complete and final catalog of all the set-ups and payoffs. (The research for what became my book happened when I was laid up for two months with a black widow spider bite and pneumonia in fall 2005.) And I want to talk about themes. Soon. Very soon.
However, for now, still savoring. And so grateful to you all for pointing out all the things in which to take delight.
I am almost through with my second read-through of Deathly Hallows. This time, instead of the mad rush with which I propelled my way through the final chapters, I am making myself stop after every chapter, the better to think, to feel, to savor. I know there are things I totally missed in the final battle, and as I approach it (Neville just came through the secret door into Aberforth's place, is where I am), I want to pay real attention.
But I have been TOTALLY LOVING reading all your favorite moments! After each one, I want to jump and down and say "Yes! That one, too!" Yes! to "Albus Severus." Yes! to Hermione's explanation of the I Corinthians passage, and to her explanation of the soul to Ron earlier on. Yes! to Potterworld. Yes! to Harry digging Dobby's grave by hand, and to "Here Lies Dobby, a Free Elf." Yes! to Ron destroying the Locket, and what it took him to do it. And of course, of course, Yes! to Neville proving he's a true Gryffindor.
Basically, what you all said (and are still saying). Yes.
I do feel some pressure to start posting something with more content (ha! not really, Travis, I am honored to be linked to...). But I'm finding so much less of a need to analyze this book, and more of a need to savor it (yes, I know I'm repeating the word. It's the right word.)
I will analyze. I've started wondering what it would take to do the complete and final catalog of all the set-ups and payoffs. (The research for what became my book happened when I was laid up for two months with a black widow spider bite and pneumonia in fall 2005.) And I want to talk about themes. Soon. Very soon.
However, for now, still savoring. And so grateful to you all for pointing out all the things in which to take delight.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
ON THE SECOND READ-THROUGH
SPOILER WARNINGS!
I am about halfway through the second read-through of Deathly Hallows, and I find myself wanting to blog about the themes rippling through the story.
I want to talk about Families. About Redemption and Remorse and Pity. About Choices and Temptation.
And I will get to those. I'm just not as fast as, say, John Granger, who must have read Deathly Hallows with the book in one hand and a notepad in the other! I can't possibly keep up!
I also want to talk about predictions... Since I did so much prognosticating and theorizing, I really should 'fess up as to where I went wrong (Harry the horcrux, anyone?), plus I'm sure I will want to immodestly point out a couple of things I got right. (And things others got right, such as Cathy Liesner's "Stoppered Death" theory, so beautifully played out in the story.)
I am still savoring however, almost-but-not-quite ready to analyze. So please forgive me, you hundreds of folks so kindly clicking over here, presumably to see if I have anything to say. I will have lots to say.
In the meantime, how about talking about our favorite moments? (That's part of savoring... that's what most of the phone conversations I've been having are about: what we loved.)
In no particular order -- and SPOILERS GALORE! -- I loved...
--Dobby showing up to rescue Harry. (And I sobbed over Dobby's death -- crying much more on the second read than on the first, oddly.)
--Hedwig's death -- not really a moment I loved, but the first major JOLT of the book, the moment that said, "The game is on, and she can do anything, kill anyone."
--Dudley saying "I don't think you're a waste of space."
--Hagrid's heart breaking over the "dead" Harry.
--Luna's hand-painted decorations in her room... "friends friends friends..."
--The image of Voldemort flying. (Powerful!)
--Harry and Hermione walking out of the gate in Godric's Hollow with their arms around each other.
--Harry's walk to his death with his parents, godfather, and Lupin at his side.
--"The Prince's Tale." Beautifully done. I wish I could direct or edit this part of the movie.
--Looking at the picture at the head of chapter 2 and immediately thinking, "Yes! The Two-Way Mirror! There it is!"
--Molly in the final battle.
--The house-elves in the final battle, and especially Kreacher's redemption throughout.
--The fact that the "flaw in the plan" depended, in the very beginning, on a mother's love for her child (Lily's love for Harry), and in the very end, on a mother's love for her child (Narcissa's love for Draco).
--And finally, the finest words Albus Dumbledore ever said, even surpassing "It is our choices that make us who we are..." back in Chamber of Secrets: "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why should that mean that it is not real?" Magnificent!
...Sure, I have quibbles. But they don't matter. "Surprising and satisfying" is what I asked for the day before the book came out. And "surprising and satisfying" is what I got.
More to come...
What were your favorite moments?
I am about halfway through the second read-through of Deathly Hallows, and I find myself wanting to blog about the themes rippling through the story.
I want to talk about Families. About Redemption and Remorse and Pity. About Choices and Temptation.
And I will get to those. I'm just not as fast as, say, John Granger, who must have read Deathly Hallows with the book in one hand and a notepad in the other! I can't possibly keep up!
I also want to talk about predictions... Since I did so much prognosticating and theorizing, I really should 'fess up as to where I went wrong (Harry the horcrux, anyone?), plus I'm sure I will want to immodestly point out a couple of things I got right. (And things others got right, such as Cathy Liesner's "Stoppered Death" theory, so beautifully played out in the story.)
I am still savoring however, almost-but-not-quite ready to analyze. So please forgive me, you hundreds of folks so kindly clicking over here, presumably to see if I have anything to say. I will have lots to say.
In the meantime, how about talking about our favorite moments? (That's part of savoring... that's what most of the phone conversations I've been having are about: what we loved.)
In no particular order -- and SPOILERS GALORE! -- I loved...
--Dobby showing up to rescue Harry. (And I sobbed over Dobby's death -- crying much more on the second read than on the first, oddly.)
--Hedwig's death -- not really a moment I loved, but the first major JOLT of the book, the moment that said, "The game is on, and she can do anything, kill anyone."
--Dudley saying "I don't think you're a waste of space."
--Hagrid's heart breaking over the "dead" Harry.
--Luna's hand-painted decorations in her room... "friends friends friends..."
--The image of Voldemort flying. (Powerful!)
--Harry and Hermione walking out of the gate in Godric's Hollow with their arms around each other.
--Harry's walk to his death with his parents, godfather, and Lupin at his side.
--"The Prince's Tale." Beautifully done. I wish I could direct or edit this part of the movie.
--Looking at the picture at the head of chapter 2 and immediately thinking, "Yes! The Two-Way Mirror! There it is!"
--Molly in the final battle.
--The house-elves in the final battle, and especially Kreacher's redemption throughout.
--The fact that the "flaw in the plan" depended, in the very beginning, on a mother's love for her child (Lily's love for Harry), and in the very end, on a mother's love for her child (Narcissa's love for Draco).
--And finally, the finest words Albus Dumbledore ever said, even surpassing "It is our choices that make us who we are..." back in Chamber of Secrets: "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why should that mean that it is not real?" Magnificent!
...Sure, I have quibbles. But they don't matter. "Surprising and satisfying" is what I asked for the day before the book came out. And "surprising and satisfying" is what I got.
More to come...
What were your favorite moments?
Monday, July 23, 2007
FRIDAY NIGHT AND ONWARD....
NO SPOILERS HERE... OKAY, ONE TINY TINY ONE.
We went to the Third Street Promenade on Friday night to check out a couple of Harry Potter release parties. One was at a Barnes & Noble, the other at a Borders a couple of easy-walking blocks away.
I would have loved to have gone to a non-chain store party, but frankly, the ones in our area didn't sound all that great. They were either going to be very loud and adult (with rock bands, etc.), or they were starting at 11:00, which meant basically that the "party" would involve getting in line.
I would really have loved to have gone to New York, or even to the party in Oshkosh, WI that a friend in Chicago wanted me to fly out for... but many practical issues made those, well, impractical.
I was concerned a bit, having read Travis's lovely last minute thoughts at Sword of Gryffindor. Would I get spoiled standing in line?
But no, the line-standing was actually quite pleasant. I was surrounded by people who sure didn't look like Harry Potter fans. (I did. I was wearing a tank top reading "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Just for the occasion.)
For instance, the nightclubber a couple of folks behind me, in her ultra-short skirt and too much make-up and spikey heels -- really not well-dressed for 6:30 in the evening (I was standing in line for a wristband that would give me the right to stand in line later for a book).
One would expect this girl, just from looking at her, to be much more up on the doings of Paris Hilton than Hermione Granger. But no, here she was, declaiming earnestly and intelligently on the need for Snape to turn out good in the end. And she was having this conversation with a middle-aged mom (no, not me) and a couple of teenagers -- people who would normally not give each other a second glance.
I loved it.
Because we had to go so early for the wristbands, we then went to see Order of the Phoenix-the-movie again -- it was packed. (I'd love to know how the box office did Friday as compared to Saturday when everyone was reading!) Lee liked it much more this time; I felt about the same.
Then we met a friend and it was off to the "parties." They were fairly lame, actually. At Borders, we seemed to have missed the trivia contest (I was hoping to shine in my son's eyes there!) but were in time for "Snape Bingo." A cute idea, unfortunately marred by the girl leading it who kept telling a crowd of 100 or so to "shut up!" (really unfortunate terminology to a room full of customers!)....
TINY SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARA. SKIP AHEAD IF CONCERNED!
She also pronounced things wrong, resulting in roars of correction from the crowd, which was actually sort of fun in a perverse way. (And when she called "McGonagall" for everyone to mark off on their Snape cards, she defined her as "the next headmaster of Hogwarts" I said out loud, "Don't count on it!" And all the heads around me turned and looked at me like I was an idiot. Ha!)
TINY SPOILER OVER, KEEP READING!
