Blog Post #1 Inevitability

In my Creative Writing Fiction class, one of the phrases we have focused on when talking about endings in stories is that the ending must be both inevitable and unexpected. I think this applies greatly to Iser's argument, as well as The Sorcerer's Stone. In The Sorcerer's Stone, as well as most of the Harry Potter books, throughout the book you gather a certain set of expectations about how the book is going to end. In Sorcerer's, you are almost positive that Snape is this evil end all be all villain who is working to bring Harry Potter down. I know when I was little, I was totally sold on Snape being a villain. I expected Harry to have an awesome duel with Snape at the end. It was going to be epic. But we all know that's not how the story played out. Quirrell was the one in the chamber, not Snape. How could it be? But then you thought to yourself. "Oh but of course!" How could you not have seen this before? The handshake, the turban, the trolls. It all had to be Quirrell. It was obvious. It was inevitable. But you never would have guessed that beforehand. Your expectations of the story are morphed as you continue reading the Harry Potter books. By the end, you almost have some semblance of the right theory to expect. Almost. But like Iser said, expectations are scarcely ever fulfilled in truly literary texts. If they were, I don't think literature would be enjoyable. It would have been great for a moment if Snape had been the bad guy. But it wouldn't have been as satisfying. Predicting the ending never is.

I think it's an interesting challenge to give someone an expectation that you don't want to be fulfilled. Doing so gives the reader a slight ounce of mistrust, but also a large dosage of intrigue. They know that they can expect a lot of excitement from this series, and it's certain to keep them on their toes. But you have to be careful with not fulfilling expectations. If you throw the reader's mind around too much, they could give up with the story all together. I think Rowling does a great job of giving you the ol' MacGuffin just enough to keep you guessing, but not enough to disappoint you with the story. It keeps it interesting. If Hagrid had been the one opening the Chamber of Secrets, that'd be one thing. But how great of a twist was it to find out it wasn't him? And then to find out it's Voldemort, enshrined in his own past self? What a twist!