[HPforGrownups] Re: Draco is Evil

[tillrules at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 25176

In a message dated 8/30/2001 11:02:14 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
cassandraclaire at mail.com writes:

<< --- In HPforGrownups at y..., tillrules at a... wrote:
 > I don't see any doubt that Draco is evil.  He is inarguably a 
 racist and  contiually acts in a malicious manner.  He takes joy out 
 of ruining other's   lives and in seeing others hurt."
 
 I have not yet noted Draco ruining anyone's life. And no one is 
 arguing that he isn't a rotten little bastard. Just that if JKR 
 wanted to redeem him, she could; he hasn't done anything so far to 
 render him irreedeemable. And yes, he's a lousy little racist. 
 Doesn't mean he always will be one. 

True enough, but there are certain things which are essentially unchangeable. 
 Racism, in my view is one of them.  To me, his attempts to get Hagrid fired, 
which he knows would be a crushing blow to a character that has very little 
life outside Hogwarts, does render him irredeemable.  As I reader, I would 
have a very hard time accepting any gesture in which he acts in a positive 
manner for any reason but self interest to be very difficult to swallow.

 "I think the comparison of Ron's offhand joke about throwing Draco 
 off a   glacier to Draco's hope that the next person to die is 
 Hermione is innacurate  for one reason:  Liklihood of occurrance.  
 Ron's joke regarded the extremely  unlikely fictional situation of 
 both of them being at Durmstrang and being in  that situation.  It's 
 a practically impossibility."   
 
 *Shrug.* To an extent, that's true. I think if Ron had the 
 opportunity and wouldn't get caught, he'd give Malfoy a good beating. 
 And no, I don't think that makes him evil. My point is that verbally 
 expressing that you wish someone was dead is miles from actually 
 doing anything about it, especially when you are *twelve years old*, 
 an age at which boys are prone to exaggeration and behaving as if 
 they were worse than they are.

Again, I find Draco's comments, given his racial attitudes to be more than 
"I'd like to sock someone" type 12 year old thoughts.  He was wishing a real 
major injury on Herminone simply due to her background.   I don't see it as 
being simply exagguration.

 "Also, I find the Sirius comparison invalid.  I will not argue that 
 Sirius  committed one evil act (the trick on Snape), but that does 
 not make him evil.   Nor would one evil act stamp Draco as evil.  The 
 difference (from what we   know in the canon) is that Sirius 
 committed only that one evil act, where as  Draco's sole purpose is 
 to be evil. 
 
 "Draco's sole purpose is to be evil?" He hasn't even done anything 
 evil yet, he just says evil things. This seems a stretch, especially 
 when we're only on Book 4 in a 7-book series. I wouldn't say I knew 
 what any character's sole purpose was, be it Harry's, Ron's, or 
 Draco's.

Again, I look at his attempts to get Hagrid fired and his ongoing charade in 
that instance.  Trying to get him fired when he knows how much the job means 
to Hagrid is simply evil for evil's sake.  This is not some silly prank, it 
is a premeditated (JKR even has Harry note that Draco & his goons are 
planning something) attempt to maliciously injure someone.

The point as to the eventual purpose is valid, but as of right nwo, he's 
solely eveil and I see no plausible way to redeem him (but then again JKR's a 
better writer than I am)
 
 "Sirius is continually portrayed as being 
 > someone who will help others, to the point of risking his life & 
 freedom to  be near Harry for GoF."
 
 Yes. Sirius is now a 30+ year old grown-up man who has spent twelve 
 years of his life in Azkaban among ruthless murderers and criminals. 
 That would change anyone. Who is to say that he was like this when he 
 was fourteen, as Draco is? It's an invalid comparison because Sirius 
 is an adult and Draco is a child. Draco is not a fully realized human 
 being; Sirius is. And I still maintain that what Sirius did was worse 
 than anything Draco's done, and he seems to have turned out well. 
 Rather gives me hope for the little Malfoy brat.
 
But we have other evidence of Sirius at 14.  He was supportive of Lupin and 
his status as a werewolf.  He befreinded the essential friendless Peter.  By 
all current canon, he was a nice kid who played pranks and did one evil 
thing.  An evil which is not part of an ongoing pattern of spech and action.

 "On the other hand, Draco seems to favor no one but 
 > himself. He even mistreats and disrespects his "friends."
 
 Draco has friends? It looks to me like he just has flunkies. He seems 
 a badly socialized child.  

Hence my use of quotes.  I agree here.
 > 
 " Also, if he is not evil, why does he take such joy at the end of 
 GoF with the  return of Voldemort?  
 
 Because that's the way he's been brought up, and he's a child and he 
 believes what his parents told him. Do you think that Snape didn't 
 feel righteous in becoming a Death Eater, in serving Voldemort, in 
 recieving the Dark Mark, *before* he turned and changed sides? No one 
 is saying that Draco is good, and not a dreadful child and a horrible 
 nasty brat. All they are saying is that it might be possible for him 
 to redeem himself, as Snape did.
  >>

Possible, but not likely.  Again, we know little of Snape's background.  But 
Draco, thus far has shown no traits that indicate that he may be redeemable.  
 Snape, the impression thus far has been was a weasely and unliked child with 
an interest in the Dark arts, it would be very easy for such a child to be 
drawn to a Drak Side that "accepted" him.  We do not know that he was they 
type of child Draco is, kind of the kid who drowns puppies & cats to see them 
squirm.