Rowling's Trick

[Yogisanchez]

I think that J.K Rowling told us that someone was going to day cause of a reason.... i think she wanted to make us feel scared everytime someone was on peril. For example: when Hagrid didn't arrived at school, after Harrys dream about Mr. Weasley, the one about sirius, when Hermione was hit by the curse at the final battle, wen the brain attacked Ron... all these times i was really scared about any of them being killed! :sigh:

Well thats just what i think :p

[otto lupin]

yea me too..at first i thought it would be hagrid, then mr. w, then hermione, then ron

[Mirkwood]

exactly and a marketing ploy

[Alastor D]

There may be many reasons. One may be the uproar caused by Cedric's death. Imagine the public's reaction if this had happened without any warning! And I don't think marketing ploys are needed.

[Phoenix_Fawkes]

Acually I had thought ron was the first to die in the boggart thingy.. I was like uh oh! But then I relized it was a boggart! But I was scared for everyone who was close to dieing especcialy Mr. Weasley! I was like NO! But poor sirius died in the end i was so sad! still am!

[Eruanna]

i think it kinda ruined the book slightly cos of all that...i dunno....does anyone here watch eastenders? its like whenwever theres a big storyline and someone phones someone to tell them who did it or whatever we see loadsa peoples phones ring so we don't know until next programme....anyway...enough of comparing HP to Eastenders! lol

[pineapple]

Originally posted by dumbledore2905 (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=405091#post405091))
Acually I had thought ron was the first to die in the boggart thingy.. I was like uh oh! But then I relized it was a boggart! But I was scared for everyone who was close to dieing especcialy Mr. Weasley! I was like NO! But poor sirius died in the end i was so sad! still am!


The same thing happened to me! Everytime someone was "missing" like Hagrid was or "hurt" like Prof. McGonagall was, I thought it was going to be them who died. In a way, I'd have preferred not to know someone was going to die, because then I could have read the book and not have thought "Oh, it's going to be him!" all the time.

[too_wicked]

AFter the boggart incident, I also thought that it might be a Weasley. PRobably Mr. Weasley or Percy. But as I was rereading the book, I realized she's really going to kill Sirius! She developed Sirius' character in the earlier chapters by giving us details about his family, his personality and stuff. And, well, I just noticed that she did the same thing in GoF before she killed Cedric. She developed Cedric's character first, making him a favorite then killing him in the end!

[Ch0 chang]

making him a favorite then killing him in the end!

ok that a bit too little much evil of jk lol

[Vanilla Dream]

Yeah I know what you mean. First I think Mr Weasleys gonna die from snake poison then I thought Hagrid was gonna die cause of the centuars vicious threats, then I thought McGonagall was gonna die because of the accident and then when it came to Sirius I was like, WHAT?! NO WAY! :'(

[Madame Malfoy]

Am I the only one that was also worried that it was going to be Hedwig? When she got hurt I got really sad that it was going to be her. Mostly I thought Mr. Weasly or Hermione at that one point... Sirius was a complete suprise!

[Ch0 chang]

strange how come lupin did not wanne harry to get black out of the veil maybe his with LV?

[seerius]

Actually, i have to admit that i wish she *hadn't* told us someone would die - it just lead to me speculating, and everyone i knew speculating, which kinda took away from the book a bit :(

Also, about half way through the book, i started feeling that sirius was being set up to die - which i wouldn't have felt if i hadn't know someone would die...

[too_wicked]

Yeah I agree seerius, with all the speculations on the boards, the death was not as shocking as the death in GoF. Yes, the death was shocking as everybody else thought it would be HAgrid but when you think about it, the only surprising thing about the death is the way Sirius died. I mean, he just fell through the veil, then BOOM! He's dead!

[vickygirl4]

I think if she hadn't told us that there was a death I don't think I would have accepted the death. I would have still told myself that Sirius is not dead, just gone for a little bit. BUt because she told us that the person was definitely dead, I was able to accept Sirius' death and come to terms with it. Also, the fact that she told us made it more interesting because everytime someone was in trouble we thought they would die. I liked that feeling of worry and uncertainty.

