Reader beware...there will be spoilers ahead. If you haven't finished reading The Deathly Hallows, and you don't want to know more than you already do, stop reading.
Ye have been warned.
To begin with, HP:TDH was, in my opinion, excellent. Its taken me about three weeks to process my thoughts on this final book...but that's the first thought I had when I finished, and it remains my opinion even now.
There are so many themes in this story. Rowling truly outdid herself in this final addition. The book deals with the coming of age of childhood heroes; the importance of friendship; the nature of family; the nature of power; the reality of war, the painful truth of resisting evil, and beyond all the others I haven't listed...of course...it deals with death. Death...its place in our society's consciousness, whether or not it is a thing to be feared, and ultimately what death actually is.
Throughout the first six books, almost from page one of book one, fans of Rowling have been obsessed with Harry surviving the inevitable final confrontation with Voldemort. He who must not be named posed threat after threat, and by the 4th book (if we don't count the death's that started it all, James and Lily Potter), each victory came at a price, and each price was successively more costly...first Cedric, then Sirius, and finally Dumbledore. By the time we reached the 7th book, we were gripping ourselves for the final blow, wondering who would make it...afraid to ask, almost afraid to read, lest more beloved characters fall to the lethal pen strokes that had already taken beloved heroes from us.
And, of course, we were not disappointed. Death was waiting, in abundance, in the Deathly Hallows. Kicking us off with Hedwig, we soon suffered the loss of, among others, Madeye, Dobby, Ted Tonks, Lupin, Tonks herself, Snape, Colin Creevey, even Fred Weasley...until the time came, and Harry himself had to die.
It was brilliantly done.
Because, when that final cataclysmic moment came, Harry didn't fight desperately; he didn't beg pathetically; he didn't even stand defiantly and challenge Voldemort with his dying breath. No...he just walked out to meet his enemy and died, turning his thoughts to his love before the final moment came.
It was poignant and simple. I would guess it was generally unexpected too...the best I can claim is that I suspected that something essential about Harry would have to change if he was going to defeat Voldemort. I did not go so far as to guess that his death was the answer...I had suspicions, but not an actualized guess.
But of course death was the answer for Harry, as it usually is in this life. Rather than pursuing power to master death and defeat an enemy, Harry sought to destroy the enchantments of death that Voldemort used to cheat death, and ultimately accepted death himself. And by dying willingly, Harry saved not only his own life, but effectively secured the lives of those he loved and sacrificed himself to spare.
Life coming from death…and without death, that life could not exist…but after that death, life will be better; stronger; more beautiful and full than life before it ever was. A more profoundly Christian message is difficult to find.
This message is remarkable, and one can only wonder what it will do to this generation. One expects these sorts of stories from the men that manned the trenches in WWI, who encouraged the people through WWII…what do we do with this message from a woman that has lived most of her life in a time without a drastic struggle, who speaks it at a time when we would rather look the other way than acknowledge the challenges that face us?
But this ending should not have been surprising coming from Rowling. From the beginning, she had been telling us that Death was not the enemy we assume it to be. In Book 1, Dumbledore tells an incredulous Harry that though Nicholas Flamel and his wife will die as a result of no longer having the Elixir of Life, death is not the worst end to a well ordered life; rather, it’s the beginning of something new. This message is repeated over and over again in the books…but as a testament to her skill, the final solution being Harry’s accepted death still manages to surprise. And the power of the message still manages to challenge us. If we would hold our lives loosely (not cheaply, but loosely) what might our world look like?
All in all…it was wonderful. The bottom line is…this book should be read. I think it will be read a hundred years from now…making it a classic. Maybe I’m too caught in the fanboy spirit to see the faults…but I think this book (this series actually) deals with too much truth in too beautiful a manner to pass out of reckoning or to be passed over as trite.
Sigh. My only problem now is…the story is over. Harry…we’ll miss you. Thanks for the years of waiting and the hours of reading.
Ye have been warned.
To begin with, HP:TDH was, in my opinion, excellent. Its taken me about three weeks to process my thoughts on this final book...but that's the first thought I had when I finished, and it remains my opinion even now.
There are so many themes in this story. Rowling truly outdid herself in this final addition. The book deals with the coming of age of childhood heroes; the importance of friendship; the nature of family; the nature of power; the reality of war, the painful truth of resisting evil, and beyond all the others I haven't listed...of course...it deals with death. Death...its place in our society's consciousness, whether or not it is a thing to be feared, and ultimately what death actually is.
Throughout the first six books, almost from page one of book one, fans of Rowling have been obsessed with Harry surviving the inevitable final confrontation with Voldemort. He who must not be named posed threat after threat, and by the 4th book (if we don't count the death's that started it all, James and Lily Potter), each victory came at a price, and each price was successively more costly...first Cedric, then Sirius, and finally Dumbledore. By the time we reached the 7th book, we were gripping ourselves for the final blow, wondering who would make it...afraid to ask, almost afraid to read, lest more beloved characters fall to the lethal pen strokes that had already taken beloved heroes from us.
And, of course, we were not disappointed. Death was waiting, in abundance, in the Deathly Hallows. Kicking us off with Hedwig, we soon suffered the loss of, among others, Madeye, Dobby, Ted Tonks, Lupin, Tonks herself, Snape, Colin Creevey, even Fred Weasley...until the time came, and Harry himself had to die.
It was brilliantly done.
Because, when that final cataclysmic moment came, Harry didn't fight desperately; he didn't beg pathetically; he didn't even stand defiantly and challenge Voldemort with his dying breath. No...he just walked out to meet his enemy and died, turning his thoughts to his love before the final moment came.
It was poignant and simple. I would guess it was generally unexpected too...the best I can claim is that I suspected that something essential about Harry would have to change if he was going to defeat Voldemort. I did not go so far as to guess that his death was the answer...I had suspicions, but not an actualized guess.
But of course death was the answer for Harry, as it usually is in this life. Rather than pursuing power to master death and defeat an enemy, Harry sought to destroy the enchantments of death that Voldemort used to cheat death, and ultimately accepted death himself. And by dying willingly, Harry saved not only his own life, but effectively secured the lives of those he loved and sacrificed himself to spare.
Life coming from death…and without death, that life could not exist…but after that death, life will be better; stronger; more beautiful and full than life before it ever was. A more profoundly Christian message is difficult to find.
This message is remarkable, and one can only wonder what it will do to this generation. One expects these sorts of stories from the men that manned the trenches in WWI, who encouraged the people through WWII…what do we do with this message from a woman that has lived most of her life in a time without a drastic struggle, who speaks it at a time when we would rather look the other way than acknowledge the challenges that face us?
But this ending should not have been surprising coming from Rowling. From the beginning, she had been telling us that Death was not the enemy we assume it to be. In Book 1, Dumbledore tells an incredulous Harry that though Nicholas Flamel and his wife will die as a result of no longer having the Elixir of Life, death is not the worst end to a well ordered life; rather, it’s the beginning of something new. This message is repeated over and over again in the books…but as a testament to her skill, the final solution being Harry’s accepted death still manages to surprise. And the power of the message still manages to challenge us. If we would hold our lives loosely (not cheaply, but loosely) what might our world look like?
All in all…it was wonderful. The bottom line is…this book should be read. I think it will be read a hundred years from now…making it a classic. Maybe I’m too caught in the fanboy spirit to see the faults…but I think this book (this series actually) deals with too much truth in too beautiful a manner to pass out of reckoning or to be passed over as trite.
Sigh. My only problem now is…the story is over. Harry…we’ll miss you. Thanks for the years of waiting and the hours of reading.