They then had a costume contest, which was quite nice. An excellent Dumbledore, a Luna complete with radish earrings and an upside-down Quibbler, a really good Trelawney, a 4-year-old girl all in pink who got the sweetest reaction Dolores Umbridge will ever get. They asked each person to say why they had chosen that particular costume, and the Hermiones in particular had some very eloquent things to say about Miss Granger. The crowd was supposed to vote for prizes, but instead they gave prizes to one and all.
We wandered back to Barnes & Noble, where the party was over and they were now getting people into line. Or rather, into a big smush, which resulted in us, as latecomers, ending up at the front of the smush. (We couldn't have gotten farther back if we tried.)
And a couple more very excellent costumes there, by the way, on the part of the employees. The standouts were a Golden Snitch (gold lame and wings) and a Phoenix.
The big excitement of the evening was the countdown -- I can't tell you how exciting it actually was. So much better than New Year's Eve, waiting for the ball to drop. This time we were counting down to something that actually mattered, that meant more than just a click forward of a second hand. There were were, literally hundreds of us, everyone checking the time on their cells. Then yelling, yelling our way down to zero -- I haven't been surrounded by so much loud joy in a long time. At 'zero,' the employees behind the counter whisked sheets off stacks and stacks and stacks of cartons of books -- It was so exciting to see them, so close, really here!
The line moved fast. They did a good job. We were in the group from 100 to 120 (thanks to that early trip for wristbands!), and they had us out the door in 12 minutes.
As I walked out, I saw a whole line of girls (mostly Hermiones), sitting on the ground by a planter, in the dark, after midnight, reading. Oblivious to everything going on around them. For me, that was the image that captured the evening.
(A lovely image also from The Harry Potter Lexicon -- it's way down in the comments in the "What's New" section, so you'd never find it, is why I'm not even trying to link directly -- here's the snip I loved: . We were in London, too, if not at Sectus, but in Piccadilly, for mugglecast, and with the crowd until it got too much … and little groups of fans simply slipped away to Waterstone’s on Trafalgar Square, where we had the book after 10 minutes … And then, at the airport at sunrise (glorious, unbelievable moment when the entire giant hall was bathed in gleaming, golden light), people in queues, people on the floor, bleary-eyed people clutching coffee cups, and the book everywhere you turned. A quick glance up and a grin of mutual understanding, and back into it ….... Somehow I just loved that image.)
I didn't read. Not even the chapter titles. Okay, we did read the flyleaf.
And then I got up on Saturday and read and read and read and read....
And I am happy. And grateful to Jo Rowling for the gift she has given all of us.
There will be time for real discussion soon. But I know many people who aren't through yet. And I am still on my second read. As soon as I finish (again), we can talk about theories and symbolism, and the joy of finishing well.
Soon. Very soon.
But for now, I am still savoring (and a little sad at it being over) the completion of it all. Hope you are too.
We went to the Third Street Promenade on Friday night to check out a couple of Harry Potter release parties. One was at a Barnes & Noble, the other at a Borders a couple of easy-walking blocks away.
I would have loved to have gone to a non-chain store party, but frankly, the ones in our area didn't sound all that great. They were either going to be very loud and adult (with rock bands, etc.), or they were starting at 11:00, which meant basically that the "party" would involve getting in line.
I would really have loved to have gone to New York, or even to the party in Oshkosh, WI that a friend in Chicago wanted me to fly out for... but many practical issues made those, well, impractical.
I was concerned a bit, having read Travis's lovely last minute thoughts at Sword of Gryffindor. Would I get spoiled standing in line?
But no, the line-standing was actually quite pleasant. I was surrounded by people who sure didn't look like Harry Potter fans. (I did. I was wearing a tank top reading "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Just for the occasion.)
For instance, the nightclubber a couple of folks behind me, in her ultra-short skirt and too much make-up and spikey heels -- really not well-dressed for 6:30 in the evening (I was standing in line for a wristband that would give me the right to stand in line later for a book).
One would expect this girl, just from looking at her, to be much more up on the doings of Paris Hilton than Hermione Granger. But no, here she was, declaiming earnestly and intelligently on the need for Snape to turn out good in the end. And she was having this conversation with a middle-aged mom (no, not me) and a couple of teenagers -- people who would normally not give each other a second glance.
I loved it.
Because we had to go so early for the wristbands, we then went to see Order of the Phoenix-the-movie again -- it was packed. (I'd love to know how the box office did Friday as compared to Saturday when everyone was reading!) Lee liked it much more this time; I felt about the same.
Then we met a friend and it was off to the "parties." They were fairly lame, actually. At Borders, we seemed to have missed the trivia contest (I was hoping to shine in my son's eyes there!) but were in time for "Snape Bingo." A cute idea, unfortunately marred by the girl leading it who kept telling a crowd of 100 or so to "shut up!" (really unfortunate terminology to a room full of customers!)....
TINY SPOILER IN THE NEXT PARA. SKIP AHEAD IF CONCERNED!
She also pronounced things wrong, resulting in roars of correction from the crowd, which was actually sort of fun in a perverse way. (And when she called "McGonagall" for everyone to mark off on their Snape cards, she defined her as "the next headmaster of Hogwarts" I said out loud, "Don't count on it!" And all the heads around me turned and looked at me like I was an idiot. Ha!)
TINY SPOILER OVER, KEEP READING!
They then had a costume contest, which was quite nice. An excellent Dumbledore, a Luna complete with radish earrings and an upside-down Quibbler, a really good Trelawney, a 4-year-old girl all in pink who got the sweetest reaction Dolores Umbridge will ever get. They asked each person to say why they had chosen that particular costume, and the Hermiones in particular had some very eloquent things to say about Miss Granger. The crowd was supposed to vote for prizes, but instead they gave prizes to one and all.
We wandered back to Barnes & Noble, where the party was over and they were now getting people into line. Or rather, into a big smush, which resulted in us, as latecomers, ending up at the front of the smush. (We couldn't have gotten farther back if we tried.)
And a couple more very excellent costumes there, by the way, on the part of the employees. The standouts were a Golden Snitch (gold lame and wings) and a Phoenix.
The big excitement of the evening was the countdown -- I can't tell you how exciting it actually was. So much better than New Year's Eve, waiting for the ball to drop. This time we were counting down to something that actually mattered, that meant more than just a click forward of a second hand. There were were, literally hundreds of us, everyone checking the time on their cells. Then yelling, yelling our way down to zero -- I haven't been surrounded by so much loud joy in a long time. At 'zero,' the employees behind the counter whisked sheets off stacks and stacks and stacks of cartons of books -- It was so exciting to see them, so close, really here!
The line moved fast. They did a good job. We were in the group from 100 to 120 (thanks to that early trip for wristbands!), and they had us out the door in 12 minutes.
As I walked out, I saw a whole line of girls (mostly Hermiones), sitting on the ground by a planter, in the dark, after midnight, reading. Oblivious to everything going on around them. For me, that was the image that captured the evening.
(A lovely image also from The Harry Potter Lexicon -- it's way down in the comments in the "What's New" section, so you'd never find it, is why I'm not even trying to link directly -- here's the snip I loved: . We were in London, too, if not at Sectus, but in Piccadilly, for mugglecast, and with the crowd until it got too much … and little groups of fans simply slipped away to Waterstone’s on Trafalgar Square, where we had the book after 10 minutes … And then, at the airport at sunrise (glorious, unbelievable moment when the entire giant hall was bathed in gleaming, golden light), people in queues, people on the floor, bleary-eyed people clutching coffee cups, and the book everywhere you turned. A quick glance up and a grin of mutual understanding, and back into it ….... Somehow I just loved that image.)
I didn't read. Not even the chapter titles. Okay, we did read the flyleaf.
And then I got up on Saturday and read and read and read and read....
And I am happy. And grateful to Jo Rowling for the gift she has given all of us.
There will be time for real discussion soon. But I know many people who aren't through yet. And I am still on my second read. As soon as I finish (again), we can talk about theories and symbolism, and the joy of finishing well.
Soon. Very soon.
But for now, I am still savoring (and a little sad at it being over) the completion of it all. Hope you are too.
Friday, July 20, 2007
SOME MUSING ON THE END OF THE WAIT
A few more hours, and it's all over.
All the prognostication, all the theorizing, all the digging for clues, all the wondering, all the essays and poems and spats.
For the last couple of years, we have, if you will pardon the metaphor, seen through a glass darkly. We have some idea of what's coming, certainly. But we don't fully know. This time tomorrow, we will fully know.
It's rare to wait so long for something so small. And simultaneously, so large. I mean, it's just a book, right? And yet a book that has, somehow, meant so very much to so very many of us.
I am the kind of person who tends to live in the future. I plan, I practice conversations in my mind, I think about what things will be like. So it's a bit of a jolt to have today -- the last day of waiting -- actually arrive.
I can't remember waiting so long for something where I sort of knew what it would be like, but not really. Even a child only takes nine months to be born!
I have no doubts whatsoever about the next few days. I am serenely confident that Deathly Hallows will be, as every good ending should be and as so few are, both surprising and satisfying.
But what comes next?
Even before I picked up Sorcerer's Stone for the very first time, I taught a class on storytelling (and I still teach it, all these years later) in which I pointed out that stories help us form community. If we share the same stories, we share the same life.
Never have I seen that so played out as in the community formed by Harry Potter. I once listened to a pastor explain that online relationships are not "real" relationships. I beg to differ. Through the sharing of our mutual love of this story, these characters, this world, I have met wonderful people with whom I have much more in common than, say, my next-door-neighbor. True communities have come to exist, all spiraling around Harry and his world.
But will they last?
Communities don't always last, of course. Many aren't meant to last. The kind of community formed by a group of people putting on a show can be some of the most intense, most heartfelt community there is -- but when the show's over, so is that community.
