On Hallowed Ground: CC2K Looks to Harry Potter Book Seven

The Harry with a Thousand Faces – By Rob Van Winkle

Before I talk about all the things that are right with Harry Potter, it would be disingenuous of me not to begin with everything I think is wrong. By now, author J.K. Rowling and her creation have reached such a level of success that it almost seems like a sacrilege to find fault, to the point that people the world over seem simply to conclude that these books are perfect. Far from it.

First of all, while Rowling is undoubtedly a master storyteller, she (and I’m sorry to say this) is just not a very good writer. She has crafted an incredibly elaborate world-within-our-world, the inner workings of which are debated and devoured by the millions upon millions of devoted readers. How sad then that the characters she sends running through this world are so two-dimensional. Characters in these books (with the potentially notable exception of Severus Snape) are either good or evil, with no shading on either side. And when these two sides clash, the results are ALWAYS the same. I’m not talking about the Voldemort/Harry battles; I’m referring to the little moments that occur constantly through the series. Have you ever been in a situation where every snide comment led to shrieks of laughter from one side, and red faces (or scarlet ears, or crimson necks, etc.) on the other side? Have you ever known people who took so much stock in EVERY word that was said to them that they were effectively rendered utterly incapable of controlling themselves? Seriously: in any book in the series, count how many times the characters blush, or one becomes so enraged at something another character says that they either attack or threaten to attack, and you’ll see my point.

(And before you attack MY point by claiming that this is a children’s fantasy novel, and thus these little points should not be analyzed so vociferously, let me state that what people seem to love so much about these books is that they CAN be analyzed like this. I believe the incredible appeal of Potter derives from the fact that his world is set WITHIN our own, and both Rowling and her legions of fans just love that these events occur right under our collective muggle noses. If these events are going to exist in the real world, then they should be made to happen by real people. That this fails to happen is, in my opinion, the great failing of Harry Potter.)

My second issue with Rowling is how severely afflicted she is with Stephen King Syndrome. In other words, she has become so powerful now in the literary world that she has lost all ability to edit herself, while everyone around her is too cowed to ask her to cut anything down. The results are huge and unwieldy books that are in some cases hundreds of pages too long. For example, let’s look at Book Five: The Order of the Phoenix. Tony rightly called this the best book of the series, and in terms of content and mythology, he’s correct. But consider this: the core of this book lies in Harry’s teaching his fellow students Defense of the Dark Arts skills secretly, while he attempts to learn a valuable new skill from Snape. But BEFORE any of this happens:

*Harry gets into a fight with Dudley Dursley

*There is a dementor attack, which Harry fends off by calling his patronus

*Harry goes to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, where he gets into screaming fights with his friends that are never explained or properly resolved.

*Harry helps the other members of the Order clean the house of evil magical creatures.

*Harry attends a hearing at the Ministry of Magic to defend his use of magic in the Muggle world.

*Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrive at school and discover that Hagrid is missing.

And so on. I can already hear the protestations, claiming that each and every one of these scenes is important in some way or another…and while that might be true on an individual basis, the fact remains that collectively, it starts to feel like excess weight. As a writer, I have always seen that cutting your work makes the end product better. I hope that I remember this no matter how successful I become.

Okay, with that vitriol out of the way, let me get into what is so good about Harry Potter.

I said earlier that Rowling is a master storyteller. WHAT a storyteller she is! The most amazing aspect of the whole Potter canon, from where I’m sitting, is how incredibly detailed and extensive her wizarding world has become, and yet it somehow manages to be simple to the point of obviousness. The school was founded by four great wizards: one wise, one brave, one powerful, and one who saw the good in everyone. All future students are separated thusly. Brilliant. A sport played on flying broomsticks that, for all its lunacy, actually makes SENSE? Outstanding. The very idea of a school to develop and hone the skills of witches and wizards? Who WOULDN’T love that?

As for the storyline itself, many of the elements of Harry’s story come directly from Joseph Campbell’s work with world mythology. I could write an entire essay on A Hero with a Thousand Faces, but for brevity’s sake let me just include Potter in that canon. According to Campbell, in nearly all cases, heroes:

Have unusual parentage – Harry is a “half-blood,” whose parents are killed by an evil wizard and thus is forced to be raised by his absurdly awful aunt and uncle.

Are inextricably linked with their greatest enemy – Harry and Voldemort are both half-bloods, Voldemort killed Harry’s parents, and they are bound by a prophecy that states that one will have to kill the other.

Fail to see their ultimate goal reached – Harry…well, that gets us into Book 7 predictions:

Rather than re-invent the wheel here, I will instead respond to Tony’s predictions above.

*Snape will emerge as one of the series’ heroes – I wholeheartedly agree with Tony. I think making him evil is the simple and weaker choice, and giving him redemption after six full books where he’s the enemy would just feel right. Also, consider that, just before he killed Dumbledore, there was a moment of silence after which his face filled with anger and rage. Now, I am certain that Dumbledore TOLD Snape to commit this act telepathically, and Snape’s reaction was revulsion. This will come out in Book 7.

Ron and Ginny will die, leaving Harry and Hermione together, if not romantically involved – I just can’t see this happening. As I stated above, Campbell’s monomyth states that heroes tend to die just before the end of their missions…but I don’t know if Rowling or ANYONE would have the courage to make such a bold and dangerous decision. (Luke Skywalker was supposed to die at the end of Star Wars – George Lucas was a BIG fan of Joseph Campbell – but was forced to recant this decision in the face of overwhelmingly negative feedback). Harry and Ginny ending up together would complete the storyline begun when Ginny fell in love with him back in Book One. And the Ron and Hermione relationship has been burgeoning since the very beginning as well. They just have to end up together. Also, and here’s my prediction, Neville Longbottom will end up playing a major role in book Seven, and if he survives (he’s actually the character I can most easily see dying heroically), he ends up with Luna Lovegood.

Harry will destroy the remaining Horcruxes – Tony, your prediction that Harry’s wand will end up being a horcrux is just brilliant. If you’re not ultimately correct, then you out-thought Rowling on this one. We know that Harry’s wand was of the same material as Voldemort’s, and after years of watching these students hone their crafts with their wands (an innovation that always disappointed me), book six involved them now trying to learn to do magic without them. Perfect.

My last thought is this: In books Five and Six, Harry became so consumed by anger and rage at Voldemort and his followers (Snape included) that he attempted to use the unforgivable curses, though was rendered unable to do so both times. We also know that capital-L Love is the force that Harry possesses, and Voldemort lacks to his disadvantage. My prediction is that, at a crucial moment, Harry will choose NOT to obey his anger and use such a curse on someone, perhaps Voldemort, and this choice will be the one that ultimately wins the day for him.

And with that, my portion is complete.

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