[Eruanna]

i alwasy thought it would be either sirius or cho....but then i ot really scared with the boggart thing..

[Hederic]

Of course she needed to flesh out Cedric's character. Otherwise the death would be pointless. It would not have the required impact if all we were told was that he beat Harry once.

[Euthrel]

I could gladly let Mr.Weasly or hagrid die if it would save Sirius..

Wouldnt you?

[Schlubalybub]

no. sirius is dead. yes, he was a great character, but that is all he was. a character, no matter how believable that character is.

[seerius]

I dun think that's a fair question, Euthrel... after all, Sirius means much more to Harry than either Mr Weasley or Hagrid could... so it hurts us more... hagrid and mr weasley naturally aren't major enough to make a big impact on readers... though i wish it had been anyone but sirius who she'd chosen :(

[Schlubalybub]

but we cant influence it. its no use wishing if we cant get anywhere. if you were JKR, maybe you would be able to change things, but you aren't, and thats the way its gotta be. tough, but thats how life goes!

[dumbleedore]

I was hoping for Hagrid. I wanted Hagrid to die because I just have never EVER liked him. I just can't like him!

[volkert]

I honestly saw Sirius' death coming all through the book. After a few chapters it was clear to me it was going to be him because of his recklessness and frustration about not being able to do anything for the order... funnily enough it wasnt that that killed him though!

I do have to admit I thought it was gonna be Hagrid before I started reading though!

[Alorra Spinnet]

Originally posted by Ch0 chang (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=405219#post405219))
strange how come lupin did not wanne harry to get black out of the veil maybe his with LV?

I think that going through that veil is a one way trip and Lupin knew it. If Harry went through, he would die like Sirius. There is no mention of anyone trying to recover his body. :(

[Wild Rose]

Well, she did say there were alot of red herrings as to who was going to die.
How many did you count?
I got:
Ron (with the Bogart)
Hagrid (with his non-appearence)
Mr Weasley (with the snake)
I'm sure there were more, I just can't remember them.

@-'-,----------------

[tabby]

I put it down to a publicity stunt. It got people talking about the book. I wish she hadn't though.

[animagus1369]

Originally posted by Wild Rose (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=405583#post405583))
Well, she did say there were alot of red herrings as to who was going to die.
How many did you count?
I got:
Ron (with the Bogart)
Hagrid (with his non-appearence)
Mr Weasley (with the snake)
I'm sure there were more, I just can't remember them.

@-'-,----------------


Bill and Mr. Weasley with the Boggart, too
Charlie, because he never showed up (arguable)
Percy, with his letter to Ron
Dumbledore when Umbridge discovers DA (thought it was too early for him, tho')
Hagrid with the attack at his hut
McGonagall with the 4 stunners launched at her

[missfrb]

Well, exactly of what you say, Volkert, that's why I didn't think that Sirius would be the one... I thought it would be very rude to first make him feel so miserable and useless, and then, when he finally gets the chance to do act, he dies. Still, I think, like Lupin (was it Lupin?), he died the only way he could. He provoked, fought, and died. Poor Sirius. Poor Harry.

[Spitf1re]

I would've preferred a ton of people to die, but it had to be Sirius. :( I wish J.K.R. didn't tell everyone that there was going to be a death, but it really got the hype up for book 5.
I personally thought that many characters were going to die at one point. First, Ron (boggart) but I remembered the nobody in the trio was going to die. Next, Hagrid when he didn't return. Then, Mr. Weasley and the snake bite. Then, Hagrid again when Umbridge comes after him. Then, of course McGonagall, expecially when she awas put in St. Mungo's. At the end I knew someone was going to die, a member of the order. I never thought Dumbledore would die, he's just too awesome to die from those blockheads.:D

[missfrb]

I didn't know that about 'the three', so with the boggart, my heart skipped a few beats and I already had tears of frustration and shock in my eyes, before I read the next sentence. And so it went on, the whole book. I don't know, of course it was a stunt, but it made me sit on the edge of the seat more then I would have, as I wouldn't have known.

