Sorry for jumping in; I am here from deathtocapslock, and I just wanted to say that you have summed up EXACTLY what I expected to happen in DH. And I'm sadly disappointed that it didn't. I was convinced, from August, 2005, that Severus and Harry had to bring Voldemort down together; and I was equally convinced that Draco, and other children in Slytherin house, would at least be noncombatants, if not fighting for the 'right' side. (Well - I wasn't sure about Draco. I do see him as a coward, unlike Severus, but I also don't - or didn't, see him as particularly malicious.) House unity was going to be absolutely essential to Harry's victory - at least, in my mind! I was also expecting to see the following Christian themes: 1. Love of enemies, shown by Harry. 2. What true virtue/Sainthood looks like, shown by Severus (Rowling came closer to this than she would like to admit, but she tried very hard to diminish and sabotage Severus's character, and that makes me angry at her. It was not necessary to damage the character in this way. I personally think he's *still* a saint, but he's a very, very damaged soul, as she has written him. Grrr!) 3. The power of forgiveness, shown by Harry and the other kids, possibly including Draco. But definitely Harry, because, like Severus, Harry holds grudges like nobody's business, and this is a lesson he really has to learn. Also, being a kid and the protagonist, he was likely (I thought) to learn it before Severus. 4. And, of course, I expected a loving sacrifice on Harry's part. Perhaps not on his alone, but definitely on his. I didn't quite get it; to me, the sacrifice Rowling wrote felt mechanical, and therefore like cheating.
It's probably not fair to compare Tolkien (whom I love) and Rowling. He was not writing for kids, but for himself, and was a genius with a coherent and loving worldview. Rowling, as it turns out, really was just writing children's books. But you can compare her to Madeleine L'Engle and, for that matter, Lloyd Alexander. They are head and shoulders above her in pacing and moral clarity.
I'm responding because, as a Christian, I, too, took her seriously when Rowling said she was writing a Christian story. She didn't do anything of the kind, IMHO. The only conclusion I can come to is that she's a Calvinist. I'm definitely not.
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Re: The "wrong Christian perspective" again
Date: 2007-08-06 04:56 am (UTC)1. Love of enemies, shown by Harry.
2. What true virtue/Sainthood looks like, shown by Severus (Rowling came closer to this than she would like to admit, but she tried very hard to diminish and sabotage Severus's character, and that makes me angry at her. It was not necessary to damage the character in this way. I personally think he's *still* a saint, but he's a very, very damaged soul, as she has written him. Grrr!)
3. The power of forgiveness, shown by Harry and the other kids, possibly including Draco. But definitely Harry, because, like Severus, Harry holds grudges like nobody's business, and this is a lesson he really has to learn. Also, being a kid and the protagonist, he was likely (I thought) to learn it before Severus.
4. And, of course, I expected a loving sacrifice on Harry's part. Perhaps not on his alone, but definitely on his. I didn't quite get it; to me, the sacrifice Rowling wrote felt mechanical, and therefore like cheating.
It's probably not fair to compare Tolkien (whom I love) and Rowling. He was not writing for kids, but for himself, and was a genius with a coherent and loving worldview. Rowling, as it turns out, really was just writing children's books. But you can compare her to Madeleine L'Engle and, for that matter, Lloyd Alexander. They are head and shoulders above her in pacing and moral clarity.
I'm responding because, as a Christian, I, too, took her seriously when Rowling said she was writing a Christian story. She didn't do anything of the kind, IMHO. The only conclusion I can come to is that she's a Calvinist. I'm definitely not.