Olivia Clark
Mrs. Fitzgibbon
AP Literature & Composition
26 October, 2015
A Separated Gene Dumbledore is gay. At least, that is what J.K. Rowling told Harry Potter fans; and, of course, many minds were blown. Now, does that mean Rowling’s intentions for Dumbledore’s sexual orientation suddenly trumps millions of fans’ interpretations? According to new critical theory, an author’s intent holds no power over a reader’s perception. This circumstance can be flipped to include John Knowles work A Separate Peace, in which many readers have detected certain homosexual tones, despite the author’s claim of incorporating no such thing. Yet, as emphasized by new critical theory, only the text itself can influence any interpretations on the reader’s part. …show more content…
He, as an adult, reflects back on Finny with fondness, and consistently construes him as perfect. This is probably due to the fact that Gene was never able to experience any other side to Finny and their relationship, much like an unfulfilled love. Conversely, the reader can understand that Finny could not possibly be perfect. For one thing, he is too naive, and he purposely blinds himself to the fact that Gene, even for just one moment, held a deadly grudge against him. Also, during the beach scene when Finny calls Gene his “best pal,” it comes off as Finny revealing a crush; however, there is no way for the reader to know that for sure, since it is possible that the impression was only due to Gene’s own desire for his feelings to be reciprocated. Furthermore, while Gene reflects back on the beach scene, he says that there was a “level of feeling, deeper than thought, [that contained] the truth”(48). A truth which can be inferred to be his ardor for Finny. All together, this proves that Gene, as the narrator, is unreliable. The reader has no way of differentiating between the Gene’s viewpoint as an adult or teenager. Perhaps he resolved his feelings and looks back with a clearer sense-of-self; or perhaps he remains just as confused and repressed. Hence, Gene’s own point of view reveals another layer of the conflicts between what he understands of himself and the underlying workings of his own
Mrs. Fitzgibbon
AP Literature & Composition
26 October, 2015
A Separated Gene Dumbledore is gay. At least, that is what J.K. Rowling told Harry Potter fans; and, of course, many minds were blown. Now, does that mean Rowling’s intentions for Dumbledore’s sexual orientation suddenly trumps millions of fans’ interpretations? According to new critical theory, an author’s intent holds no power over a reader’s perception. This circumstance can be flipped to include John Knowles work A Separate Peace, in which many readers have detected certain homosexual tones, despite the author’s claim of incorporating no such thing. Yet, as emphasized by new critical theory, only the text itself can influence any interpretations on the reader’s part. …show more content…
He, as an adult, reflects back on Finny with fondness, and consistently construes him as perfect. This is probably due to the fact that Gene was never able to experience any other side to Finny and their relationship, much like an unfulfilled love. Conversely, the reader can understand that Finny could not possibly be perfect. For one thing, he is too naive, and he purposely blinds himself to the fact that Gene, even for just one moment, held a deadly grudge against him. Also, during the beach scene when Finny calls Gene his “best pal,” it comes off as Finny revealing a crush; however, there is no way for the reader to know that for sure, since it is possible that the impression was only due to Gene’s own desire for his feelings to be reciprocated. Furthermore, while Gene reflects back on the beach scene, he says that there was a “level of feeling, deeper than thought, [that contained] the truth”(48). A truth which can be inferred to be his ardor for Finny. All together, this proves that Gene, as the narrator, is unreliable. The reader has no way of differentiating between the Gene’s viewpoint as an adult or teenager. Perhaps he resolved his feelings and looks back with a clearer sense-of-self; or perhaps he remains just as confused and repressed. Hence, Gene’s own point of view reveals another layer of the conflicts between what he understands of himself and the underlying workings of his own