I was also very, very afraid that Hermione would die, at the Ministry with the Death Eaters. And indeed Hagrid. I thought he would really misbehave, when he was sacked, and then, in reaction, be attacked and killed. Then -indeed again-, I feared for McGonagall. I would hate that, too, I think she's a very cool character. As for Dumbledore, I don't know, I think he dies at the end of the 6th or somewhere in the 7th year. So that Harry has to do it, for the first time, really on his own.

[girl_wizardry]

At first i thought it was Ron too, my heart was like "THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP" because the way Mrs Weasley cried was like as though it was real. Luckily it was just a Boggart. The attack on Mr Weasley was not that suspicious to me thanks to a spoiler i read where they said Mr Weasley survived thru. I actually thought it must be one of them in the Order. I was right. I also thought it must be either Sirius or Lupin cos in the COS interview, J.K told us she's really fond of them both so it's not surprising if she cried when she writes about the death of either one of em. Turns out it was Sirius. It was rather sad though cos Sirius was like Harry's one and only "family" left. :sigh:

[Yogisanchez]

Well.... Ithink that making any of the others die would be more tragic... Sirius was being useless fgor the order, he was some kind of "problem".

Back to the original post, i think that Rowling toldus about a death and make us be scared anytime someone was in peril, Mr. Wesleay, Hagrid, Mcgonagal, Ron, Hermione, Hedwig (I was also worried about her) etc, etc, etc. maybe she did it cause she didnt expect us (readers) to expect her killing someone, also to make the book scarier, i dont know...

Well seems to me like publicity!

[Sinistra]

She may have also been trying to "soften the blow" to her readers. This is supposedly a children's book, and people rarely die in children's books, so she may have let it out so as not to make it such a shock, as Cedric's death was.

In many ways she is breaking new ground for children's literature.

[Alicia_Potter]

You know, I didn't think of it like that. You must remember that in these times when everything around Harry is so unstable fighting Voldemort, anything can happen. It was very realistic and therefore very captivating. I'm sure part of the reason J. K. Rowling did this was to make it a better story, but another reason is that if she didn't, it wouldn't be very real. As for all the anticipated deaths of the characters, I went into reading the book with the idea that everyone had a chance of dying or getting seriously hurt.

[Raven]

We should have known that somebody was going to die in book five without Rowling's help. She's been saying since book three that's there is a virtual blood bath coming. Malfoy said, at the end of book four, that Cedric was just the first to die.

There are other things, but I think I made my point. ;-)

[Lestrange]

Originally posted by too_wicked (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=405243#post405243))
Yes, the death was shocking as everybody else thought it would be HAgrid but when you think about it, the only surprising thing about the death is the way Sirius died. I mean, he just fell through the veil, then BOOM! He's dead!


:huh: You know, you should stop by the Society of Sirius Mourners thread. Cheer everybody up.

...I always thought that J.K. mentioned the death to soften the blow, as someone else has said. So then, we would expect it, and not be as sad, while still making the death surprising.

I remember when Mr. Weasley got hurt I kept thinking about how nice he was to Harry when they went to the Ministry of Magic, and it made me really sad. I kept expecting the snake to go back and finish him off, while hoping deeply that Hagrid or Cho would die. :sorry:

[Eruanna]

'a virtual blood bath'?! erm....yes....i don't think one person (two if you count cedric) dying really counts as a blood bath...

[Yogisanchez]

Well i still think that that was some kind of writing trick to make us worry any time that a character was in danger

[harryton]

lol, yeah, she was putting tricks in the book. I thought it was very sneaky of her.

[Mander]

i was convinced it was mr weasley. I cried a river.

[Lauren Strohfeldt]

i got relli freaked out at the beginning with the boggart and mrs weasley when it said "there was ron, clearly dead" i nearly had a heart attack, i relli thought it was ron!

