I decided that I would dedicate an entire edition of the Quibbler to tying up some loose ends, and I am trying to convince fans that not everything I write is completely bad. I think that it is important to take the Harry Potter series as wonderful pieces of literature. Like any other great novelist, Rowling has infused her work with clues as to what may lie ahead and uses classical and classic literature as her inspiration. Does this mean she has plagiarized? No. She is simply building off what she thinks is important and inspiring.

Rowling has gone through a lot with critics saying that she has drawn inspiration by such works as The Lord of the Rings, but has taken it almost too far by using exact words, phrases, and themes and claiming it as her own. Although that I think that she has drawn inspiration, I definitely do not think that she has plagiarized. Saying that she has plagiarized is basically forbidding anyone to read literature and then comment on what was comprehended. It would be like reading To Kill a Mockingbird and not being able to comment on the major themes like racism or else be accused of plagiarizing in any book that used racism as a theme and used certain phrases or words. In this case, all of the literature and writing classes that we all have taken would be a waste of time, and nothing new would ever be published. Besides, I am sure that Rowling never expected the series to be as huge as it is.

I am beginning this particular article with this argument because I feel it necessary to after the response that I got from a few people regarding Quibbler Eight: Comparing Frodo to Harry. Many accused me of saying that Rowling plagiarized Tolkien and that the outcomes will be the same. This is only partially accurate. What I meant by the article was to look at the outcome of The Lord of the Rings and see what things would be like in Harry’s world if it ended the same. None of us knows what will happen to Harry in the end, but as a devoted Quibbler fan, you should understand how interesting it is to speculate.

So why read the Quibbler if all I do is speculate? Because it is all that we can do as fans. As much as we would want to, there is no way that we can go into Rowling’s home and look through all of her notes. And even if you wanted to interview her to ask, she probably would not tell you. So what we have to work with is other published works, myths, stories, legends, and our own imaginations. Some people get nervous with speculations and assumptions, but in literature, there is nothing to lose. Everything is speculation because we cannot know what the author was thinking or feeling at the time it was written. Therefore, we have to look at the time period that the author was writing in, what their background was, where they drew their inspiration from, major themes from other written works by the same author, and other literary works by different authors using the same themes. This is no different from an English class asking about what an author means or thinks about a certain topic, character, or theme. Speculation and prediction is what keeps us interested in a specific work. We want to know the fates of the characters, we want to know how the themes will affect these characters, and we want to know everything because reading literature makes us a part of the world being shown to us.

In Quibbler Eight (Comparing Frodo to Harry), I listed off some of the similarities between the two main characters: Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter. I in no way meant to compare the two as an accusation of Rowling plagiarizing. It was merely a look at the two trying to figure out what may happen to Harry based on the similarities that he has with Frodo (which are many). But this does not mean that Rowling has plagiarized; it merely means that the way to make a hero for a fantasy novel does not vary much from book to book.

So why read the Quibbler? It is fun, it is wacky, and it holds us over until we get something new to read! You do not have to believe everything that I say to enjoy the Quibbler; it is just a way for me to get my ideas and alternate perspectives out to HP fans. I realize that they are outlandish and a little improbable, but they all have lots of support and give HP fans an opportunity to look at the words from a different perspective. The thing that makes it so worthwhile for me is that I can read your feedback and learn even more. Sometimes I get fabulous theories that I have not thought of before, I get information that supports one of my theories, and sometimes I get information that throws off one of my theories. With as many times as I have read the books, it still amazes me how much I have missed. Rowling truly is a literary genius during a time period when books are uncool and people have forgotten how to write suspenseful novels.

Many fans of the Quibbler often ask me if I will be embarrassed if the next two books come out and I am completely off. No, I will not be embarrassed. I think that prediction and speculation is what makes us think and makes us creative and I get enough of that. If I was completely correct on everything that I think, then I should write my own books. I do not expect to be correct, however, and that is why the Quibbler is so much fun. I often speculate on theories that I do not want to be true (anything bad dealing with Ron), and yet I feel very comfortable writing these things.

Overall, thank you again for reading the Quibbler. I just needed to get a couple things out in the open about Rowling and about my work. Do not worry, though, there is a brand new theory on the way: "Malfoys, Blacks, and Weasleys: Where the Potters Fit In".

2/29/04

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