Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
discussion
Who would you save that died in Harry Potter?
message 151:
by
[deleted user]
(new)
Jul 25, 2013 05:18AM
Tonks, Dobby and Hedwig
reply
|
flag


Sirius. He was going ..."
What perfect tributes to those three characters. :)

The thing about Fred's death is that while I'm very sad it happened because George is one of my favorite characters and it's simply heart breaking for him, I'm glad it happened. I'm glad JK Rowling went there. Some YA writers would have been afraid to go there with such a well loved character in a long running series. Many of us feel as if we are part of the Weasley family and Fred's death was horrible, yes. But. Necessary. Why? Because Fred's symbolically became the son, father, husband, brother, cousin of every civilian who lost a loved one to war. His death served no greater purpose in the story the way Dumbledore, Snape, Tonks, and all the others did. While they all died the death of soldiers, Fred's was so senseless. It was during the battle, it didn't isolate him the way the death of Lupin did (Losing his last parental link). Am I making sense here? Now, I'm not saying you can't wish he was still alive, I'm simply pointing out the symbolism of his death and the purpose it served.

I agree 100%. Part of me wants to sit in a corner and cry to bring Sirius back, as he's my favorite character and I'm madly in love with him. (Sirius Black, not Gary Oldman) However, Sirius and every other death served a purpose. Either directly affecting Harry, or serving as a metaphor for the audience.



always my favorite characters die...it broke my heart but i think if they don't die they miss their popularity
no death is boring.......

I believe the reason for that is because there is no actual prof she's dead. The book was a bit ambiguous about that. Some think she is alive, others say she died.

My heart broke when they all died.

Yes, the book was ambiguos indeed about the potential dead of Lavender, but the last movie is a little bit more clarifying about it.
In the moveyou can see Lavender is already death after Hermione defeats Greyback. When they take a break from the battle and gather into the castle you can see Trelawney saying to Parvati Patil "she's gone". Parvati was Lavender's best friend and also she was very close to Trelawney.
So since the book is completely ambiguous I take movie's version as the true.

Yes, the book was ambiguos inde..."
Lavender also doesn't have a big fan base. Which is sort of sad, really. If you think about all the reasons the fans don't like her, our dislike of her is sending a fairly negative message. We forget sometimes that the reason she seems immature in comparison to the trio, or even Ginny is that she's untouched by this whole thing. (As much as anyone in this story is untouched.) She's an outsider, a normal teen girl going through life. So her worries seem silly and annoying next to Hermione who is saving the world along side The Chosen One.
You know what? That will be the death I wish to change. Even if it's only for sure in the movie. I'd like to give the normal teenage girl, who stood up and fought for her school, not because it was her destiny, but because she believed in the cause, a chance to grow up.


+1

So many lovely characters, and all breaks a heart when they died. But for the benefit of Harry, I would 'save' Sirius. Harry was so heartbroken; it was like losing a parent in a freak accident. Sirius fell through the Arch, I kept expecting him to appear in one form or other until the last book when Harry used one of the 3 Hallows to 'call' him back that I was convinced he was dead. Another character would be Dumbledore but he planned his death so not much 'saving' to do as it was part of the plan! As for Snape, well he'll be too embarrassed to face the truth as the 'accidental' hero (just kidding! he was great but to save him would mean to confront Voldemort directly which nobody could stand a chance; not as unless one is a great a wizard as Dumbledore). So yes, my candidate is Sirius; someone just catch hold of him before he fell completely through - simple enough (no need to fight Voldy) but for precision of timing.

What do you think about Dobby?"
Dobby is a favorite, but I tried to think of people that would make a huge difference for the survivors. Fred's death devastated Georg..."
I totally agree with you, Fred, Remus and Tonks would have been my top three with Sirius as a close fourth. Teddy needs him parents and Fred needs his twin!

You know what? I can't choose whom I'll bring back. That's cruel, there are so many awesome characters..."
James & Lily? If they don't die you don't have the story. It is Lily's sacrifice that makes Harry who he is.

Blast it! I forgot this critical detail, thanks! But my vote still goes to Sirius though.

The others were all sad too, but I think Sirius was the worst and most unfair.
Sirius was all the family that Harry had.
For his own sake, his entire life was pretty crappy except for his time with James, Lily, and Remus. And unlike Snape, he became a really good person in spite of his terrible home life. He spends 12 years in Azkaban for something he didn't do, knowing that Harry was all alone and probably really needed him.
And then when he might be able to start having a life, he's killed.
Just so crappy.
Although, on the up side, it's probably the way he would have wanted to die - fighting and protecting Harry.

Plus, their deaths made the book that much better, and even if it hurts, is still beautiful.


I've read that JK Rowling planned Hedwig's death in the last one as a symbol of Harry's loss of innocence

Remus and Tonks because Teddy can't be an orphan! Fred because he is amazing and didn't deserve to die. Anyone who can upstage Umbridge and get Peeves to give her hell deserves to live. Dumbledore because Harry needs a mentor, Sirius because Harry needs somewhere to live, Hedwig because I can't get over the fact that she died and maybe Snape...
But I do think that if nobody had died the series wouldn't be as amazing as it is now. So maybe I wouldn't save anyone.
But I do think that if nobody had died the series wouldn't be as amazing as it is now. So maybe I wouldn't save anyone.

That pretty much sums it up. I would trade a thousand Dobbys for just one of them.

But then I thought of Teddy. And all the others and I just...gah.
Okay. I would choose Remus, Tonks and Fred.
....everyone, actually.

If Dumbledore hadn't died, it would have been a short, uninteresting last book. Not that I didn't love him. Just sayin.

The perfect list
all discussions on this book
|
post a new topic