Well, I never thought I'd be doing a blog post on Harry Potter, but I never thought I'd read the books either. Technically I haven't, but I just finished listening to the fifth book in the series: "The Order of the Phoenix." It was very good, as is the whole series, but one thing really bothered me. **SPOILER ALERT!**
Okay, so let me preface this by saying that I haven't finished book six and that may change everything. I repeat, "I haven't read book six!" So if you have some comment that clarifies things and it reveals information about book six, please KEEP IT TO YOURSELF. That's just not cool. I'll be honestly pissed at you and will find a way to exact my revenge.
So Sirius Black (and if I misspell anything, it's cause I haven't seen any text. Sorry. I'll fix any mistakes if you'll enlighten me) gets killed near the end of the book. Then Harry gets everything explained to him...
Oh yeah, that reminds me. Stupid public library book on tape got jacked up right when Dumbledore explains everything. I was so ticked. I had to look up what happened, and probably still don't know everything. Fudge. Phil, I may need to borrow your book on Friday to make sure. Thanks.
So at the very end Harry finds the gift that Sirius gave to him for Christmas or something. It's that two way mirror and all Harry has to do is say Sirius' name and they'll be able to talk through it. I was like, "What the fudge? He's finding this now?" This is huge, because had Harry known about it, he wouldn't have needed to go to the ministry to "save" Sirius.
It was hard for me to maintain a "willing suspension of disbelief" for this part of the story. Mostly because I didn't want Sirius to die and was trying to think of ways it could have been prevented. So then this mirror shows up and I get all ticked. The reason it doesn't make since is because there were at least two previous times (probably more) when Harry needed to talk to Sirius and went to great lengths to do so. It seems like Sirius would mention the mirror at one of these occasions. As in, "Hey Harry, why don't you do us both a big favor and just use that mirror I gave you?"
So, why did Rowling even put the mirror in the story? Harry even ends up breaking it. If it was just to show that Harry had a deep hope that Sirius was still alive, I would think there are a million better ways to do it. Introducing a magic mirror at the end of the book just didn't make sense to me.
Like I said, I HAVEN'T READ THE SIXTH BOOK, so maybe the mirror comes into play later and Sirius is really alive or something. If he isn't though, I see no point to having that magic mirror. It just makes no sense. If you disagree, I'll be more than happy to hear your reasons.
Anyways, I'm just ticked that Sirius is dead. I'm sure I'll be even more upset by the end of the sixth one.
**END OF SPOILER**
So if you haven't read the Harry Potter books, they're worth reading.
7 comments:
No, you're right. And really, Hermione could have just waved her wand over the broken mirror and said "Abracadabra: Repairo" and it would have been all better. But no... Lots of little inconsistencies when you're making up a story about magic shtuff.
This is the funniest Potter post. Had my whole office dying today!
http://theinandouts.wordpress.com/2006/10/24/potter-on-the-prowl-daniel-radcliffe-on-matchcom/
Here's the link to an interview JKR did in 2004. They talk about the mirror just enough to make you wonder:
http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2004/0304-wbd.htm
Did he know that it was a mirror before he found it in the bottom of the trunk?
Rab- Yeah, I probably shouldn't be too critical. When magic is involved, it would be hard to keep everything congruous.
Anonymous- Who are you and where do you work?
Therese- Thanks for the link. That's site is awesome, but I'm scared to read too much for fear of ruining what I haven't read.
Phil- From what I remember, it seems like it was wrapped up in his trunk. So he opens the present, finds a note that explains what it does, then gets upset and breaks the mirror. So no, he didn't know it was a mirror before he found it in the bottom of the trunk. Why?
I think the interview was conducted in 2004, a year before Half-Blood Prince was released...so you're safe if you want to read the whole interview. ;)
Sweet! Thanks T. I'm heading there now.
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