What happens to all of us now? Do we stay in touch with the people we connected with most? Do we dive into discussion of Deathly Hallows for a few weeks or months, then taper off as we go back to "real life"? Do we become like the Trekkers and the LOTR folks and the Star Wars folks, continuing fandom in a smaller, more intense, more separated-from-the-mainstream way? I don't know. Any and all are possible, I suppose.
But I know the power of the Harry Potter books, the way they touched me so deeply, will remain. And I will always be grateful that I lived at the right time to experience what no one after us will ever experience again -- the chance to dive into the Wizarding World, to be part of Harry's story, without knowing the ending. The anticipation has been truly a wonderful thing, and I am so glad to have been able to enjoy it.
Thank you to all of you whom I have met through this journey filled with wonder, all of you on the same journey at the same time. You have made it much richer for me, and I am grateful.
It has been a wonderful wait. The wait is over. The next few days will be, I am sure, heartbreaking and terrifying and joyful. And I am so glad that there are so many going on the same journey at the same time.
I look forward to the new world that awaits us next week, after it's all over.
I can't wait.
All the prognostication, all the theorizing, all the digging for clues, all the wondering, all the essays and poems and spats.
For the last couple of years, we have, if you will pardon the metaphor, seen through a glass darkly. We have some idea of what's coming, certainly. But we don't fully know. This time tomorrow, we will fully know.
It's rare to wait so long for something so small. And simultaneously, so large. I mean, it's just a book, right? And yet a book that has, somehow, meant so very much to so very many of us.
I am the kind of person who tends to live in the future. I plan, I practice conversations in my mind, I think about what things will be like. So it's a bit of a jolt to have today -- the last day of waiting -- actually arrive.
I can't remember waiting so long for something where I sort of knew what it would be like, but not really. Even a child only takes nine months to be born!
I have no doubts whatsoever about the next few days. I am serenely confident that Deathly Hallows will be, as every good ending should be and as so few are, both surprising and satisfying.
But what comes next?
Even before I picked up Sorcerer's Stone for the very first time, I taught a class on storytelling (and I still teach it, all these years later) in which I pointed out that stories help us form community. If we share the same stories, we share the same life.
Never have I seen that so played out as in the community formed by Harry Potter. I once listened to a pastor explain that online relationships are not "real" relationships. I beg to differ. Through the sharing of our mutual love of this story, these characters, this world, I have met wonderful people with whom I have much more in common than, say, my next-door-neighbor. True communities have come to exist, all spiraling around Harry and his world.
But will they last?
Communities don't always last, of course. Many aren't meant to last. The kind of community formed by a group of people putting on a show can be some of the most intense, most heartfelt community there is -- but when the show's over, so is that community.
What happens to all of us now? Do we stay in touch with the people we connected with most? Do we dive into discussion of Deathly Hallows for a few weeks or months, then taper off as we go back to "real life"? Do we become like the Trekkers and the LOTR folks and the Star Wars folks, continuing fandom in a smaller, more intense, more separated-from-the-mainstream way? I don't know. Any and all are possible, I suppose.
But I know the power of the Harry Potter books, the way they touched me so deeply, will remain. And I will always be grateful that I lived at the right time to experience what no one after us will ever experience again -- the chance to dive into the Wizarding World, to be part of Harry's story, without knowing the ending. The anticipation has been truly a wonderful thing, and I am so glad to have been able to enjoy it.
Thank you to all of you whom I have met through this journey filled with wonder, all of you on the same journey at the same time. You have made it much richer for me, and I am grateful.
It has been a wonderful wait. The wait is over. The next few days will be, I am sure, heartbreaking and terrifying and joyful. And I am so glad that there are so many going on the same journey at the same time.
I look forward to the new world that awaits us next week, after it's all over.
I can't wait.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
SEE ME ON TV AGAIN (MAYBE)
Update: -- Nope. Not gonna be on the show. Instead of doing an in-studio piece, they're going out of studio to the big HP release party that Scholastic is throwing in NY. See how quickly one's 15 minutes of fame disappears! (Ha!)...
Actually, I sort of don't mind. I don't have to worry about hair/make-up issues, can just relax and join friends for dinner before going to our own release parties (all the while following the invaluable advice from Travis Prinzi regarding making sure we don't get spoiled!). Enjoy your own parties/waiting/reading this evening!...End of update
I got a call from the Keith Olbermann Show on MSNBC today, asking if I'd be available to do an on-camera interview for his show tomorrow night (Friday, 8 p.m. EDT) about Harry Potter. Apparently Mr. Olbermann is a Harry fan, even gave his own predictions a couple of weeks ago. (He thinks Harry's scar is a Horcrux, but that to destroy that Horcrux and hence Voldemort, Harry will have to give up his wizarding powers.)
But me being on the show is just a maybe for now, so don't set your TiVos. They'll let me know tomorrow morning when they see if there's more important news happening than the Book 7 release (could that even be possible?). Or if they've found a more interesting person to talk to (much more likely!).
I'll post as soon as I know! All I ask is no spoilers! (And help w/ hair and makeup.)
Actually, I sort of don't mind. I don't have to worry about hair/make-up issues, can just relax and join friends for dinner before going to our own release parties (all the while following the invaluable advice from Travis Prinzi regarding making sure we don't get spoiled!). Enjoy your own parties/waiting/reading this evening!...End of update
I got a call from the Keith Olbermann Show on MSNBC today, asking if I'd be available to do an on-camera interview for his show tomorrow night (Friday, 8 p.m. EDT) about Harry Potter. Apparently Mr. Olbermann is a Harry fan, even gave his own predictions a couple of weeks ago. (He thinks Harry's scar is a Horcrux, but that to destroy that Horcrux and hence Voldemort, Harry will have to give up his wizarding powers.)
But me being on the show is just a maybe for now, so don't set your TiVos. They'll let me know tomorrow morning when they see if there's more important news happening than the Book 7 release (could that even be possible?). Or if they've found a more interesting person to talk to (much more likely!).
I'll post as soon as I know! All I ask is no spoilers! (And help w/ hair and makeup.)
THROWAWAY MENTIONS IN HALF-BLOOD PRINCE... WILL WE SEE THEM AGAIN?
On my final read-through of the Harry Potter books, I've been keeping my eyes open.
You see, J.K. Rowling has a bit of a pattern she tends to follow when she's leaving us clues... or, should I say, set-ups to be paid off in a later book.
She mentions something early on in a different context than we'll see it later. For instance, the bezoar. We learn about bezoars in that first potions class with Snape way back in Sorcerer's Stone. And we need to know about them because, of course, a bezoar is going to save Ron's life in Half-Blood Prince.
But those aren't the only times we hear about a bezoar. In-between, we have the "throwaway mention," as I'm terming them. Harry has to make a poison antidote, doesn't have a clue how, can't find help in the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book... and acts on the Prince's hint, Just shove a bezoar down their throat.
It's that throwaway mention that confirms the importance of the bezoar before we know it's important. And it confirms the pattern Rowling uses over and over again: She sets something up early on. Then she mentions it again, just in passing, in a way that doesn't seem significant. And then -- wham! -- in a wholly different context, she pays it off.
So I thought I'd glance through Half-Blood Prince for other "throwaway" mentions that could be setting us up for big-time payoff in Deathly Hallows. Some of them, frankly, are obvious. But note that, even when obvious, she takes the trouble to put them in.
Here are a few:
1) Wormtail. One of the obvious ones. We know that Peter Pettigrew life-debt is hanging out there waiting to be fulfilled. But Rowling's pattern demands that he be mentioned again, because it's so long since we've actually seen him. So here he is, tending house for Snape. We could cut him out of HBP completely and nothing would change. But we've been reminded of him... presumably for DH.
2) 12, Grimmauld Place. We're reminded of Sirius's old home first when Dumbledore needs to verify Harry's inheritance, and again when we learn Mundungus has been looting the place. Why does it matter whether Harry inherited since we don't actually go to Grimmauld Place for the duration of HBP? My guess is, it's because Harry will go back during DH -- probably to check on that heavy locket the trio found when they were cleaning the place way back in Order of the Phoenix.
3) Kreacher. And while we're visiting 12, Grimmauld Place, let's talk about Kreacher. He really isn't needed or used in HBP. He's summoned to 4, Privet Drive to prove Harry's inheritance. And, yes, Harry sort of uses him to stalk Draco, but Dobby's really doing all the heavy lifting here. Given that Dobby would have done this for Harry no matter what, Kreacher's appearances in HBP amount to no more than comic interludes. Yet here he is, forcing his way into our memories, so that we're ready for whatever part he might play in DH.
4) Regulus Black. While we're on (or near) the subject of that locket, let's pause to notice that Regulus is mentioned at the beginning of HBP when Lupin reminds us that (a) Regulus left the Death Eaters and (b) only survived a few days after doing so. There's no need to mention Regulus here. But the reminder is good not only for us, but for Harry, who may need to recall Regulus to wonder what his middle name began with ("A," perhaps?).
Let's move on to look at (potentially) Horcrux-related "throwaway mentions":
5) Ollivander. Let's move from general "throwaway mentions" to ones that might have to do with the Horcruxes Harry must find. We learn early on that Ollivander has disappeared (captured? turncoat?), clearly a set-up that must be paid off. And we see that Neville may have bought the last wand Ollivander made. Obviously we must learn what happened to Ollivander (and Florean Fortescue, for that matter). But given the number of people out there who are curious about that wand on display in Ollivander's window all the way back in SS, could this be a reminder pointing in that direction?
