Malfoy redemption

[heidi.h.tandy.c92 at alumni.upenn.edu]

No: HPFGUIDX 14950

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer <pennylin at s...> 
wrote:
> Hi --
> 
> cassandraclaire at m... wrote:
> 
> > Do you really think that Snape wasn't pretty much exactly like 
Draco
> > when he was at school? (Only possibly less popular and Draco 
probably
> > has cleaner hair.) I wouldn't be surprised if he went around 
spouting
> > off about Muggles and Mudbloods. He joined the Death Eaters, after
> > all. And his redemptive possibilites are quite clear in canon.
> 
> This is the strongest argument I've seen for a possible Draco
> redemption.  Clearly, Severus was seen by the Marauders in much the 
same
> light as Draco is viewed by the Trio & other non-Slytherins.  But,
> clearly, Snape is or can be redeemed.  So .... I definitely like 
this as
> a sound basis for arguing a potential Draco turn-around.

When this same topic came around earlier, there had been a suggestion 
that JKR was making Draco so nasty (In HARRY'S PERSPECTIVE of course)
so that she could give him a sharp shock somewhere along the line & 
get him to be, if not nice and kind and sweet and boyscouty, at least 
fighting on the good guys' side - one of tthe listies stated that 
they thought that JKR was going to use Snape's leaving the death 
eaters to make that point, not "redeem" Draco.
And I was thinking about this yesterday, while working ont eh next 
chapter of Surfeit of Curses and it occured to me that such an 
approach would HAVE to be a "tell don't show" kind of explanation, 
the same way that the Shrieking Shack scene was a "tell don't show" 
explanation of how the secret keeper decision went completely awry. 
My understanding is that a general rule of fiction writing is that 
Showing is better than Telling - therefore, any narrative where it's 
shown - Draco getting redeemed - is inherently more powerful than a 
narrative where Snape tells Harry (or Dumbledore tells harry about 
snape, which is one inch less powerful still) about why he left the 
death eaters - even if he says, "I did it because I was in love with 
your mother...."