Monday, July 23, 2007

YOU BITCH

I'm going to post about Harry Potter, but it will be in the comments section of this post. It includes my favorite scenes, so anyone who isn't done, don't look at the comments.

Brogged by Alex iron-loins Sciuto at 7/23/2007 08:49:00 am

23 comments:

  1. Alex iron-loins Sciuto23 July 2007 at 8:52 am

    Alright. HP is done. The last page of our childhoods is turned. Sooo sad. Some will argue, but we still have Degrassi: The Next Generation, my friends, that is no Harry Potter! That is gonorrhea, date rape, school shootings, abortion, and angst. No, Harry Potter. He’s better than Lord of the Rings, better than Narnia, better than Lyra and His Dark Materials. And he’s over. I’m so sad.

    My favorite moments:
    1. When Ron and Hermione fall asleep, one on the couch, one lying next to the couch, and Harry wakes up the next morning and sees that they were holding hands through out the night. It made me so happy for those two, and it was the perfect detail to hit home how alone Harry felt.

    2. When Mrs. Weasley yells YOU BITCH at Bellatrix, duels, then kills her. Mrs. Weasley redeemed herself with that. She was just an annoying if loving character and in the end she showed how badass a house witch could be. She finally showed how much she loved her family in a cool way. I almost felt like she was defending me.

    3. Harry’s death walk. How fucking intense! I never cry, and I didn’t but I don’t think I could have at that point. It was so intense and crying would have seemed pedantic and childish at that moment. Frodo’s march up Mt. Doom has nothing on Harry in terms of intensity and how sad I was for the character.

    4. Pretty much any moment where either Snape or Dumbledore’s pasts were revealed more. For those chapters where everything about Snape was revealed, I was constantly looking over at Tom saying Holy Shit are you on page…

    I guess that’s it. I’m still recovering. Colin, everything you said was right. You suck.

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  2. Tom "Tire Iron" Fry23 July 2007 at 10:36 am

    Harry, oh Harry, what will I do without you? We spend ten years together, and you up and leave me, all grown up and ready for adulthood? Is that what I'm supposed to be now? Much like my childhood, I looked forward to your end with so much focus, that now that you are over, I haven't the slightest idea of what to do.

    Despite my horror at your departure, I can't be upset. You went out with some serious panache. Your immortality is assured.

    I read you like a kid. I lost myself in you. I lost track of time in a way I hadn't done since, well, the last book. I will read you to my children. It scares me that I had this thought while reading you to my twenty-year old self, but, at the risk of being redundant, I guess we're not really kids anymore, eh? Hopefully, my cautionary tale against the horrors of the internet and Colin Steers' unforgivable betrayal will keep the next generation of Frys from looking up spoilers online.

    All grandiosity aside for a moment, an abbreviated list of my favorite/most affecting moments:

    1. The death walk. Possibly the most visceral reading experience of my life. I don't know that reading has ever affected my breathing before. My heart was broken several times in as many pages.

    2. The Gringott's break-in. Pure fantasy action gold.

    3. The penseive and King's Cross chapters. Very enligtening, and the last line of the latter could be the best Dumbledore line ever, making it a strong contender for best line in all of HP.

    4. The final showdown. Fuck yeah!

    There are so many more. Oh so many more. I could go for pages. Good God, I'm gushing. I don't think I've gushed about anything like I'm gushing about this. Thank You, J.K. Rowling. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

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  3. og23 July 2007 at 12:07 pm

    Alex is lying, I saw his eyes glistening during the death walk.

    Albus Severus. Braves man. omg.

    Tom, that was really cute to read. And since I feel like you two are the only ones who care about this as much as me, I don't need to post because we already talked about it.
    Good talk.

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  4. Alex iron-loins Sciuto23 July 2007 at 12:08 pm

    I know Masha and Hannah and Leah would love to read your thoughts about HP Anne. Everyone values you. Especially cause you're awesome.

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  5. og23 July 2007 at 12:18 pm

    OKAY, I take it back (esp. for leah). Everybody cares.

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  6. Hannah23 July 2007 at 3:16 pm

    I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT HP!!

    I loved what you wrote Tom. You are truly inspiring.

    My housemate teased me the entire day because I could not stop vocalizing. My most common yell from about halfway through onward was clapping a few times and yelling "Ha Ha!" which she just thought was hilarious. I sobbed during the death walk and she didn't know what to do.

    I'm glad that I was right about Snape and my original prediction of Harry being a horcrux. I am proud of myself.

    But I hate Colin Steers. As soon as Dobby died I knew that all the predictions were right. I was pissed.

    Harry has grown so much. By the end he was so wise... I loved the scene where Ron had just come back and Hermione was so mad and they were all explaining themselves and angry and etc. That was great.

    The epilogue, I thought, was a little lame. He named his kids Lily, James and Albus Severus?!? Come on!!

    Anyway, I have much more to say. We need a discussion group. I like the book club on slate.com. I started the book yesterday, finished it last night and reread the end this morning. I think I have to read it again. And all the other ones again. And never read anything else again.

