Tom Felton as Louis LeonowensGreetings, Tom Felton Fans. Here's a little gift for you, since there seems to be so little Louis Leonowens material in cyberspace.These pix are from a huge (bigger than 8.5 x 11) glossy picture book called "The Story of Anna and the King" by Cecilia Holland. I just saw the film recently (hee hee hee... 1,000 times, just like Snape made Violet... and a mercy dinner, just like Snape gave Violet!) and of course it made me reflect on my fanfics about Snape and his Slytherins. More on that below. |
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Since I assume most of you are children (and because a lot of the
so-called Snape fans I've met are rather childish), let me remind you of
something very important: Only people who matter get criticized. The
intelligent do not waste their time on people who don't count. ("How come some people don't count?" Because they don't 'spend' their lives making a contribution... but that's another topic.) So, keeping in mind you should be GLAD people offer substantial criticism of Rowling because it means her work is significant, here are the two primary criticisms I've read of her work: 1. There is no consistency to her use of magic, making it less effective. Yeah, true, but not my area of interest. |
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2. Her writing about Slytherin is woefully beneath the rest of her work.
Yes, it is, to the point that I wonder if we readers are being made to
suffer because she's trying to punish someone. I believe Rowling's
handling of Slytherin (note creation date of this page) will come to be
seen as the greatest flaw in her work; it may be precisely what educators
are referring to when they mention a mean-spirited ethic in her books.
Nothing makes this clearer than the filming of movies that put
flesh-and-blood children into the roles of the Slytherins. Even when
they're scowling or criticizing Lupin, it's hard to believe an entire
houseful of children could be as unfailingly evil and shallow as the
Slytherins have been written so far, especially when they have a head of
house who has been characterized as a self-sacrificing man of
integrity. So, while it's not the central message of The Smallest Slytherin, An Obedient House, or Salazar's Orphans, the impact that Rowling's Snape would/should have on the Slytherins IS a central theme of my fanfics. |