Posted on 08/01/2007 6:59:32 AM PDT by ParsifalCA
I am warning those who have not finished the series . . . and there must be still a few of them by now. . . that there are spoilers ahead. I have just finished the last book . . . having spent an enjoyable evening with it thanks to Sam’s Club and an indulgent wife.
I am done with Harry Potter and enjoying the literary aftertaste the way one enjoys a fine meal almost as much after it is done as when it is being consumed . . . though it is a bit sad that the series is finished.
And it is really finished . . .
Will one be able to re-read the books with pleasure?
I think the answer is only a tentative “yes.” If one knows the “puzzles” and “the secrets” of the book, it will not take away the charm of the characters or the fun of a good Quidditch match, but the first read will always be the best.
The strength of these books is in the plot and the second read, when everything is known, will be satisfying for finding all the clues to what happens . . . but I am hard pressed to know if I will want to re-read them a third or fourth time.
A really great book is as good on the fourth read . . . and some children’s books (Little White Horse) are better.
I deeply enjoyed the last book and thought the ending satisfying. For those who found them quite Christian, they will find much in this last book to give strength to their idea.
(Excerpt) Read more at exilestreet.com ...
I agree that the fight scene could have been done differently. They wasted time, imo, having the Death Eaters whooshing around like tornadoes, when they could have done something interesting.
LOL, Wonderful likeness! Now that is a perfect comparison to Lockhart. ;)
Yes, a major point of that fight scene, in the book, was that it showed the abilities the children had developed in their self-taught D.A.D.A. class.
The tapes are very interesting. It’s different from rereading a book, because the tape progresses at a steady pace through the story. When I’m reading something for the second time, I’ll skim over the parts that I didn’t like much, to get to the parts I like better!
I’m in the 50’s on the waiting list for CDs of “Half-Blood Prince,” and in the mid-100’s for “Deathly Hallows.”
We should do a library trip today. Maybe I'll see whether my local branch has any Tacitus histories that my old location didn't have.
Not entirely....
“There are many red flags in the Harry Potter books. One of these is the role of divination in Book Three (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban): Hogwarts provides a divination course (albeit one that some of the students and faculty find nebulous in authenticity). It is certainly logical that a young student witch or wizard would study divination; the problem is that the practice is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy. The reference (in Book Three) to the Egyptian wizards and the potential educational value of a visit to Egypt offers an interestingly arcane — if you’ll permit me the word — challenge to Christian belief: Hermione comments, “Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he’s learning loads. I’m really jealous — the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.” At home, Christian children are learning a very different story about the Egyptian magicians, in Exodus 7:8–13, where the Egyptian magicians attempt to demonstrate their powers as superior to those of God as exercised through Moses and Aaron. When the Egyptian magicians react to the transformation of Aaron’s rod into a serpent by doing the same with their rods, God provides once again, and Aaron’s rod-serpent swallows theirs. This is a very important story in some faiths, including most conservative Christian sects, and some parents may feel that Hermione’s commentary indicates approval of the Egyptian magicians’ work. It might also concern them that the link indicates similarities between what the Egyptian magicians did and what Harry, Hermione, and Ron are learning to do: these students are, in some ways, the educational heirs to the Egyptian magicians.”
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2000/may00_gish.asp
“I knew all I needed to know about you when you talked about having seen all 5 movies just to see how the occult was infiltrating America.”
I have watched many movies to learn about the rise of occultims in childrens entertainment. 5 movies over 5 years is no big investment.
But there’s no way to win with many here. I’m an ignoramous for not reading the books and a hypocrite for having seen the movies.
Not entirely....
“There are many red flags in the Harry Potter books. One of these is the role of divination in Book Three (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban): Hogwarts provides a divination course (albeit one that some of the students and faculty find nebulous in authenticity). It is certainly logical that a young student witch or wizard would study divination; the problem is that the practice is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy. The reference (in Book Three) to the Egyptian wizards and the potential educational value of a visit to Egypt offers an interestingly arcane — if you’ll permit me the word — challenge to Christian belief: Hermione comments, “Did you see that picture of Ron and his family a week ago? I bet he’s learning loads. I’m really jealous — the ancient Egyptian wizards were fascinating.” At home, Christian children are learning a very different story about the Egyptian magicians, in Exodus 7:8–13, where the Egyptian magicians attempt to demonstrate their powers as superior to those of God as exercised through Moses and Aaron. When the Egyptian magicians react to the transformation of Aaron’s rod into a serpent by doing the same with their rods, God provides once again, and Aaron’s rod-serpent swallows theirs. This is a very important story in some faiths, including most conservative Christian sects, and some parents may feel that Hermione’s commentary indicates approval of the Egyptian magicians’ work. It might also concern them that the link indicates similarities between what the Egyptian magicians did and what Harry, Hermione, and Ron are learning to do: these students are, in some ways, the educational heirs to the Egyptian magicians.”
http://www.hbook.com/magazine/articles/2000/may00_gish.asp
“I knew all I needed to know about you when you talked about having seen all 5 movies just to see how the occult was infiltrating America.”
