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lit_galOkay, I finally read books 6 and 7 in Harry Potter.
Oh, and the Dumberdore controversy??? Okay, let's look at the evidence. BTW, I can't remember the name of Dumbledore's young love... the evil wizard.
Book 6. Boring. Okay, I struggled to get through this whole thing. First off... yeah, yeah, yeah, Snape might be evil. Um haven't we seen this plot already. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dumbledore died. I predicted that back at book one because it's such a standard trope in children's literature to remove the parents so the children have to take the responsibility. Yeah, yeah, yeah, more of Harry struggling with love. I'm sorry, but this came off as kinda weird. Harry has a beast in him??? I would expect him to be more timid and awkward around Ginny, not thinking of a beast in his chest. And then the book. Okay, Harry and Ron lost their minds if they thought that book was a good idea. What did I like? Slughorn. I like that softer version of Slytherins--not really evil as much as self-involved and self-important.
Book 7. Loved. Okay, I didn't love it all, but I really love most of it. I adored the backstory on Dumbledore, the man who wanted more and didn't really want to hurt others, but who didn't really consider others as much as he should. I thought this was realistic and really turned a very two-dimensional archetype of a mentor into a flesh and blood person with very real issues. And yes, I did see the slashiness.
I did love Snape, but his death was too quick, too lacking. I wanted Harry to face Snape and admit that he'd been wrong, or at least stand up in front of the crowd remembering their honored dead and include Snape. Instead, all his sacrifice seemed to get shoved to the side. Now, I don't mean to turn Snape into an angel because after seeing everything, I still say he was motivated by fear. He was afraid of being alone, of being weak, of powerless... if he had truly been motivated by love, he wouldn't have ever called Lily a mudblood and he would have fought to save her, not tried to die when he learned of her death. However, despite the fear that had paralyzed him in his youth, he managed to do something more difficult than any of them.
I loved the cycle with the Malfoys. They aren't good, but they aren't evil incarnate. They're just selfish little pigs.
I did think the number of deaths a little gratuitous, but it was war. I would rather have that than think of all those adults leaving Harry alone to fight the greatest evil in the world. They all fought with him and they all earned their freedom from Voldemort. The magic lore was complicated, but not so complicated as to throw me off.
So, overall, I think the end is great. The epilogue seemed a little tacked on, but whatever. I do think Ginny is a good match for Harry, and I totally expected that since it was the only way to make Harry a real part of the Weasley family, but I can see where it upset some people who wanted other pairings. However, canon has never limited any of us.
I did love Snape, but his death was too quick, too lacking. I wanted Harry to face Snape and admit that he'd been wrong, or at least stand up in front of the crowd remembering their honored dead and include Snape. Instead, all his sacrifice seemed to get shoved to the side. Now, I don't mean to turn Snape into an angel because after seeing everything, I still say he was motivated by fear. He was afraid of being alone, of being weak, of powerless... if he had truly been motivated by love, he wouldn't have ever called Lily a mudblood and he would have fought to save her, not tried to die when he learned of her death. However, despite the fear that had paralyzed him in his youth, he managed to do something more difficult than any of them.
I loved the cycle with the Malfoys. They aren't good, but they aren't evil incarnate. They're just selfish little pigs.
I did think the number of deaths a little gratuitous, but it was war. I would rather have that than think of all those adults leaving Harry alone to fight the greatest evil in the world. They all fought with him and they all earned their freedom from Voldemort. The magic lore was complicated, but not so complicated as to throw me off.
So, overall, I think the end is great. The epilogue seemed a little tacked on, but whatever. I do think Ginny is a good match for Harry, and I totally expected that since it was the only way to make Harry a real part of the Weasley family, but I can see where it upset some people who wanted other pairings. However, canon has never limited any of us.
Oh, and the Dumberdore controversy??? Okay, let's look at the evidence. BTW, I can't remember the name of Dumbledore's young love... the evil wizard.
1. He was pro-muggle in Hogwarts, but he was willing to compromise enough to subjugate muggles as long as you're nice to them. (Do stupid stuff in order to make the other person happy. Do really, really stupid stuff)
2. They were owling late into the night. (Um, boys don't do the talking on the phone all night thing.)
3. They were planning a life of conquering together. Um, megomaniacs are not well known for sharing. (Building a future, fantasizing about "forever", writing your name with the boy's last name... all classic signs).
4. Dumbledore comments that he was the only one who didn't know the guy was going to take a runner. (Situational blindness)
5. Dumbledore was so unwilling to confront the guy that he let folks in Europe die before he would take a stand (Willingness to let the other person get away with outrageously stupid shit).
And finally....
The other guy, old and withered, accepted torture rather than point Voldemort at Dumbledore.
Oh yeah, there's nothing lovesick about that AT ALL. Geez, did Jo have to carve a heart in a tree with their initials?? Having worked with 17 year old boys for over a decade, this is what teenagers do in love. As far as I'm concerned, she DID out Dumbledore in the book.
2. They were owling late into the night. (Um, boys don't do the talking on the phone all night thing.)
3. They were planning a life of conquering together. Um, megomaniacs are not well known for sharing. (Building a future, fantasizing about "forever", writing your name with the boy's last name... all classic signs).
4. Dumbledore comments that he was the only one who didn't know the guy was going to take a runner. (Situational blindness)
5. Dumbledore was so unwilling to confront the guy that he let folks in Europe die before he would take a stand (Willingness to let the other person get away with outrageously stupid shit).
And finally....
The other guy, old and withered, accepted torture rather than point Voldemort at Dumbledore.
Oh yeah, there's nothing lovesick about that AT ALL. Geez, did Jo have to carve a heart in a tree with their initials?? Having worked with 17 year old boys for over a decade, this is what teenagers do in love. As far as I'm concerned, she DID out Dumbledore in the book.
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Date: 2007-10-30 01:18 am (UTC)See, I never really fell for the evil Snape bit. Dumbledore was too crafty to trust a double agent without some concrete evidence, and the falling on your own sword bit is just too common. The minute he got the cursed hand, I knew he'd do himself in. When he made Harry make him drink the poison, well, I was plenty pissed at him for hurting Harry that way, but I knew he had already mapped out his own death. And really, who better to kill him than Snape who could use his willingness to kill Dumbledore as the ultimate proof. It was the classic sacrifice of the queen.
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Date: 2007-10-30 01:50 am (UTC)Now, I don't have as negative of a view of Snape as all that, but I do see fear as his most important motivator. But when Dumbledore says that maybe they shouldn't use the sorting hat so young, I think that does touch on an important part here.
See, Voldemort was evil from the beginning. Crabbe and Goyle were sadistic and stupid from the beginning. I don't think the same is true of Snape. I think Snape could have made better choices. The very fact that he was friends with Lily, the fact that he worried that James would hurt her, shows that he did have some compassion in him. However, he was tortured by Sirius and James and his only protection came from the Slytherins. Given his weakness, that is the perfect set up for a pretty screwed up kid.
I think Dumbledore is right: if Severus had been allowed to spend the first two years in an "open" school where he could have attached himself to Lily and seen how good people treat each other, if he had time to recover from the abuse at home, I think he would have become the person he had the potential to be. The early sorting took a boy who I felt like could have been Ravenclaw and took his fear to put him in with people who promised to alleviate that fear through giving him power. So, I see Snape as someone who had potential, but he wasn't strong enough on his own and he didn't have the support from outside to ever develop that potential.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-30 02:31 am (UTC)