[Amadeus]

Well... She's playing around with the words....

and that's what builds up to the climax and the tension

[*Darth Voldemort*]

In OotP Sirius was really starting to annoy me with his reckless and risky attitude. Would he have died in PoA or Gof I would have mourned him. But since he was so annoying in OotP I am not gonna miss him at all.

[RonFan24]

I thought it was going to be Hagrid for sure when I first heard the news that she was going to off someone, but after the months of waiting and re-reading the first four, I was sure it would be Sirius because he had become so dear to Harry. At times I was annoyed with Sirius's behavior, but I'm going to miss him and reading what Harry went through losing him just broke my heart. :(

[NeedAM!nT]

Yeah, i kept thinking someone was going to die through-out the whole book. (Dudders, Hagrid, Mr. W, Hermione, Ron, Mcgonagal, Kingsley, Neville, Dumbie, Moody, Tonks,)

[I Against I]

The ones that I thought were going to die was hagrid, mr. Weasley, and McGonagall. I didn't think JK would ace out hermoine or ron so I didn't even really worry about them in the book. But I NEVER expected Sirius. I was so sure that Hagrid was going to die.

[GaryGag]

Strange, how knowing something was going to happen kept us all seeing it in all the wrong places (me included). If she had not told us that, would it have been nearly as suspenseful? BTW, Dudley was the only one I wasn't tricked on; it was too early in the book, and she couldn't have suffered much to have witten.

[Nycade]

Ditto here... I thought Ron was dead with the Boggart, and a lot of the major characters (as well as some minor ones) seemed like they were dead. I actually closed the book for a moment and contemplated not finishing it when I thought Hermione died... but I decided to make sure she was dead before giving up on one of my favorite books (after all, it WAS purple fire, not green, that came out of the wand).
Unfortunately, I accidentally missed the paragraph where Neville found her pulse, so it took me awhile before I had finished realizing my mistake, going back, finding the part, and pinching myself to make sure she was alive. I was sure it had to be her, though, since it was so late in the book. Poor Sirius, though. Everyone else was so busy fake-dying I hadn't even paused to consider his death even possible, much less likely.

Oh, and ditto, missfrb... I was afraid McGonagall had died, too, when the Ministry people attacked her for protecting Hagrid. I was mad at the exam guy... he was like "Be quiet! This is an exam!"... one would think some things in life are more important than staying quiet during an exam.

[sindatur]

I think there's many reasons why she did:

1. Increase the anticipation and speculation while waiting for the book to be released
2. As a warning to be prepared
3. As a confirmation that he really was dead, since it was written to be a little bit unclear
4. To increase our anticipation while reading
5. Just to get it across to us that she really did have a legitimate reason for doing it and to let us know it hurt her as much as it the Hard-core Sirius lovers (She apparently was abit hurt by the fact that Cedric's death didn't hit most people as hard as she expected)

Personally, I believe most of these points made the experience of reading the book the first time better. How many of you would have been unsure Sirius was dead when you first read the page, if you hadn't been warned someone was going to die. Even after the warning, and after everything that happened in the book after the death, people are still trying to prove Sirius is alive, and it's been 8 months since the book released now.

[Nycade]

I agree that the near-deaths made the books more suspenseful, but I think perhaps J.K. felt she'd revealed too much by saying a character was going to die, since after all Sirius is a far more major character than Cedric. Maybe she wanted to keep us on our toes a little, keep us wondering, to make the clue she gave work for her instead of against her.

[MaKaylah]

I think one of the reasons JK said that someone was again going to die is because there was a lot of upset parents when Cedric died in book 4. She wanted the parents to be warned in advance.
Now with that said...

The red herrings is just JK's style of confusing us so we won't figure it out right away.

[Nycade]

I hadn't heard that parents were so upset about four, but it's interesting to hear that- thanks for the info, MaKaylah. That confuses me, because she let us know that there would be a death in book four. Perhaps the parents weren't aware, but I don't think it's her fault, since she warned us. The books are getting darker, but I'm of the opinion that it only makes them better.