How Rowling killed Harry
I was a great fan of Harry Potter once it came out, way back in 1997. I was mesmerized by the style of writing, the depth of characters and subtle hints of back stories that J. K. Rowling provided in each of her books. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. I devoured each books on the day they came out.
When with much fanfare and hype the final book, The Deathly Hallows was released, I was almost sure that Rowling wouldn’t kill off the character that took the World by a rage. But I liked the way the book was done and all, until I came to the Epilogue. Now, I said I liked the book, not enjoyed it. In between the long gaps between books, I had read other fantasy works, including the famed and poetic Lord of the Rings. I had even ventured a bit into the lore and languages of Middle Earth which I found fascinating. As opposed to Rowling, Tolkein created a whole Universe where things took their natural turn in the course of time. There was no hidden Hogwarts and Muggles.
Coming back to Rowling, the very way she hinted at what became of Harry after the Hogwarts years exposed the immature writer in her. I’m not saying that she isn’t talented. That would be an understatement , provided she was able to captivate not only English readers, but everyone who was interested in reading. She was a textbook rags to riches case. In my opinion, a written book is for the reader. Every reader has his or her own right to dream and imagine the World that he/she is to see. A skilled reader could even feel the walls of Hogwarts and the wind in Harry’s face in a Quidditch match. The Epilogue spoiled the way Rowling had been writing so far. She was always open ended, never giving out a plot completely, most of them would be left out for the reader to shape up to his/her passion.
The perfect way to end Deathly Hallows would have been something which complements the opening sentence of The Sorcerer’s Stone. We all know that Rowling had borrowed a lot from the Lord of the Rings Universe, but now this ? She had so far only drawn inspiration from other works. Those who have read Tolkein would know that Dobby resembles Gollum, Gandalf inspired Dumbledore and even Voldemort himself was sculptured after Sauron. This should be expected, because both deal with the theme of good vs. evil. Hence I think that the lawsuit has to be viewed in such an angle.
What do you think ?
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yankydude on 06.22.2009
i 222222 agree
Neel on 07.21.2009
Rowling is a good writer. Not a great one. As far as the plagiarism charges go, I’d say she has copied a lot from Tolkien. I doubt kids will be reading JK Rowling the same way that the world reads Tolkien decades after his death.
But one thing she (and many others incl the Wheel of Time series) has improved is the importance of female characters. Tolkien’s world was almost fully male and all female characters had only passing mentions and shallow roles to play.
Rahul Pisharody on 07.21.2009
Thank you Neel. I agree with you there. Apart from Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings, no other female characters stand out. Whereas in Harry Potter, they share equal fame and adventure.
Thanks for the tip.