    I still like LOTR though.

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  7. Alex iron-loins Sciuto23 July 2007 at 3:47 pm

    What annoyed me most about the epilogue was that all Harry's kids were named after Harry's friends. One of them should have been named Fred for Ginny. It was just a weird detail. You name one kid after a parent. Naming both is just weird.

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  8. Leah?!23 July 2007 at 3:57 pm

    I read the book sitting in the wings of a wedding and gasped very audibly when Snape was named headmaster and when Harry's wand broke. Also the photographer saw me crying when Harry read his parents' gravestone.

    And I agree on the epilogue, Hannah. Except Albus Severus is cute.

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  9. Aaron "Half Elf, Half Iron" Kaufman23 July 2007 at 7:31 pm

    ok, so my favorite spots (in no particular order) weren't much different...BUT

    1. the one line when harry asks his mom to stand close to him on "the death walk." there were only two times that my eyes were heavy, that line and when dobby died. luckily i don't read the brog enough to have seen collin's post till after i finished

    2. gringotts. the multiplying treasure was soo clever.

    3. ron saving harry. it was a complete surprise. at first i thought it was gonna be snape or someone (or there was the scary thought that it was dumbledore and he was brought back from the dead, which would have been kind of lame...)

    4. the chapter of snape's memories. i wonder whether or not jk rowling intentionally never really wrote any flashbacks wtih james potter doing anything but being an asshole...

    5. kreacher turning good! oh kreacher...i knew you had it in you.

    6. the battle for hogwarts. having everyone appear and get ready to defend it was so uplifting. and the suits of armor all coming to life and the ghosts, only at a magical school...

    and to think, i had given up on percy.

    i agree with tom that mrs. weasley yelling "you bitch" was kind of silly. i think i actually smiled a little because i thougth it was a little ridiculous

    as soon as i finished i ran online to see if i could talk to SOMEONE. luckily leah had just finished, too, so we talked.

    i wish i could read 700 pages in a day at school...

    aaron

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  10. Pablo Kenney23 July 2007 at 10:20 pm

    This is really important...the best line in the book is as follows, from pg. 723:

    "Tell me one last thing, said Harry. "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?"

    Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry's ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

    " Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

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  11. masha24 July 2007 at 12:56 am

    Guys i finished!!!!!!!! i read from 7pm-2am and i read the whole book!!!!!1 yayyyyyyyy

    ok. go snape. snape is amazing. i was so happy that he was on the good side, yet so sad about his unreciprocated love for lily. that was heartbreaking.

    kreacher! i loved his shouting during the battle!

    the fact that all of harry's and ginny's kids had harry's friends' names was a bit tacky, in my opinion. and for real, where is little kid fred?!?!?!

    ron is actually frequently clever in this book. i'm glad, i felt he was never given enough credit. also, he's kind of my favorite.

    i'm kind of exploding with happiness right now and i wish i could jump up and down and scream with someone but here i am, just typing away. i'll write something a bit more coherent after i get some sleep. yayyyyyy

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  12. masha24 July 2007 at 9:23 am

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. masha24 July 2007 at 9:25 am

    OK I have some questions now that I've mulled over the book a bit. (I couldn't sleep! I was so excited!)

    1) How does that whole former-head-master-portrait thing work? And why, if Harry wasn't sure about some aspects of his mission, didn't he want to ask Dumbledore about the mission by getting his portrait from the headmaster's office in Hogwarts?

    2) Why did Voldemort place powerful curses, spells, and protection around the locket and the ring, but not protect the cup and the diadem as powerfully? Yes, Gringotts is tough to get into, but it's still possible, and there weren't any lethal spells protecting the cup. And I thought it was a bit cheap and too easy that the diadem was just lying in that room in Hogwarts where a bunch of old crap was hidden, instead of in a random-ass tree in Albania. That seems a bit more difficult to find).

    3) How did Voldemort not find out that Snape was double-crossing him? I know Snape is great at Occlumency, but still...I would have expected that Snape's death was a result of Voldemort's growing distrust of him or something.

    4) I thought the epilogue was cheesy. Period. And we don't even get to find out where they work or anything! Are the three Aurors? We know Neville is a prof, but the rest? Did I just miss something huge, perhaps?

    How clever that Snape's love for Lily is what, in the end, defeated Voldemort. Without Snape acting as a spy, there is no way that Voldemort could have been destroyed. Love, love, love. Poor Snape. So alone! Can you imagine! Everyone on Harry's side despises him, believing he had killed Dumbledore, while he is accepted into the Death Eaters' circle and thus must agree and go along with everything on Voldemort's side, because that is the only way he is able to carry on playing that role. I hated him for so long, and now I pity him. And admire him so much. Clever, Miss Rowling, so clever!

    I'm going to miss looking forward to these books so much. I remember in 6th grade, my teacher started reading the first HP book to us and I didn't even like it. "Hogwarts? Gross, what's that?" But my mom made me read it, and that's when I fell in love with the series. My friend Miriam and I came to the premiere of the first movie, and she made Chocolate Frogs out of Tootsie Rolls. I have read each book at least 5 times by now, and probably will continue rereading them. (I'm excited about reading them to my kids too, Tom! Scary, I know.)