6) Zacharias Smith. Zacharias played a small (obnoxious) role in OOTP because of his role in Dumbledore's Army, but he really has nothing to do in HBP. Yet we are reminded of him several times: Ginny hexes him (though we don't see it) on the Hogwarts Express; Zacharias does commentary on the first Quidditch match of the year; and Zacharias is pulled from Hogwarts before the funeral by his "haughty-looking father." Now, any of these could just be mentions of a random student. But given his last name, and given that one of the probable Horcruxes (the Cup) was owned by Hepzibah Smith (to whom the adjective "haughty" could also be applied), Zacharias could be someone Harry needs to contact in his search for the Cup. This one is a reach, I feel. But it's possible.
7) The Award for Special Services. Yes, I know the last Horcrux is almost certainly, as Dumbledore said, "Something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's." Yet I keep wondering about Tom Riddle's award. It's a link to Hogwarts for him. It's a possible reason for him to have come back to Hogwarts when he came ostensibly seeking the DADA job that he knew he would not get. I was ready to give up on this as a Horcrux when all of a sudden, there it was, showing up in HBP when Dumbledore tells the story of how Tom Riddle left Hogwarts. Dumbledore didn't need to mention it. Combine that with Dumbledore's frequent mentions of "trophies" regarding Voldemort: The young Tom Riddle's love for collecting trophies, Voldemort's desire for Hepzibah Smith's "trophies," and Dumbledore's later reminder, regarding the Horcruxes, that Voldemort liked to collect trophies. And now add to that the fact the the Award is kept in the Trophy Room at Hogwarts... Okay, maybe it's a stretch. But if my guess (I won't use the word "prediction" here) is right, we know it's been set up.
We have some even more interesting throwaway mentions that have to do with Harry's final task: The final confrontation with Voldemort:
8) The Draught of Living Death. This is the most important of all the "throwaway" mentions, I think. Slughorn could have asked the students to make any potion. But he chose the Draught of Living Death. Why? Well, I've already opined thoroughly on that in my book and here. Suffice it to say, I feel very confident we will see the Draught again in DH.
9) Parseltongue. How many reminders do we need that Harry speaks Parseltongue? We see in the Pensieve trip to the Gaunt house that Harry can understand the Gaunts speaking Parseltongue where Dumbledore (who speaks how many dozens of languages?) cannot. We're reminded of how rare the gift of Parseltongue is when orphan Tom Riddle mentions it to Dumbledore. And we're reminded that Salazar Slytherin could speak Parseltongue. I expect we'll see some Parseltongue again in DH. It would be an excellent way for Harry to speak to Voldemort without anyone else understanding him (or vice versa). Or -- given that Parseltongue allows one to command snakes, it could be useful for Harry when trying to deal with Nagini-the-Horcrux.
There are a few other interesting throwaway mentions we might consider:
10) Grawp. For a character whose entire storyline so far seems to have been a detour, Grawp gets a lot of mentions in HBP. We learn as soon as the trio arrive at Hogwarts that Hagrid has been visiting Grawp, that Dumbledore fixed him a new home. The trio bring Grawp up again when trying to justify why they haven't been visiting Hagrid. Hagrid's been visiting Grawp again when Harry snags him to help with Katie Bell's being cursed. And finally, Hagrid brings Grawp to Dumbledore's funeral -- Actually this is somewhat shocking, given the emphasis on high security around Grawp in OOTP. Maybe Grawp seemed like a detour when we first met him, but all these throwaway mentions -- and especially his presence in public before most of the Wizarding World -- sure seem to indicate he will have a role to play in DH.
11) Stan Shunpike. For someone who seemed like a throwaway character, Stan gets quite a few mentions in HBP. We learn he's been arrested as a Death Eater; Harry brings him up in his first confrontation with Rufus Scrimgeour, letting Scrimgeour he disapproves of Stan's arrest; and finally, Harry confronts Scrimgeour again regarding Stan when Scrimgeour makes a final play for Harry's cooperation. This chain of events is even its own mini-storyline. Not a prediction I would ever have expected, but given these "throwaway" mentions, I think we will see Stan again in DH. Perhaps Harry will save him? Perhaps Harry will pull a showdown with the Ministry regarding him?
12) Aberforth Dumbledore Or should I say, the barman at the Hogs Head? This is an obvious call as well, given that Rowling has told us via interview that it would behoove Harry to look into Dumbledore's family, and this is the only family member we know of (or can figure out, given the goat-related clues, which Rowling has confirmed). (By the way, good for the filmmakers on Order of the Phoenix to put a goat in the one shot we had of the barman!) We hear quite a few mentions of the "barman" in HBP (never by name, of course): Harry finds Mundungus with the barman; Dumbledore refers to him obliquely when turning down Voldemort's request for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job; Trelawney refers to him when telling the story of how Snape overheard the prophecy; and of course, Aberforth is at the funeral. Add these mentions to Rowling's hints, and I think we can firmly expect to see the barman -- and have him identified -- in DH.
13) Dragons. This one is obvious too, given the cover art picture of the trio riding a dragon. So let's not call this a prediction. Let's just say we're noticing that once again, Rowling continues her pattern of making sure we're reminded of key elements yet to play an important role in the story. Because she does mention dragons, repeatedly, in HBP. We're initially reminded of dragons in the "Other Minister" chapter; Hagrid and Slughorn discuss the illegal trade in dragon eggs while getting plastered after Aragog's death; Harry finds dragon eggshells in the Room of Requirement. And moving from dragons in general to the one dragon we know in person, Harry remembers Hagrid's irrational behavior toward Norbert when Hagrid goes to pieces over Aragog being sick.
...We could come up with many more potential "throwaway" mentions -- Buckbeak, Firenze, the blast-ended skrewts, and more. But these are the ones I found most fascinating. What do you think?
...This is my last post with any kind of prediction. The leaks, real or fake, are out there (I have avoided them like the plague), and reviews are starting to come out (I am also avoiding them till next week -- I don't need a critic to tell me what to think about this book!). But we're now down to counting down by hours rather than days or weeks or months...
I can't wait. But part of me wishes I had to...
Let me know what you think.
You see, J.K. Rowling has a bit of a pattern she tends to follow when she's leaving us clues... or, should I say, set-ups to be paid off in a later book.
She mentions something early on in a different context than we'll see it later. For instance, the bezoar. We learn about bezoars in that first potions class with Snape way back in Sorcerer's Stone. And we need to know about them because, of course, a bezoar is going to save Ron's life in Half-Blood Prince.
But those aren't the only times we hear about a bezoar. In-between, we have the "throwaway mention," as I'm terming them. Harry has to make a poison antidote, doesn't have a clue how, can't find help in the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book... and acts on the Prince's hint, Just shove a bezoar down their throat.
It's that throwaway mention that confirms the importance of the bezoar before we know it's important. And it confirms the pattern Rowling uses over and over again: She sets something up early on. Then she mentions it again, just in passing, in a way that doesn't seem significant. And then -- wham! -- in a wholly different context, she pays it off.
So I thought I'd glance through Half-Blood Prince for other "throwaway" mentions that could be setting us up for big-time payoff in Deathly Hallows. Some of them, frankly, are obvious. But note that, even when obvious, she takes the trouble to put them in.
Here are a few:
1) Wormtail. One of the obvious ones. We know that Peter Pettigrew life-debt is hanging out there waiting to be fulfilled. But Rowling's pattern demands that he be mentioned again, because it's so long since we've actually seen him. So here he is, tending house for Snape. We could cut him out of HBP completely and nothing would change. But we've been reminded of him... presumably for DH.
2) 12, Grimmauld Place. We're reminded of Sirius's old home first when Dumbledore needs to verify Harry's inheritance, and again when we learn Mundungus has been looting the place. Why does it matter whether Harry inherited since we don't actually go to Grimmauld Place for the duration of HBP? My guess is, it's because Harry will go back during DH -- probably to check on that heavy locket the trio found when they were cleaning the place way back in Order of the Phoenix.
3) Kreacher. And while we're visiting 12, Grimmauld Place, let's talk about Kreacher. He really isn't needed or used in HBP. He's summoned to 4, Privet Drive to prove Harry's inheritance. And, yes, Harry sort of uses him to stalk Draco, but Dobby's really doing all the heavy lifting here. Given that Dobby would have done this for Harry no matter what, Kreacher's appearances in HBP amount to no more than comic interludes. Yet here he is, forcing his way into our memories, so that we're ready for whatever part he might play in DH.
4) Regulus Black. While we're on (or near) the subject of that locket, let's pause to notice that Regulus is mentioned at the beginning of HBP when Lupin reminds us that (a) Regulus left the Death Eaters and (b) only survived a few days after doing so. There's no need to mention Regulus here. But the reminder is good not only for us, but for Harry, who may need to recall Regulus to wonder what his middle name began with ("A," perhaps?).
Let's move on to look at (potentially) Horcrux-related "throwaway mentions":
5) Ollivander. Let's move from general "throwaway mentions" to ones that might have to do with the Horcruxes Harry must find. We learn early on that Ollivander has disappeared (captured? turncoat?), clearly a set-up that must be paid off. And we see that Neville may have bought the last wand Ollivander made. Obviously we must learn what happened to Ollivander (and Florean Fortescue, for that matter). But given the number of people out there who are curious about that wand on display in Ollivander's window all the way back in SS, could this be a reminder pointing in that direction?
6) Zacharias Smith. Zacharias played a small (obnoxious) role in OOTP because of his role in Dumbledore's Army, but he really has nothing to do in HBP. Yet we are reminded of him several times: Ginny hexes him (though we don't see it) on the Hogwarts Express; Zacharias does commentary on the first Quidditch match of the year; and Zacharias is pulled from Hogwarts before the funeral by his "haughty-looking father." Now, any of these could just be mentions of a random student. But given his last name, and given that one of the probable Horcruxes (the Cup) was owned by Hepzibah Smith (to whom the adjective "haughty" could also be applied), Zacharias could be someone Harry needs to contact in his search for the Cup. This one is a reach, I feel. But it's possible.
