Derek and Melissa’s Family

Half-Blood Prince

by Derek—2005.08.27 @ 0824

My rating: 4 out of 5

The newest installment of J.K. Rowling's hit series has been difficult for many fans, due to the death of a major character and a turn for Harry. I personally enjoyed the story and found Harry to be much more tolerable than in the last book--he's matured, sombered, and begins to respect his elders (well, maybe not the 'ikley' Dursley family). The hardest part about reading this book has been keeping the secret of who the "Half-blood Prince" is, and which major character dies in the end.

Don't worry, I won't spoil the ending; I think knowing is part of the enjoyment.

Spoiling An Ending

At first, the plan was to buy the paperback version, but I couldn't wait. A day or two after the original release, my copy came in the mail. I finished it in a matter of days (not hours, thankfully). Although I had read a lot of background material, hints, and guesses about the book, I was pleasently surprised at how little it affected my enjoyment of the book. I was, of course, wrong all around on my personal guesses, but the "known facts" about what the book was to be about were right on.

As the book progresses, I found it generally predictable. I don't know if that is because I'm getting used to Rowling's writing style and methods, but it was clear to me how it was going to end. I was almost surprised, actually, to see this big of a set-up right in the first few chapters. That being said, it may still obfuscate most readers.

Now that weeks have past since I've read the books and discussed them with family, I've thought a little about what it means to "give away an ending" or to give away the plot twist to a movie or story. Some people really get upset about it, even when they're in on the secret. Why the trouble?

On NPR's "On The Media" report on August 12, 2005, listeners wrote in outraged that the station would give away the ending to the movie Million Dollar Baby--the award-winning movie about a female boxing champion. The station asked the question, "what's the 'statue of limitations' on this subject?", and "how long is it safe to say 'rosebud was his sled?".

The more I thought about it, I realized that not giving away the endings, or plot twists, to stories is important, if not essential, to our collective cultural heritage. In some ways, knowing these little bits of trivia gives people a common vernacular with which to communicate. "One-liners" from a book or movie become all you need to get a point across or to understand deeper issues.

Giving away the ending is like giving away the whipped cream but not eating the cake. Sure, the cream is sweet, but it quickly dies away and you realize that it is empty and meaningless. In fact, knowing what "rosebud" really stands for is meaningless unless you frame it context with the story it came from. Take Star Wars: everyone knows Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker in a past life, so why did we go and see the show? We wanted to share in the story; to be "together" in our collective understanding of the drama, tragedy, and sorrow of what was undertaken.

I remember when I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time and hit all the plot twists. When I followed the Fellowship through the Mines of Moria I was in shock and sad when a major character "dies" and the Fellowship breaks apart. I'm glad no one told me how it ended because that journey makes the reading all the more enjoyable in the end.

The Harry Potter series is still a "work-in-progress" and no-one but Rowling really knows how it will all end, in the end. Discovering it step-by-step is part of the fun, and we don't want to spoil that for anyone. Just pick up the book and find out for yourself.

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