    Colin, I can't believe you were right. Poop on you. Actually I don't really care, names of the dead and page numbers didn't really ruin my understanding of the ending, which was really the most important part.

    What a bittersweet moment, finishing that book. I wonder what J.K. will do next.

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  14. Pablo Kenney24 July 2007 at 9:27 pm

    If you want insight from some peeps who didn't like the end... copy this into your browser http://www.slate.com/id/2170647/entry/2170997/nav/tap3/

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  15. Hannah25 July 2007 at 7:31 am

    1) why did hedwig have to die??

    2) how did neville get gryffindor's sword at the end? did he pull it out of the sorting hat like harry did in book 2?

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  16. masha25 July 2007 at 8:44 am

    Yeah, he pulled it out of the sorting hat. But if the sword was with Griphook...I don't know. That was a bit fishy.

    I still don't understand the whole 'Harry's blood in Voldemort helping him live' and 'one can't survive without the other' even though they did for 17 years. I just reread the ending and now I'm questioning things! Nooooooo.

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  17. Hannah25 July 2007 at 10:25 am

    Yeah, I know, the ending is really weird. But I think the prophecy isn't really meant to be taken word for word -- I can't remember very well what was said about the prophecies, but I know that not all the ones that were made are even true at all. So why would Harry's have to be true word for word?

    Also though, while Harry was alive, Voldemort wasn't truly living. He never had full strength. Did he at the end of the series? I'm so unclear on the particulars of some of these things.

    I do see how Harry survived after his death walk -- just as Voldemort could keep living after he put parts of himself other places, since part of Harry lived inside Voldemort, he was able to live. But if that's true, how was Harry able to kill Voldemort? Maybe since the lesser part of himself was in Voldemort, that smaller part was able to die.

    I hate the epilogue more and more all the time. I don't like the idea of the characters all just settling down and starting families. They are great wizards! I'm not trying to say that starting a family is a bad thing... but why wouldn't she tell us what they did with their lives?? What is Harry doing? Is he an Auror? ANd they all really married their high school sweethearts... pssshhaw. I don't know. I don't like it. I wish she hadn't put it in. And I still hate all fo their names.

    But let's forget about all that. This was a great book! The scene in the woods with Ron saving Harry, the battle of Hogwarts was flippin SWEET, the death walk, Dobby's funeral... these are all great things. And of course, YOU BITCH. So it was a great book.

    I love you all, I love that there are other HP nerds out there that I know and can talk about these important things with

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  18. Tom "Tire Iron" Fry25 July 2007 at 11:48 am

    In answer to Hannah's question, I would say that a soul is a finite quantity, while blood can be replenished. None of Harry was transferred to Voldy, only the magic that the blood symbolized. Since Lily's protective magic lived elsewhere besides in Harry, it could continue to protect him even after his "death." Voldemort never received any protection from Lily's magic, he just acclimated himself to it so that it couldn't hurt him. I think.

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  19. og25 July 2007 at 1:54 pm

    Tom doesn't agree with me, but I still think that Harry was able to continue living after the initial death because he had all of the deathly hallows. The elder wand was technically his because he had Draco's other wand, and he had the cloak andd the stone. If it was just a matter of him still being a part of Voldemort I don't think he would be able to choose whether he lived or not, he would just be, well, alive. But in king's cross Dumbledore said he had the choice to either go back and save everyone or die.
    There are some definite dodgy parts in the end, but still she wraps everything up quite nicely. I think Neville getting the sword means that he is just more proof that he is a true gryffindor, just like Harry. Another demonstration of his character coming into its own.
    The epilogue mainly bothered me because I don't like to see my heroes age. I would have liked it to be a shorter period of time after the stroy ended, like at one of their weddings or something. Albus Severus is perfect.

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  20. masha25 July 2007 at 2:48 pm

    I would agree with you, Anne, except for one small thing. Harry turns the ring three times and all of those ghosts appear around him and walk with him to Voldemort. However, before he walks up to Voldemort he drops the ring (or as I remember, slips it off of his finger/out of his hand). That's why, later, he says to Dumbledore in the portrait that he dropped the ring in the forest, and nobody else knows where it is, and that's the way it will remain. Yes? So that's my only uncertainty about the 3 Hallows helping him to not die.

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  21. Tom "Tire Iron" Fry25 July 2007 at 4:47 pm

    Also, wasn't it Dumbledore that said the deathly hallows were probably just three powerful items made by three powerful wizards? I mean, the "master of death" thing was part of the legend. If death didn't give the items out, rendering that part of the myth untrue, how could the items be expected to grant the legendary power associated with them?

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  22. Hannah26 July 2007 at 7:38 am

    The prize-winning ending written by a 12 year old:

    http://www.miamiherald.com/215/story/169343.html

    CUTE

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  23. masha27 July 2007 at 2:10 pm

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19959323/

    j.k. rowling tells all. more epilogue detail.

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