7) The Award for Special Services. Yes, I know the last Horcrux is almost certainly, as Dumbledore said, "Something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's." Yet I keep wondering about Tom Riddle's award. It's a link to Hogwarts for him. It's a possible reason for him to have come back to Hogwarts when he came ostensibly seeking the DADA job that he knew he would not get. I was ready to give up on this as a Horcrux when all of a sudden, there it was, showing up in HBP when Dumbledore tells the story of how Tom Riddle left Hogwarts. Dumbledore didn't need to mention it. Combine that with Dumbledore's frequent mentions of "trophies" regarding Voldemort: The young Tom Riddle's love for collecting trophies, Voldemort's desire for Hepzibah Smith's "trophies," and Dumbledore's later reminder, regarding the Horcruxes, that Voldemort liked to collect trophies. And now add to that the fact the the Award is kept in the Trophy Room at Hogwarts... Okay, maybe it's a stretch. But if my guess (I won't use the word "prediction" here) is right, we know it's been set up.
We have some even more interesting throwaway mentions that have to do with Harry's final task: The final confrontation with Voldemort:
8) The Draught of Living Death. This is the most important of all the "throwaway" mentions, I think. Slughorn could have asked the students to make any potion. But he chose the Draught of Living Death. Why? Well, I've already opined thoroughly on that in my book and here. Suffice it to say, I feel very confident we will see the Draught again in DH.
9) Parseltongue. How many reminders do we need that Harry speaks Parseltongue? We see in the Pensieve trip to the Gaunt house that Harry can understand the Gaunts speaking Parseltongue where Dumbledore (who speaks how many dozens of languages?) cannot. We're reminded of how rare the gift of Parseltongue is when orphan Tom Riddle mentions it to Dumbledore. And we're reminded that Salazar Slytherin could speak Parseltongue. I expect we'll see some Parseltongue again in DH. It would be an excellent way for Harry to speak to Voldemort without anyone else understanding him (or vice versa). Or -- given that Parseltongue allows one to command snakes, it could be useful for Harry when trying to deal with Nagini-the-Horcrux.
There are a few other interesting throwaway mentions we might consider:
10) Grawp. For a character whose entire storyline so far seems to have been a detour, Grawp gets a lot of mentions in HBP. We learn as soon as the trio arrive at Hogwarts that Hagrid has been visiting Grawp, that Dumbledore fixed him a new home. The trio bring Grawp up again when trying to justify why they haven't been visiting Hagrid. Hagrid's been visiting Grawp again when Harry snags him to help with Katie Bell's being cursed. And finally, Hagrid brings Grawp to Dumbledore's funeral -- Actually this is somewhat shocking, given the emphasis on high security around Grawp in OOTP. Maybe Grawp seemed like a detour when we first met him, but all these throwaway mentions -- and especially his presence in public before most of the Wizarding World -- sure seem to indicate he will have a role to play in DH.
11) Stan Shunpike. For someone who seemed like a throwaway character, Stan gets quite a few mentions in HBP. We learn he's been arrested as a Death Eater; Harry brings him up in his first confrontation with Rufus Scrimgeour, letting Scrimgeour he disapproves of Stan's arrest; and finally, Harry confronts Scrimgeour again regarding Stan when Scrimgeour makes a final play for Harry's cooperation. This chain of events is even its own mini-storyline. Not a prediction I would ever have expected, but given these "throwaway" mentions, I think we will see Stan again in DH. Perhaps Harry will save him? Perhaps Harry will pull a showdown with the Ministry regarding him?
12) Aberforth Dumbledore Or should I say, the barman at the Hogs Head? This is an obvious call as well, given that Rowling has told us via interview that it would behoove Harry to look into Dumbledore's family, and this is the only family member we know of (or can figure out, given the goat-related clues, which Rowling has confirmed). (By the way, good for the filmmakers on Order of the Phoenix to put a goat in the one shot we had of the barman!) We hear quite a few mentions of the "barman" in HBP (never by name, of course): Harry finds Mundungus with the barman; Dumbledore refers to him obliquely when turning down Voldemort's request for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job; Trelawney refers to him when telling the story of how Snape overheard the prophecy; and of course, Aberforth is at the funeral. Add these mentions to Rowling's hints, and I think we can firmly expect to see the barman -- and have him identified -- in DH.
13) Dragons. This one is obvious too, given the cover art picture of the trio riding a dragon. So let's not call this a prediction. Let's just say we're noticing that once again, Rowling continues her pattern of making sure we're reminded of key elements yet to play an important role in the story. Because she does mention dragons, repeatedly, in HBP. We're initially reminded of dragons in the "Other Minister" chapter; Hagrid and Slughorn discuss the illegal trade in dragon eggs while getting plastered after Aragog's death; Harry finds dragon eggshells in the Room of Requirement. And moving from dragons in general to the one dragon we know in person, Harry remembers Hagrid's irrational behavior toward Norbert when Hagrid goes to pieces over Aragog being sick.
...We could come up with many more potential "throwaway" mentions -- Buckbeak, Firenze, the blast-ended skrewts, and more. But these are the ones I found most fascinating. What do you think?
...This is my last post with any kind of prediction. The leaks, real or fake, are out there (I have avoided them like the plague), and reviews are starting to come out (I am also avoiding them till next week -- I don't need a critic to tell me what to think about this book!). But we're now down to counting down by hours rather than days or weeks or months...
I can't wait. But part of me wishes I had to...
Let me know what you think.
MUSINGS ON NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM
Beth Priest so kindly shared with me some thoughts she and her friend Erin McCarty have on Neville Longbottom, and they are allowing me to share them with you.
Beth's lovely essay "Neville the Lionhearted" can be found here.
And Erin's moving poem "An Ode to Neville" is here.
I will be back later today -- I have finished going through Half-Blood Prince to make my last wave of predictions (though that may be too strong a word)...
Two more days. Can you believe it?
Beth's lovely essay "Neville the Lionhearted" can be found here.
And Erin's moving poem "An Ode to Neville" is here.
I will be back later today -- I have finished going through Half-Blood Prince to make my last wave of predictions (though that may be too strong a word)...
Two more days. Can you believe it?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
LET'S GET THE PARTY STARTED!
We are looking for a Harry Potter bookstore release party in the greater Los Angeles area. We will drive to find the best party (even to Orange County, if need be). I know virtually every bookstore is doing something, but I don't want to just stand in line somewhere that's done some token faux "party." Especially when I read about things like this.
Anyone know where the party is in L.A.?
Anyone know where the party is in L.A.?
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
ON THE DESTRUCTION OF HORCRUXES
As I was re-reading the "Horcruxes" chapter of Half-Blood Prince, I began to think back on the destruction of the Diary Horcrux in Chamber of Secrets.
And I had just a thought. Maybe it's a thought that's been all over the internet and I've just missed it. But for what it's worth, here it is.
Dumbledore has left us very much in the dark regarding how to destroy a Horcrux. He didn't even tell Harry anything practical or helpful about his own destruction of the Ring Horcrux, nor what he intended to do to destroy the Locket Horcrux.
But looking back on the Diary...
The thing that made Dumbledore suspect the Diary was a Horcrux in the first place was the active involvement (and appearance) of the young Tom Riddle in connection with it. Which makes me wonder:
Whenever one confronts a Horcrux, does one confront the "memory," the avatar, if you will, of the wizard who created the Horcrux, at the age at which the wizard created it?
When Harry finds the Locket (which he will, either at 12, Grimmauld Place or via Mundungus), will he have to confront Tom Riddle at the age of about 20, and defeat him in order to destroy the Horcrux?
We don't have enough information to see a pattern yet... But it's an interesting idea. And it would certainly help prepare Harry for that final confrontation.
What do you think?
And I had just a thought. Maybe it's a thought that's been all over the internet and I've just missed it. But for what it's worth, here it is.
Dumbledore has left us very much in the dark regarding how to destroy a Horcrux. He didn't even tell Harry anything practical or helpful about his own destruction of the Ring Horcrux, nor what he intended to do to destroy the Locket Horcrux.
But looking back on the Diary...
The thing that made Dumbledore suspect the Diary was a Horcrux in the first place was the active involvement (and appearance) of the young Tom Riddle in connection with it. Which makes me wonder:
Whenever one confronts a Horcrux, does one confront the "memory," the avatar, if you will, of the wizard who created the Horcrux, at the age at which the wizard created it?
When Harry finds the Locket (which he will, either at 12, Grimmauld Place or via Mundungus), will he have to confront Tom Riddle at the age of about 20, and defeat him in order to destroy the Horcrux?
We don't have enough information to see a pattern yet... But it's an interesting idea. And it would certainly help prepare Harry for that final confrontation.
What do you think?
Monday, July 16, 2007
SPOILER WARNING
Update: Travis's comments are back up, but he is moderating them. But now we have word that there are spoilers on Wikipedia.... Be careful out there.
Travis Prinzi, of the illustrious Sword of Gryffindor site, has encountered some serious Book 7 spoilers. Read his account here.
I am so sorry, Travis, that you experienced this. I read a cavalier account in my local paper about the ending of Half-Blood Prince about two weeks before the book came out, and it ruined so much of my suspense. I have appreciated news sources being more circumspect about the spoilers this time around, and I'm sorry you wandered down a journalistic Knockturn Alley.
Travis has understandably shut down his comments page for the week. I understand completely. I will not shut down comments, but of course you all know spoilers are not welcome here. Only a very nasty person would attempt to post them here or at the other much more important HP sites.
I am still trying to finish up my list of "double mentions" in the next couple of days and will post the second I finish (not much time left!). I haven't decided yet at what point I will shut off my internet and not even look at e-mail -- probably some time Friday, but I'm so addicted, it will be hard!
