reading/watching notes

Keating, Patrick. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Knowing that Prisoner of Azkaban is the 3rd book in a series, the reader can hardly expect Harry to get killed off by Sirius, now matter how worried Harry might be. Rowling adresses this potential flaw by turning it into a morality plot. In the early chapters Harry has no intention of confronting Sirius. After he learns of Sirius’s alleged crimes, Harry resolves to kill him. This opens up a suspense plot of an entirely different sort. Now the question is not “Will Sirius kill Harry?” but “Will Harry give in to his darker urges and commit an act of violence that he will regret?”

Several plots incite curiosity by introducing a mystery only to deliver a surprising solution. Curiosity: Why does Hermione sometimes pop up in the middle of class? Surprise: She can travel in time! Curiosity: Why does Ron’s pet rat Scabbers disappear? Surprise: He is Peter Pettigrew in animal form! Curiosity: Is there something wrong with Professor Lupin? Surprise: He’s a werewolf! Curiosity: Why is a black dog following Harry? Surprise: The dog has been Sirius all along! Curiosity: Who rescues Harry with a Patronus charm? Surprise: Harry casts the charm himself! These proliferating storylines might seem like too much for one book or movie, but Rowling’s narrative technique ties them all together neatly, as when the seemingly minor question of why Hermione keeps appearing and disappearing in class sets up the crucial twist that allows Hermione and Harry to rescue Sirius.

Keating, Patrick. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (21st Century Film Essentials) (English Edition). University of Texas Press.

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