Harry Potter: with or without the epilogue?

[Gaith]

Slytherin=evil (not the prejudice, the fact that it's true) is my least favourite thing about the books, probably. It's childish and obvious. A relic of the more childish book 1.

Quite.

Dumbledore: It is our choices that define us, Harry. Only we can decide if we use our gifts for good or ill. Oh, and Voldemort just happens to be the sole remaining descendant of Slytherin. Coincidence, I'm sure! By the way, is Remus a fox, or what?

Harry: What?

Dumbledore: Never mind.

 

[Silvercrest]

Yeah, it's our choices that define us, not the fact that a talking hat assigns us to houses with predefined standards of behavior, some of which are evil (and does this based on our perceived characteristics).

 

[MNM]

Hey, maybe that's exactly what Rowling wanted to depict.

Hmm... Still, what can you expect from the author who while throughout the early parts of the series kept brining up the notion that love was the power that Voldemort knew not and that there were things worse than death, clear foreshadowing for something, only to end up having Voldemort's fate be...to die, because Harry had a more badass wand. And to have him die by Harry deflecting the "unstoppable" killing curse back at him. If only the people Voldemort had killed previously knew that unstoppabel curse could be deflected away by a mere expellaramus if you were remotely powerful yourself.

 

[SiorX]

Yeah, it's our choices that define us, not the fact that a talking hat assigns us to houses with predefined standards of behavior, some of which are evil (and does this based on our perceived characteristics).

IIRC, the actual quote from Dumbledore is that it is our choices that "show" who we really are. Which is a subtle but crucial distinction, and not incompatible with the idea that a magic hat knows from the age of eleven if you're part of the quarter of magical society who are innately evil.

 

[Silvercrest]

Aw, I'm just exaggerating. It's pretty clear that the hat listens to your preferences, so it comes down to choice after all.


I'd be more concerned about having to wear an intelligent, talking, telepathic hat... which is extremely dirty, has not been washed in a thousand years, and which touches every student's head.

 

[omgahitsbritt08]

Personally, I read and watched all the films so far. I think the ending was kind of I dk alittle cliche. But, I think alot of fans expected something better for the ending therefore they seem alittle let down.

 

[Honorable Ensign]

I'd be more concerned about having to wear an intelligent, talking, telepathic hat... which is extremely dirty, has not been washed in a thousand years, and which touches every student's head.

Hey, somebody might wash it. It might just like looking dirty. You never know!

And didn't Dumbledore say somewhere that he thought maybe they sorted too soon? Is eleven a bit young to pick a major characteristic to choose a house on? I don't know, but it's interesting to think about.

Anyway, in regards to the epilogue, it's not where my problems with the book lie. I'm fine with it as a character piece, showing that Harry's happy. There's no space to go into answering any further political questions or things like that; I can leave that up to my imagination. But sending the kids off to Hogwarts is a nice ending spot (note that we don't know what houses they'll all end up in.)

Ron's a little more of a jerk there than I'd like, I'll admit.