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Character Assassination
I came across this image on social media a while back, and it both made me smile, and got me thinking. The thing is that I cried my eyes out when Dumbledore, and Hedwig, and Dobby died. I couldn’t understand it at the time. Sometimes, I still can’t, but it’s just something that I have to put up with.
AUTHOR’S DECISION
As a writer, I know that the author has every right to both kill, and allow characters to live, and I can pretty much guarantee that JK Rowling also cried as she wrote those scenes, but she would have known that it was necessary for the story.
Harry’s life is characterised by loss, and the only way to keep this thread is for him to continue to experience more and more loss until the eventual, and final battle and ultimate conclusion. The fact that, throughout all of this, Harry maintains his compassion, shows exactly why he is the hero of the series.
NOT TAKEN LIGHTLY
Truthfully, as writers, we have to make these decisions, and however much we joke about it, I can tell you that we do not take these decisions lightly. Only the most callous and heartless author will kill off characters with little to no thought.
