A rant about a popular rant....
Jul. 30th, 2005 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
Many people are claiming that it is impossible for the characters in HPB to be "ooc" because, after all, JKR wrote the book, and they're her characters, so they're always in character!
I'm not going to argue over whether or not they are in character. I will say, however, that it is possible for them to be out of character, or, at least, to have inconsistent characterization, which is just about the same thing.
If JKR had written five books that involved a sweet kid who never would hurt a fly, and then, in the sixth book, had him go on a murderous rampage for no reason whatsoever - that would be out of character. If Harry had been writing Hermione love letters for the past five books, and dreaming about her, then to have him suddenly declare his undying love for McGonagal in this book would be out of character. If Voldemort suddenly appeared at Hogwarts with some chocolate and said he just wanted to make up - that would be out of character, and it doesn't matter who writes it.
None of that happened in this book, granted, but my point still stands. It is entirely possible for JKR to have written this book with all the main characters out of character. Please don't use this post to argue that they are or aren't, because I'm not getting into that. Just... be logical, thanks.
Oh, and incidentally? If you're reading these books because of the Harry/Draco or Ron/Squid love, or whatever else you've got going - I'll move a complaint that you *may* be reading them for the wrong reason. Even in book 6, the relationships aren't the focus of these stories.
I'm not going to argue over whether or not they are in character. I will say, however, that it is possible for them to be out of character, or, at least, to have inconsistent characterization, which is just about the same thing.
If JKR had written five books that involved a sweet kid who never would hurt a fly, and then, in the sixth book, had him go on a murderous rampage for no reason whatsoever - that would be out of character. If Harry had been writing Hermione love letters for the past five books, and dreaming about her, then to have him suddenly declare his undying love for McGonagal in this book would be out of character. If Voldemort suddenly appeared at Hogwarts with some chocolate and said he just wanted to make up - that would be out of character, and it doesn't matter who writes it.
None of that happened in this book, granted, but my point still stands. It is entirely possible for JKR to have written this book with all the main characters out of character. Please don't use this post to argue that they are or aren't, because I'm not getting into that. Just... be logical, thanks.
Oh, and incidentally? If you're reading these books because of the Harry/Draco or Ron/Squid love, or whatever else you've got going - I'll move a complaint that you *may* be reading them for the wrong reason. Even in book 6, the relationships aren't the focus of these stories.
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Date: 2005-08-01 03:36 pm (UTC)...Not that it's at all what I wanted, but still...
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Date: 2005-08-01 05:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-01 05:41 pm (UTC)Preaching to the choir here. Every time I see comments that some author should do this or that thing "otherwise they're cheating the fans", I have to pipe up and say that good authors are true to their story, and the fans can go hang. And being true to the story might mean writing something that pisses every last one of your fans off, but if that's the story you have to tell, you're stuck with it.
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Date: 2005-08-01 08:33 pm (UTC)I'm not even surprised anymore.
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Date: 2005-08-01 08:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-08-01 08:32 pm (UTC)But the industry doesn't work that way.
Sadly enough, it looks as if JKR really might have sold out...
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Date: 2005-08-02 12:13 am (UTC)What publisher is actually going to tell her they won't publish her new book if it doesn't have x, y and z in it? I think JKR is in a position where pretty much anything she writes will be gobbled up by her legions of fans all over the word -- and the industry people know that. They might poke at her now and then, but I don't really believe that she's writing anything she doesn't want to write.
That isn't to say she's not writing directly to the fans at this point. But if she is, I suspect it's because she feels the need to do so. Unfortunately, in my opinion.