There are many different expectations
raised in the first two Harry Potter books. For example, in Sorcerer's Stone,
you expect Severus Snape to be the bad guy. Throughout the book, it seems like
his underlying intent is to kill or harm Harry. He's remarkably mean to him,
and is often seen doing less than reputable things (trying to get past the
three headed dog on Halloween for example). However, it's proved that it is NOT
Severus Snape that is the bad guy, but instead in Professor Quirrel. When first
reading the book, nobody would have expected him. I for one was convinced it
was Snape the first time I read through the books. I was taken completely by
surprise when it was revealed Quirrel was past all the obstacles. But that’s
the point of not fulfilling the obvious expectations of the story. It provides
a source of shock and mystery to the story. By completely negating the
expectations, it keeps the reader guessing and it keeps the story interesting. If a reader could expect what would happen at
every turn, then the books wouldn’t be very interesting. There would be nothing
to grab you and keep you entertained.
While it’s
important to keep some expectations unfulfilled, completely turning every
expectation on the readers head would make for an annoying story. For example,
in The Chamber of Secrets, despite the school having rumors that Harry was the
heir of Slytherin, I never once expected him to be. That simply would not make
sense with the entire story. I would have been very irritated had he been. The
choice to go along with or completely shatter expectations is completely the
authors, but in order for it to be a good story that choice must be sensibly
made. Good stories thrive on shock and mystery, but still need underlying sense
and reason.
-Bethany Birdsell
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