Have you ever speculated on whether you'd want to know the future or not? Maybe this teaches us that the answer should always be... No!
Travis Prinzi, of the illustrious Sword of Gryffindor site, has encountered some serious Book 7 spoilers. Read his account here.
I am so sorry, Travis, that you experienced this. I read a cavalier account in my local paper about the ending of Half-Blood Prince about two weeks before the book came out, and it ruined so much of my suspense. I have appreciated news sources being more circumspect about the spoilers this time around, and I'm sorry you wandered down a journalistic Knockturn Alley.
Travis has understandably shut down his comments page for the week. I understand completely. I will not shut down comments, but of course you all know spoilers are not welcome here. Only a very nasty person would attempt to post them here or at the other much more important HP sites.
I am still trying to finish up my list of "double mentions" in the next couple of days and will post the second I finish (not much time left!). I haven't decided yet at what point I will shut off my internet and not even look at e-mail -- probably some time Friday, but I'm so addicted, it will be hard!
Have you ever speculated on whether you'd want to know the future or not? Maybe this teaches us that the answer should always be... No!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
MOVIE THOUGHTS: HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
Order of the Phoenix is my favorite of the Harry Potter books (so far). I know many people would disagree with that, but I found it the most tightly plotted and I really enjoyed the on-the-sleeve emotions of the teenagers. (Yes, even CAPSLOCK Harry and all his yelling.)
I even, just for fun when the book came out, tried to break it down to see what it might look like as a movie. So I do realize what a massive job it is to condense a book with so much plot, so much emotion, and so many set-ups that matter for later parts of the story into a 2-ish hour movie.
Ultimately, the movie they ended up with is basically a trailer. A very long trailer for a very long book.
And when you think about it, that's actually not too surprising. If one were to translate the 850 page book into screenplay form without any but the most obvious of cuts, my guess is the screenplay would run about 1200 pages. That's a 20 hour movie. So if you want, think of Order of the Phoenix-The Movie as a trailer for that 20 hour movie we'll never see.
Given that, it's understandable that the movie zooms past us without any time to breathe. It's understandable that whole chapters (e.g., "Snape's Worst Memory") are skimmed over in 60 seconds. It's understandable that entire subplots (Quidditch!) are cut out. And it's understandable that my son leaned over to me about 10 minutes into the movie and whispered, "Doesn't this seem to be going awfully fast?"
I have no idea who someone who has never read the books would even begin to comprehend the movie. Whole chunks of it would make absolutely no sense, including Occlumency, Kreacher, and especially Veritaserum (I've heard from people who know the books inside and out who didn't catch Umbridge doling out the Veritaserum in the movie).
A lot of the emotional resonance and build of the movie is lost this way. Episodes that are repeated during the book -- Occlumency lessons, Harry's detentions with Umbridge -- show up only once or twice during the movie, losing their emotional impact. We who've read the books will add the emotion we know is there -- but again, what of the non-reader?
My guess is that this is why so many of the reviews have been so tepid. It's clear from the reviews I've read that the critics in question have only seen the movies and have not read the books, so no wonder things aren't making sense for them.
So given all that, if we look at the movie as a trailer, what did they get right?
Well, for one thing, a lot of the performances. Gary Oldman is the best he's ever been as Sirius, and in many ways is the emotional heart of the movie. Imelda Staunton is delicious as Umbridge. Evanna Lynch is eerily perfect as Luna Lovegood. And the trio, especially Daniel Radcliffe, give much stronger, much more centered performances than they ever have before. Of course, some of this is due to their growing up and gaining more experience. But given the overall heightened level of performance in the film, I think we have to credit director David Yates with some of that as well.
As for the disastrously miscast Michael Gambon as Dumbledore... Well, he sucked less in this movie than in the previous two. But he is still not Dumbledore. He slouches, he grumps, he glowers -- he proves in every frame that he has not a notion of the wise, well-mannered, twinkling, powerful wizard he is playing. (One wonders if he has ever bothered to read the books, given his boasting after Azkaban that he hadn't.)
There is some nice filmmaking here. I liked the use of the Daily Prophets to shorthand things going on in the wizarding world. I also very much liked the intercutting of Dumbledore's Army with Umbridge's reign of terror -- a really well-done montage. And I appreciated the subtle ways in which Yates tipped us little hints about Ginny for future movies (ways you wouldn't catch if you didn't know what was happening next) -- both in making sure we see her reaction to Harry and Cho, and in showing us glimpses of what a powerful witch she is turning into, both in the Dumbledore's Army scenes and in the Ministry of Magic.
Given the trailer nature of the film, scads of stuff is missing. I would have loved to have seen Harry and Cho at Madam Puddifoot's. I was so looking forward to our tour through the Department of Mysteries, which got woefully shortchanged (No Time Chamber! No Thought Chamber!). And while the twins' confrontation with Umbridge got one of the biggest responses from the audience, I longed to see the Portable Swamp, to see the twins shout "Accio Brooms!," to give them their moment of glory.
Bottom line? As a full movie telling the story of the books, it's a disappointment. As a trailer for the book, it's a complete triumph. I guess it's all in how you look at it.
I even, just for fun when the book came out, tried to break it down to see what it might look like as a movie. So I do realize what a massive job it is to condense a book with so much plot, so much emotion, and so many set-ups that matter for later parts of the story into a 2-ish hour movie.
Ultimately, the movie they ended up with is basically a trailer. A very long trailer for a very long book.
And when you think about it, that's actually not too surprising. If one were to translate the 850 page book into screenplay form without any but the most obvious of cuts, my guess is the screenplay would run about 1200 pages. That's a 20 hour movie. So if you want, think of Order of the Phoenix-The Movie as a trailer for that 20 hour movie we'll never see.
Given that, it's understandable that the movie zooms past us without any time to breathe. It's understandable that whole chapters (e.g., "Snape's Worst Memory") are skimmed over in 60 seconds. It's understandable that entire subplots (Quidditch!) are cut out. And it's understandable that my son leaned over to me about 10 minutes into the movie and whispered, "Doesn't this seem to be going awfully fast?"
I have no idea who someone who has never read the books would even begin to comprehend the movie. Whole chunks of it would make absolutely no sense, including Occlumency, Kreacher, and especially Veritaserum (I've heard from people who know the books inside and out who didn't catch Umbridge doling out the Veritaserum in the movie).
A lot of the emotional resonance and build of the movie is lost this way. Episodes that are repeated during the book -- Occlumency lessons, Harry's detentions with Umbridge -- show up only once or twice during the movie, losing their emotional impact. We who've read the books will add the emotion we know is there -- but again, what of the non-reader?
My guess is that this is why so many of the reviews have been so tepid. It's clear from the reviews I've read that the critics in question have only seen the movies and have not read the books, so no wonder things aren't making sense for them.
So given all that, if we look at the movie as a trailer, what did they get right?
Well, for one thing, a lot of the performances. Gary Oldman is the best he's ever been as Sirius, and in many ways is the emotional heart of the movie. Imelda Staunton is delicious as Umbridge. Evanna Lynch is eerily perfect as Luna Lovegood. And the trio, especially Daniel Radcliffe, give much stronger, much more centered performances than they ever have before. Of course, some of this is due to their growing up and gaining more experience. But given the overall heightened level of performance in the film, I think we have to credit director David Yates with some of that as well.
As for the disastrously miscast Michael Gambon as Dumbledore... Well, he sucked less in this movie than in the previous two. But he is still not Dumbledore. He slouches, he grumps, he glowers -- he proves in every frame that he has not a notion of the wise, well-mannered, twinkling, powerful wizard he is playing. (One wonders if he has ever bothered to read the books, given his boasting after Azkaban that he hadn't.)
There is some nice filmmaking here. I liked the use of the Daily Prophets to shorthand things going on in the wizarding world. I also very much liked the intercutting of Dumbledore's Army with Umbridge's reign of terror -- a really well-done montage. And I appreciated the subtle ways in which Yates tipped us little hints about Ginny for future movies (ways you wouldn't catch if you didn't know what was happening next) -- both in making sure we see her reaction to Harry and Cho, and in showing us glimpses of what a powerful witch she is turning into, both in the Dumbledore's Army scenes and in the Ministry of Magic.
Given the trailer nature of the film, scads of stuff is missing. I would have loved to have seen Harry and Cho at Madam Puddifoot's. I was so looking forward to our tour through the Department of Mysteries, which got woefully shortchanged (No Time Chamber! No Thought Chamber!). And while the twins' confrontation with Umbridge got one of the biggest responses from the audience, I longed to see the Portable Swamp, to see the twins shout "Accio Brooms!," to give them their moment of glory.
Bottom line? As a full movie telling the story of the books, it's a disappointment. As a trailer for the book, it's a complete triumph. I guess it's all in how you look at it.
Friday, July 13, 2007
AWESOME LAST MINUTE POSTS ON HOGWARTS PROFESSOR
As the countdown to Book 7 moves into single digits (gulp!), John Granger has a couple of truly wonderful posts on HogwartsProfessor.com.
The first is a fascinating glimpse into a possible source for Severus Snape, both his name and maybe a bit of his history. As one who falls into the Snape-loved-Lily camp, I really liked this one.
The second post actually reminded me of early posts I made on this blog, essays that were part of my proposed book "All I Really Need To Know I Learned From Harry Potter," the book proposal for which was sadly shelved by the lawyers at the publishing house that wanted the book, since at that time there were no "companion" books out not published by Scholastic, and they were afraid of being sued. (Actually, it occurred to me right in the middle of the "Hidden Secrets" interviews for A&E that now might be the time to resurrect and update that book proposal...)
