Feature

DISAPPOINTING, BUT SOME
CROWD PLEASING MOMENTS

Dave Williams

JK Rowling has crafted another gripping tale in her fifth installment of the Harry Potter saga, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2003). The problem however, is that it’s just not that gripping.

In the previous books the action has driven the narrative and left us desperate for more, especially in the masterfully dark Prisoner of Azkaban. In this installment the plot is driven by Rowling’s attempt to examine the complex emotions of our hero as a young man: an introspective study of Harry as an insensitive, bumbling, angst ridden teenager, who just might be the only person capable of stopping the evil Lord Voldemort. The narrative is driven by this angst rather than the action that we have come to expect from the series (Quidditch matches; adventures in contravention of school and other authorities; and ultimately battling the Dark Lord). While these events exist in the novel, the action sequences are few and far between and the study of Harry as tortured teen remains a painfully slow and disappointing focus. Rowling, having brought her series to the boil with a massive confrontation at the end of Goblet of Fire, has let it cool and simmer to again allow for confrontation between the two arch enemies to take place at the end of the book. The big theme of deciding what is right and wrong remains central, but the ultimate battle between good and evil takes a disappointing back seat. At least we are given some revelations about the linkage between Harry and Voldemort, but the role of Harry’s scar and the possibility of Harry being related to Voldemort or Dumbledore or going across to the dark side remain undeveloped. These themes will certainly be central to the final two books.

Harry’s emotional development in this book is surprisingly poorly thought out. He is rude, angry and hurting, but we see no depth to these emotions. In this respect he is much like his love interest, Cho Chang, a damaged young woman, still dealing with grief from the murder of her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory. Again, we never see the depth of Cho’s grief. It is alluded to, but her emotional state remains a mystery to us, as it does to Harry. In fact only Hermione can sense the depth of Cho’s emotions. Perhaps Rowling should have allowed Hermione to narrate the book for a while to allow some emotional development of her characters. Dealing with grief is an unimaginably difficult topic to tackle and Rowling fails to disguise her discomfort with it. Readers will find much more imaginative, interesting, complicated portrayals of young women dealing with grief in the characters of Rose from David Metzenthen’s Stony Heart Country and Killer from Ian Bone’s That Dolphin Thing.

There has never been a more deliberately hyped novel in the history of publishing than Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. From the deliberate revelations of plot developments six months prior to release of the novel the media have been manipulated and encouraged to a frenzy over this book. Rowling’s revelation that a ‘main character’ would be killed off can be seen as a masterful attempt to market her novel and to tempt her readers into the text well before its release. However, I believe it is in fact a significant attempt to foreground this event in the minds of readers, creating apprehension and suspense regarding the fate of lead characters where Rowling’s writing often fails to deliver.

Rowling encourages her readers to think critically about the role of Government and the media in shaping the lives of characters in her book. The deceit of both the Ministry of Magic and the virtually monopolistic tabloid newspaper The Daily Prophet in discrediting Harry will provoke outrage amongst loyal Harry fans. Rowling’s message could never be more relevant in a year in which people in Britain, the US and Australia have been deliberately misled over weapons of mass destruction and when in Australia, the Government not only survives its deliberate deceit over the Children Overboard affair, but wears this deception as a badge of honour. Children who begin to think critically about these issues will also critically examine the choices made in this text. These readers will be disappointed by a lack of character development (especially for Ron and Hermione) and the constant repetition of Harry making stupid decisions, as a device to provide complications in the plot.

Disappointingly, Rowling also leaves the issue of elf liberation underdeveloped. However it appears clear that this issue will move to greater prominence in the ultimate battle between good and evil and that Rowling is an unabashed supporter of Hermione’s crusade. Kerry Greenwood is wrong to assert that Rowling shows disapproval of the campaign by naming the organisation the Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare (SPEW). It is a device which positions the critical reader, not to laugh at Hermione, but to think critically about Harry and Ron’s wisecracks, and to see Hermione’s movement as a fledgling one (and as such likely to be criticised and mocked).

There is still much to love in The Order of the Phoenix. Fred and George Weasley provide a wonderfully entertaining comic interlude. Harry’s coming of age as a wizard does not take place in battle or tournament as has been the case in previous installments and it provides a much more interesting development. His moves to mentor and develop the skills of his peers (most notably developing the confidence and abilities of Neville Longbottom) are the most rewarding parts of the book: the contravention of officious rules, camaraderie and slight earnestness from Harry, Ron and Hermione. The newest addition to the Hogwarts’ Staff, Professor Umbridge is eminently hateable. Umbridge fits with Craven’s assertion regarding Rowling’s Dickensian ability to name her characters in a way which suggests how they will behave. It is not surprising then that Professor Umbridge seems to be always taking umbrage, except for when she is busy offending others. Her tortured punishments of Harry are a highlight, if rather gruesome.

Yes, the series remains formulaic and there may be dozens of better writers of fantasy/adventure for children, but Harry Potter is exciting and it’s cool for kids to read. Some studies suggest it also supports the development of writing. Rowling’s ability to take us into a magical land where we relate easily to the highly likeable protagonists is first class. It is impossible not to care about Harry, despite the faults in the book. In fact, Harry’s bumbling relations with Cho, Hermione and Ron made me feel for him and relate to him much more than the male protagonists in the two previously mentioned novels, Mac in That Dolphin Thing and Aaron in Stony Heart Country. I’m not sure why that is, but it is a credit to Rowling’s ability to develop the character of Harry as the battling hero we all want to be. His demons involve the murder of his parents, the murder of his classmate, fame and infamy and the weight of an unknown link to some ultimate evil, yet it remains possible to see parallels between his problems and our own, and that remains Rowling’s genius.

Rowling has crafted a tale that could have been the best in her series; it could have been a dark, introspective study of the human condition, dealing with grief and loneliness, overlayed with magic and an ultimate battle between good and evil. It could have been 300 pages shorter and still achieved this. Perhaps Rowling will never deliver such a literary classic, but she knows how to please and she delivers just enough this time to make us come back for more.

Dave Williams is a Bachelor of Education student at the University of Melbourne