Oh my, this essay is dynamite. I did read Ender's Game when I was a 7 grader, so this is me reeling. Ouch, ouch, ouch.
Back to HP now... there's a lot of weir stuff in JKR's characterization regarding morality, but I'm not as quick as many to think she means her characters always act like rolemodels. However, there definitly are dissonnances. But in a way, I wonder if that's not because JKR excuses (by manipulating the story so as to let them appear innocent and repetent) her heroes less than Card does. Isn't it because JKR lets them take the blame of this bad actions? James isn't actually excused of bullying Snape, Remus of not acting when he should have, Harry of bullying Draco... no greater appeal to their good intentions are made. They are simply flawed characters - which JKR still sees as sympathetic as such. There's still the Dursleys, alas. Where the shift of blame is similar to what the essay describes (except without feeling of guilt from Harry and Dumbledore... maybe why it appears as more obvious?)
However in many ways, I wonder... how much is JKR pulling an 'Ender' with Snape? At least, definitly; many fanficcers come back from her book writing Snape this way : Of all of the fics which dealt with the issue of Snape's murdering Dumbledore (or other acts commited as DE), how many dealt with the blame of it beyond whether or not he had intention to do them and whether he was loyal to Dumbledore? And of those that don't, how many simply glorified in the amorality of Snape? How many's left? I can think of a few, no more.
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Date: 2006-11-29 09:15 pm (UTC)Back to HP now... there's a lot of weir stuff in JKR's characterization regarding morality, but I'm not as quick as many to think she means her characters always act like rolemodels. However, there definitly are dissonnances. But in a way, I wonder if that's not because JKR excuses (by manipulating the story so as to let them appear innocent and repetent) her heroes less than Card does. Isn't it because JKR lets them take the blame of this bad actions? James isn't actually excused of bullying Snape, Remus of not acting when he should have, Harry of bullying Draco... no greater appeal to their good intentions are made. They are simply flawed characters - which JKR still sees as sympathetic as such.
There's still the Dursleys, alas. Where the shift of blame is similar to what the essay describes (except without feeling of guilt from Harry and Dumbledore... maybe why it appears as more obvious?)
However in many ways, I wonder... how much is JKR pulling an 'Ender' with Snape? At least, definitly; many fanficcers come back from her book writing Snape this way : Of all of the fics which dealt with the issue of Snape's murdering Dumbledore (or other acts commited as DE), how many dealt with the blame of it beyond whether or not he had intention to do them and whether he was loyal to Dumbledore? And of those that don't, how many simply glorified in the amorality of Snape? How many's left? I can think of a few, no more.