Anyway, Beth Priest, whose blog is linked over in the right hand column, has a lovely essay on lessons learned from Albus Dumbledore.
Don't miss either one of them!
...And with days left, I am hastening through my final dash (again) through Half-Blood Prince, this time paying special attention to things Rowling mentions that we've seen before, but which don't seem to play into the Book 6 plot (like The Draught of Living Death. Like Grawp.). Mentions which may be her confirmations of set-ups to be paid off in Book 7.
Hopefully I'll finish in time to post here (and in time for you to read before you turn to more important reading). In the meantime, have fun reading the posts on John's site!
The first is a fascinating glimpse into a possible source for Severus Snape, both his name and maybe a bit of his history. As one who falls into the Snape-loved-Lily camp, I really liked this one.
The second post actually reminded me of early posts I made on this blog, essays that were part of my proposed book "All I Really Need To Know I Learned From Harry Potter," the book proposal for which was sadly shelved by the lawyers at the publishing house that wanted the book, since at that time there were no "companion" books out not published by Scholastic, and they were afraid of being sued. (Actually, it occurred to me right in the middle of the "Hidden Secrets" interviews for A&E that now might be the time to resurrect and update that book proposal...)
Anyway, Beth Priest, whose blog is linked over in the right hand column, has a lovely essay on lessons learned from Albus Dumbledore.
Don't miss either one of them!
...And with days left, I am hastening through my final dash (again) through Half-Blood Prince, this time paying special attention to things Rowling mentions that we've seen before, but which don't seem to play into the Book 6 plot (like The Draught of Living Death. Like Grawp.). Mentions which may be her confirmations of set-ups to be paid off in Book 7.
Hopefully I'll finish in time to post here (and in time for you to read before you turn to more important reading). In the meantime, have fun reading the posts on John's site!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
MOVIE THOUGHTS: RATATOUILLE
I've almost been reluctant to post my thoughts on Ratatouille because Sean has already posted much more eloquent comments than I could hope to do. I'm tempted to just say "what he said."
But I must at least say from my heart what a lovely movie this is, and that Brad Bird is rapidly becoming my favorite film director.
Once again Bird has made a movie that seems to be a light frothy tale for kids and yet suffused it with greater heart and depth than most serious offerings out there for adults. There's a lot to chew on here -- the pain involved in finding what you were meant to do, the issues of where one's loyalties lie, the courage to tell the truth that no one wants to hear. And yet Ratatouille is still funny enough to keep the whole audience, including the rowdy 5-year-olds in the row behind me, in stitches.
The animation itself is stunning, a poem to the beauty that is Paris. There's simply not a visual false move to be had, every frame rich and luscious.
Ultimately the movie hinges on Peter O'Toole's majestic performance as Anton Ego, with a denouement that was both surprising and satisfying -- and some brilliant thoughts on the role of critics thrown in to give us something extra to think about.
Bottom line: Don't think this is a kids' movie because it's animated. Go see Ratatouille. C'est magnifique.
But I must at least say from my heart what a lovely movie this is, and that Brad Bird is rapidly becoming my favorite film director.
Once again Bird has made a movie that seems to be a light frothy tale for kids and yet suffused it with greater heart and depth than most serious offerings out there for adults. There's a lot to chew on here -- the pain involved in finding what you were meant to do, the issues of where one's loyalties lie, the courage to tell the truth that no one wants to hear. And yet Ratatouille is still funny enough to keep the whole audience, including the rowdy 5-year-olds in the row behind me, in stitches.
The animation itself is stunning, a poem to the beauty that is Paris. There's simply not a visual false move to be had, every frame rich and luscious.
Ultimately the movie hinges on Peter O'Toole's majestic performance as Anton Ego, with a denouement that was both surprising and satisfying -- and some brilliant thoughts on the role of critics thrown in to give us something extra to think about.
Bottom line: Don't think this is a kids' movie because it's animated. Go see Ratatouille. C'est magnifique.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
SEE ME ON YOUTUBE
Apparently the Hidden Secrets special from A&E the other night is now posted on YouTube. Who knows if A&E or Warner Bros. might not pull it down momentarily, but for the time being, John and Steve and I have achieved a bit of Internet immortality (or at least ubiquity).
Here are the links, courtesy of the Lexicon.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Enjoy!
Here are the links, courtesy of the Lexicon.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Enjoy!
Friday, July 06, 2007
NOTES FROM THE READTHROUGH... PRISONER OF AZKABAN
As my Harry Potter readthrough continues, I found myself unexpectedly distracted going through Prisoner of Azkaban.
That's because at the same time I have been reading Half-Blood Prince to my family. (My daughter Sabrina was too young for it and removed herself from the original out-loud reading we did.) We are two chapters from the end, and living through the sorrow of Dumbledore's death and the death of Harry's hopes and dreams has been very difficult.
And as a result, I think, I found Prisoner a bit aggravating. It felt like something of a detour, frankly. I think it's because it's the one book where Voldemort has no real presence. The bad guys in Prisoner are the dementors. And yes, they were formidable enemies in their day, but compared to what Harry has to face "now" (i.e., as of Prince), they seem, well, too easy.
I think my odd reaction is purely a result of co-reading the books. Of course Prisoner is a very necessary step in Harry's journey, and without it, and the other things he faces, he would not be prepared in any way to deal with what still lies ahead.
But I found it oddly frustrating.
I'm on to Goblet of Fire now... and given the simultaneous read, I think I can get through it and Order of the Phoenix before the 21st.
Btw, the reading of Prince to my family, with Sabrina experiencing it for the first time, reminds me of an interesting set of questions that were recently posed to John Granger over at HogwartsProfessor.com. These questions were all thought-provoking (so thought-provoking, in fact, that in my current semi-brain-dead state I haven't even tried to answer any of them), but I am thinking particularly of question 11, which asks if the latter HP books are age-appropriate for 11-year-olds.
I think the read-aloud is what has made them, for us, age-appropriate. To experience them as a family, to take them a chapter at a time, with time to talk in between about what's happened, has made all the difference. (Sabrina, by the way, pegged Snape as the "Half-Blood Prince" as soon as he knew what to do about the Sectumsempra spell.) Sabrina knew from babble at school that Dumbledore was dead, but she didn't know that Snape had killed him, so that alone has been a worthy topic of discussion.
I'm grateful for the chance to share these books with my kids. And yes, I am going to force them to listen to me read Deathly Hallows before either of them gets their paws on the book!
Okay, back to the readthrough... Only about 1500 pages to go!
That's because at the same time I have been reading Half-Blood Prince to my family. (My daughter Sabrina was too young for it and removed herself from the original out-loud reading we did.) We are two chapters from the end, and living through the sorrow of Dumbledore's death and the death of Harry's hopes and dreams has been very difficult.
And as a result, I think, I found Prisoner a bit aggravating. It felt like something of a detour, frankly. I think it's because it's the one book where Voldemort has no real presence. The bad guys in Prisoner are the dementors. And yes, they were formidable enemies in their day, but compared to what Harry has to face "now" (i.e., as of Prince), they seem, well, too easy.
I think my odd reaction is purely a result of co-reading the books. Of course Prisoner is a very necessary step in Harry's journey, and without it, and the other things he faces, he would not be prepared in any way to deal with what still lies ahead.
But I found it oddly frustrating.
I'm on to Goblet of Fire now... and given the simultaneous read, I think I can get through it and Order of the Phoenix before the 21st.
Btw, the reading of Prince to my family, with Sabrina experiencing it for the first time, reminds me of an interesting set of questions that were recently posed to John Granger over at HogwartsProfessor.com. These questions were all thought-provoking (so thought-provoking, in fact, that in my current semi-brain-dead state I haven't even tried to answer any of them), but I am thinking particularly of question 11, which asks if the latter HP books are age-appropriate for 11-year-olds.
I think the read-aloud is what has made them, for us, age-appropriate. To experience them as a family, to take them a chapter at a time, with time to talk in between about what's happened, has made all the difference. (Sabrina, by the way, pegged Snape as the "Half-Blood Prince" as soon as he knew what to do about the Sectumsempra spell.) Sabrina knew from babble at school that Dumbledore was dead, but she didn't know that Snape had killed him, so that alone has been a worthy topic of discussion.
I'm grateful for the chance to share these books with my kids. And yes, I am going to force them to listen to me read Deathly Hallows before either of them gets their paws on the book!
Okay, back to the readthrough... Only about 1500 pages to go!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
HARRY POTTER: THE HIDDEN SECRETS
I guess it's really official when it's in TV Guide.
Not only will Harry Potter: The Hidden Secrets have its premiere airing this Sunday night, July 8, at 10:00 p.m. (9 central), but it's going to be aired frequently through the following week:
Monday, July 9, 2:00 a.m. on A&E
Thursday, July 12, 11:00 p.m. on A&E
Friday, July 13, 3:00 a.m. on A&E
Saturday, July 14, 2:00 p.m. on A&E
Sunday, July 15, 3:00 p.m. on A&E
Sunday, July 15, 9:00 p.m. on the Biography Channel
Monday, July 16, 1:00 a.m. on the Biography Channel
Not exactly prime time, but hey. If you click on the TV Guide link, it gives the TiVo codes for each show.
I'll be looking forward to hearing what y'all think next week!
Not only will Harry Potter: The Hidden Secrets have its premiere airing this Sunday night, July 8, at 10:00 p.m. (9 central), but it's going to be aired frequently through the following week:
Monday, July 9, 2:00 a.m. on A&E
Thursday, July 12, 11:00 p.m. on A&E
Friday, July 13, 3:00 a.m. on A&E
Saturday, July 14, 2:00 p.m. on A&E
Sunday, July 15, 3:00 p.m. on A&E
Sunday, July 15, 9:00 p.m. on the Biography Channel
Monday, July 16, 1:00 a.m. on the Biography Channel
Not exactly prime time, but hey. If you click on the TV Guide link, it gives the TiVo codes for each show.