I have watched many movies to learn about the rise of occultism in children's entertainment. 5 movies over 5 years is no big investment.
But there’s no way to win with many here. I’m an ignoramus for not reading the books and a hypocrite for having seen the movies.
Interpretaion of symbolism is not “fact” unless the author has clearly spelled out in writing what their purpose was behind the symbols.
Interpretaion not “fact”.
I don’t know why you can’t see the occultism!
“Magical feats and spells, fantastic charms and startling metamorphoses, conjuring exploits…Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire…is crammed to the bursting with vanishings, flights, zombies, replicants, identity switches, cryptozoological monsters,” etc. To a restless, channel-surfing rhythm, Rowling switches tone, now teenage psychology, now Alastair Crowley-ish Satanism.”
- London Times, “Muggle Adventures in Potterland.” July 12, 2000
Well isn’t that funny. Here you are presenting your interpretation of symbolism is a fact even though it’s not actually backed up by any historical precedent; but this other guys interpretation of symbolism, which happens to be backed up by historical usage of these same symbols, isn’t fact it’s merely opinion?
You’ve now gone completely into the 100% full of crap mode. You’ve got nothing but insisting things are there that aren’t, at least he has historical precedent to say these things have been used to mean this stuff before.
I don’t see it because IT’S NOT THERE. Check out the writings of John Granger, he’s all over this. http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/
J.K. Rowling on The Diane Rehm Show, WAMU Radio Washington, D.C., October 20, 1999 (re-broadcast December 24, 1999)
http://www.accio-quote.org/articles/1999/1299-wamu-rehm.htm
DR: Is there a certain amount of very sophisticated mythology that you're trying to work in here?
JKR: There's - I'm not trying to work it in, but... If you're writing a book that, I mean, I do do a certain amount of research, and folklore is quite important in the books, so where I'm mentioning a creature or a spell, that people used to believe genuinely worked - of course it didn't [PM: in her opinion]- but, you know, it's still a very picturesque and a very comical world in some ways - then I will find out exactly what the words were, and I will find out exactly what the characteristics of that creature or ghost was supposed to be. But I hope that that appears seamlessly. Children often, often ask me how much of the magic is in inverted commas "real" in the books in the sense that did anyone ever believe in this? I would say - a rough proportion - about a third of the stuff that crops up is stuff that people genuinely used to believe in Britain. Two thirds of it, though, is my invention.
It's there.
Gee thanks for putting in so much of your own emphasis to make the text completely unreadable so I had to copy it off to notepad and read it normal. Lame obfuscation, and just generally rude.
The question is about mythology and she is discussing folklore, neither of which is the occult. What people “genuinely used to believe in Britain” is not the same thing as the occult, it could be folklore England has plenty of that, could be classical mythology since the Romans did expand to England for a while, could be bad science even but she never did mention phlogiston. None of those are the occult.
I notice your “sources” keep getting older and older. must be because the world finally realized your position is full of crap and stopped writing those stupid things.
You presented Cassandra Vablatsky as an example of real occultism in HP.
Try again. Please, this is very entertaining!
Please see #912
“Children often, often ask me how much of the magic is in inverted commas “real” in the books in the sense that did anyone ever believe in this? I would say - a rough proportion - about a third of the stuff that crops up is stuff that people genuinely used to believe in Britain. “ -JKR
There’s a waiting list? I see them at Borders and Barnes & Noble all the time. Have you tried Amazon?
Ever wonder if it’s gonna get tired?
No, the problem is you're criticizing the BOOKS based on the MOVIES. If you want to talk about the book, read the book. If you want to talk about the movie, watch the movie. If you'd actually read the books you're talking about, you wouldn't be getting so much flak.
“Ever wonder if it’s gonna get tired?”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1874700/posts?page=912#912
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