That's the problem with these books - it's unclear more than halfway through which direction JKR is planning on taking them. Which is excellent plotting if it's intentional (ajhalluk describes the HP books as being closer to the mystery genre than fantasy) but it does mean the success of the narrative as a whole is becoming increasingly dependent on it's ending. I'm not one of those people who think that certain plots have to occur or certain characters have to do something in order for the books to turn out 'right' - eg. OMG, if Draco/Dudley/Peter aren't developed, I'll never read another word!111 but there are certain logical and moral problems within the text (in my view. A million people and JKR probably disagree, and that's their prerogative!) and either JKR recognises this and it's intentional, or she doesn't; and to me this makes the difference between her work deserving it's reputation as a subtle, thoughtprovoking series and um...not.
I didn't like the part about the witchburnings. It smacks of whitewashing both within the text and to the unseen audience and yes, it's cutesy and tacky. (But then I think I was the only person who was even slightly disturbed by her comparing the fictional Death Eaters to Nazis, least of all because it's breaking Godwin's law; and one could make a comparison between the two - that JKR's willing to make a point about the seriousness of the issues in her books by drawing parallels to real life tragedies, but abandons historical accuracy when it reflects badly on her plot and the characters she wants to convey postively.)
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Date: 2004-11-09 10:48 am (UTC)Which is excellent plotting if it's intentional (ajhalluk describes the HP books as being closer to the mystery genre than fantasy) but it does mean the success of the narrative as a whole is becoming increasingly dependent on it's ending. I'm not one of those people who think that certain plots have to occur or certain characters have to do something in order for the books to turn out 'right' - eg. OMG, if Draco/Dudley/Peter aren't developed, I'll never read another word!111 but there are certain logical and moral problems within the text (in my view. A million people and JKR probably disagree, and that's their prerogative!) and either JKR recognises this and it's intentional, or she doesn't; and to me this makes the difference between her work deserving it's reputation as a subtle, thoughtprovoking series and um...not.
I didn't like the part about the witchburnings. It smacks of whitewashing both within the text and to the unseen audience and yes, it's cutesy and tacky. (But then I think I was the only person who was even slightly disturbed by her comparing the fictional Death Eaters to Nazis, least of all because it's breaking Godwin's law; and one could make a comparison between the two - that JKR's willing to make a point about the seriousness of the issues in her books by drawing parallels to real life tragedies, but abandons historical accuracy when it reflects badly on her plot and the characters she wants to convey postively.)