I'll be looking forward to hearing what y'all think next week!
Monday, July 02, 2007
MOVIE THOUGHTS: EVAN ALMIGHTY
You know you're in trouble when friends who have already seen a movie praise it by saying, "It has a great message."
Or when the guy in the row in front of you flips out his cell phone and starts texting halfway through the movie.
And you don't care.
Sigh...
I wanted to like Evan Almighty. I went to it expecting to like it. And it did have its moments. But if I had to give a thumbs up or thumbs down, I'd be wavering toward down.
Let's start with the elements that work. Morgan Freeman as God is delightful, and many of the best moments center around him. The scene with Lauren Graham at the diner where he tells her that if someone prays for patience or courage, what they actually get is the opportunity to be patient or courageous. And the final scene between God and Evan -- quite moving scene, actually -- where they dance together. Lovely.
Wanda Sykes is also spot on every time she's on screen, lifting what is often routine dialogue to laugh-out-loud levels.
And I liked the animals helping out with the building of the ark.
But for the most part, after these moments, the movie pretty much lost me.
Too much simply doesn't make sense, on the macro and micro levels. On the micro level: Evan has just been elected to Congress. The clips we see of his campaign treat it as an ordinary campaign, not a special election. Yet he shows up to start his new job -- which mandatorily starts in January -- in the middle of summer. He does no work whatsoever; in fact, there's really nothing remotely believable about the entire "Congress" aspect of the story. I think the movie could have been stronger, in fact, if Evan had stayed in his anchorman job and been forced to build the ark from where he was.
And Evan's three sons -- cookie-cutter kids if ever there were any, clearly only in existence because Noah had three sons, not because they're real characters in any way -- not only don't have to go to school, but they're disappointed because dad cancels a hike with them -- on a work day. If ever there were kids with no reason to be disappointed, these are the kids.
I could keep going (for a very long time) on things that don't work on the micro level, but let's turn to the macro.
Why does God have Evan build an ark? Well, supposedly it's to save Evan, his family, the animals, and an odd assortment of gawkers and neighbors from this huge flood that's due to a shoddy dam resulting from a shoddy deal from Evan's political nemesis.
But if that was the reason, why build an ark? Why not have Evan discover the shoddy dam in another way? And all those animals wouldn't even be there (and thus wouldn't need saving) if it weren't for the ark building in the first place. So we can cross saving-the-animals off as a reason for building an ark.
Okay, I hear you saying, what if building the ark was for Evan's repentance and change. Fine. Let's go with that.
Evan gives in to God pretty easily. It's predictable that he do so, of course, or else the ark won't get built. So even though it's set up at the beginning that Evan needs to connect with God and rely on Him, that's not the ultimate lesson of building the ark.
Is building the ark supposed to bring his family together? (Again, a pretty extreme way to do this.) Well, maybe, except that his family is not all that fractured. None of the kids are in trouble, the marriage isn't in trouble. The biggest problem appears to be that Evan is a bit disconnected from his kids' lives, maybe could spend more time with them -- but we don't see that this is a real problem. In fact, he appears to spend more time at home than most dads I know. So yeah, the family teams up to help with the ark, but it's not solving a real problem that the filmmakers bothered to give more than lip service to.
(Compare Evan's character arc in the movie to that of Jim Carrey in Liar Liar -- another dad-needs-to-connect-to-his-family movie, but one that actually works -- to see the opportunities they missed here.)
So what does Evan learn from building the ark? What is the big result of everything he goes through? Well, he goes on a hike with his kids. And he adopts a dog.
And he had to build an ark to do this??
As for the big "message" we're left with at the end of the movie? "A simple Act of Random Kindness can change the world." Sure. That's true, on a small scale. But it has nothing to do with this movie. The big "act of random kindness" (note the initials) is adopting the dog. And that happens pretty much mid-movie, not as a result of finishing the ark.
In fact, the movie is basically over and done with the moment Evan agrees to build the ark. (Or is he forced to agree? Was Noah tricked into building the ark as Evan is? Can we really say that Evan was given a free choice to follow and obey God here, given the amount of pranking God pulls on him?) Everything from that moment on -- and it's a pretty early moment -- is completely predictable. No wonder the guy in front of me got busy with his texting.
A final peeve with the movie: After the truly lovely moment of God and Evan dancing together, we're treated to an over-the-credits sequence of cast and crew dancing on the set, surrounded by blue screen. Now, if I believed anything in this movie at all, I wouldn't want to have it ruined by watching the ark sitting in a sound stage. And I really feel no need to end the movie with shots of the director hugging people. A little egotistic, if you ask me.
A disclaimer to these thoughts: My daughter loved the movie. My husband liked it. My son pretty much liked it, but said he understood why the critics didn't. So clearly it's connecting with some people.
But not with me. Even though I really wanted it to. Evan Almighty is just a very well-intentioned mess, with some lovely, lovely moments that show what it could have been.
Or when the guy in the row in front of you flips out his cell phone and starts texting halfway through the movie.
And you don't care.
Sigh...
I wanted to like Evan Almighty. I went to it expecting to like it. And it did have its moments. But if I had to give a thumbs up or thumbs down, I'd be wavering toward down.
Let's start with the elements that work. Morgan Freeman as God is delightful, and many of the best moments center around him. The scene with Lauren Graham at the diner where he tells her that if someone prays for patience or courage, what they actually get is the opportunity to be patient or courageous. And the final scene between God and Evan -- quite moving scene, actually -- where they dance together. Lovely.
Wanda Sykes is also spot on every time she's on screen, lifting what is often routine dialogue to laugh-out-loud levels.
And I liked the animals helping out with the building of the ark.
But for the most part, after these moments, the movie pretty much lost me.
Too much simply doesn't make sense, on the macro and micro levels. On the micro level: Evan has just been elected to Congress. The clips we see of his campaign treat it as an ordinary campaign, not a special election. Yet he shows up to start his new job -- which mandatorily starts in January -- in the middle of summer. He does no work whatsoever; in fact, there's really nothing remotely believable about the entire "Congress" aspect of the story. I think the movie could have been stronger, in fact, if Evan had stayed in his anchorman job and been forced to build the ark from where he was.
And Evan's three sons -- cookie-cutter kids if ever there were any, clearly only in existence because Noah had three sons, not because they're real characters in any way -- not only don't have to go to school, but they're disappointed because dad cancels a hike with them -- on a work day. If ever there were kids with no reason to be disappointed, these are the kids.
I could keep going (for a very long time) on things that don't work on the micro level, but let's turn to the macro.
Why does God have Evan build an ark? Well, supposedly it's to save Evan, his family, the animals, and an odd assortment of gawkers and neighbors from this huge flood that's due to a shoddy dam resulting from a shoddy deal from Evan's political nemesis.
But if that was the reason, why build an ark? Why not have Evan discover the shoddy dam in another way? And all those animals wouldn't even be there (and thus wouldn't need saving) if it weren't for the ark building in the first place. So we can cross saving-the-animals off as a reason for building an ark.
Okay, I hear you saying, what if building the ark was for Evan's repentance and change. Fine. Let's go with that.
Evan gives in to God pretty easily. It's predictable that he do so, of course, or else the ark won't get built. So even though it's set up at the beginning that Evan needs to connect with God and rely on Him, that's not the ultimate lesson of building the ark.
Is building the ark supposed to bring his family together? (Again, a pretty extreme way to do this.) Well, maybe, except that his family is not all that fractured. None of the kids are in trouble, the marriage isn't in trouble. The biggest problem appears to be that Evan is a bit disconnected from his kids' lives, maybe could spend more time with them -- but we don't see that this is a real problem. In fact, he appears to spend more time at home than most dads I know. So yeah, the family teams up to help with the ark, but it's not solving a real problem that the filmmakers bothered to give more than lip service to.
(Compare Evan's character arc in the movie to that of Jim Carrey in Liar Liar -- another dad-needs-to-connect-to-his-family movie, but one that actually works -- to see the opportunities they missed here.)
So what does Evan learn from building the ark? What is the big result of everything he goes through? Well, he goes on a hike with his kids. And he adopts a dog.
And he had to build an ark to do this??
As for the big "message" we're left with at the end of the movie? "A simple Act of Random Kindness can change the world." Sure. That's true, on a small scale. But it has nothing to do with this movie. The big "act of random kindness" (note the initials) is adopting the dog. And that happens pretty much mid-movie, not as a result of finishing the ark.
In fact, the movie is basically over and done with the moment Evan agrees to build the ark. (Or is he forced to agree? Was Noah tricked into building the ark as Evan is? Can we really say that Evan was given a free choice to follow and obey God here, given the amount of pranking God pulls on him?) Everything from that moment on -- and it's a pretty early moment -- is completely predictable. No wonder the guy in front of me got busy with his texting.
A final peeve with the movie: After the truly lovely moment of God and Evan dancing together, we're treated to an over-the-credits sequence of cast and crew dancing on the set, surrounded by blue screen. Now, if I believed anything in this movie at all, I wouldn't want to have it ruined by watching the ark sitting in a sound stage. And I really feel no need to end the movie with shots of the director hugging people. A little egotistic, if you ask me.
A disclaimer to these thoughts: My daughter loved the movie. My husband liked it. My son pretty much liked it, but said he understood why the critics didn't. So clearly it's connecting with some people.
But not with me. Even though I really wanted it to. Evan Almighty is just a very well-intentioned mess, with some lovely, lovely moments that show what it could have been.
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