A rather tame end

This post is long due, considering the fact that I've read the last of the Harry Potter series about a month and a half ago. Anyway, here it is...

The adventures that the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione faced throughout the novel were, I have to admit, pretty gripping. However, the way the novel ended left me pretty disappointed. I expected that the duel with Voldemort would last for quite sometime and Harry would ultimately end up proving his superiority over him. Alas, Rowling chose to introduce the concept of the deathly hallows and use it, rather effectively, to rescue Harry from the first Avada Kedavra death curse and then guarantee his victory over the Dark Lord at the end, courtesy the Elder Wand.


Well, so you might ask, what's your problem.

I had been hoping for an exciting finish, one that would've left me satisfied that Harry had indeed comprehensively beaten Voldemort with skill. I had expected a lot of fireworks, hoping that a minimum of ten curses and counter-curses would've ensued before Voldemort's death. I wondered how Harry would train himself to raise his skill in time for the ultimate duel and how Rowling would handle that problematic point.

But that was not to be. I do realise now that I should've expected this sort of an end. It does match perfectly with the development and portrayal of Harry's character. I failed to look at the larger picture and wondered how Harry would develop his skill.

There's absolutely no doubt that had Rowling set up a proper duel between the two rivals at the end of the novel, it would've been a fitting and an exciting end to the seven-part series. But to effect such an end, Harry should've been extremely intelligent and should've excelled in his academics. He would've had to master, or atleast tried to master, most of the magic out there. And that would've meant immersing himself for hours in the Hogwarts library :-) .

But, understandably, Harry is a simple guy, not a geek or a nerd. It is this image of Potter that has endeared him to his young fans, and has helped Rowling earn what she has. Making Harry an intellectual, with skill that would've matched that of Voldemort, would've been a disaster. Such an approach would've alienated the countless number of ordinary fans who wouldn't have touched the book. Rowling's approach does indeed make perfect sense.

For Rowling, the end would've been a minor compromise. Or it might not be one at all, given that she has compensated quite well with an exciting concept of the Deathly Hallows, and of course, love, right from the first to the last of the series. However, I do feel that she would've desired to give an exciting finish to the series with a good duel instead of a tame single-spell end to the life of a great dark wizard. Even if she had desired to, she wouldn't have been able to provide such an end, given the way she had groomed Potter. Potter wouldn't have been able to master spells in the last novel, nor would he have been able to give a proper fight to the dark lord.

Come to think of it, the end isn't very apt, but Rowling had no other choice.