Draco and redemption potential

[elfundeb at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 38004

Chiming in rather late here (as always) on Draco :

"'You've picked the losing side, Potter! … Too late now,
Potter!  [Ron and Hermione will] be the first to go, now the 
Dark Lord's back!  Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first!  Well - 
second - Diggory was the f -`"  (GoF, US, 729).

Manda:

I don't believe that this quote makes Draco 
hopeless.  It could make him a teenaged kid who has never had to come 
to terms with death and doesn't grasp the hard reality of the 
situation.  He's glad to see the Dark Lord back because he's
always been told that the Dark Lord was good, and so far he's 
never seen anything to make him question that.  He's excited
about the possible results in relation to Ron and Hermione because
they're his enemies and, again, he doesn't really understand
death yet.  

My comment:

I find it hard to accept the premise that anyone who can gleefully anticipate 
the deaths of his classmates has much hope for redemption. (And Ron and 
Hermione are mainly guilty only of being friends of Harry, who rebuffed 
Draco's own overtures at friendship; and in Hermione's case, outperforming 
him at school). Recalling  how the Sorting Hat barely touched Draco's head 
before screaming, "Slytherin!" it seems to me that what the Hat saw -- no 
more and no less -- was a child who has no principles other than the 
Slytherin philosophy that it's perfectly acceptable to "use any means to 
achieve their ends" including murder.  Yes, the statements are death wishes 
and not threats, but IMO that may reflect nothing more than Draco's 
expectation that someone else will do the dirty work for him.  Besides, it's 
not the first time he's expressed those wishes (e.g., in CoS, after Hermione 
is Petrefied, he says, "Bet you five Galleons the next one dies.  Pity it 
wasn't Granger.").

In fact, based on past history, as Lucius seems to be rather pliant in 
fulfilling Draco's desires by whatever nefarious means are at hand (such as 
buying his way onto the Quidditch team after Draco complained that a new 
racing broom wouldn't be any good otherwise; having Buckbeak prosecuted - on 
false evidence - when Draco complained about it), I don't find it impossible 
to believe that Lucius might not carry out more of Draco's desires, such as 
targeting the Grangers or their neighborhood for attack, at Draco's 
suggestion. 

Nevertheless, though I am very close to thinking that Draco has gone over the 
edge beyond redeemability, I find it very difficult to accept the premise 
that a 14-year-old child is irredeemably evil, notwithstanding that a 
psychologist for an inner-city juvenile detention center told me just last 
week that in her opinion such cases do exist.  It seems unacceptable in books 
marketed to children, especially one that expressly emphasizes one's choices 
over nature and ability as a determinant of character.

Manda again:

More, I wonder about the level of confidence.  In my experience, 
people who showed the most confidence were often trying to cover 
up insecurity.  Maybe he's somewhat confused or not really sure 
what to think.  He certainly doesn't want anyone else to know
about it, though, and might overcompensate by acting as confident 
and gleeful as possible.  Again, this doesn't excuse the 
statements, but it would suggest that there's more to Draco, and 
that we can have hope for some of it. 

Me:

Oddly enough, I think Draco's lack of real confidence is the key to his 
possible "redeemability" such as it is.  We have seen little if any "good" 
qualities in Draco that could spark a redemption.    (I think someone 
suggested that Draco appeared friendly in Madam Malkin's and on the train, 
but I don't agree.  The Madam Malkin's scene suggests Draco was putting on an 
attitude even then, and his offer of friendship on the train wasn't much of 
an offer, - in effect, he told Harry to stick with him because his family was 
better than Ron's.   In fact, though I don't have hard evidence to support it 
except for Lucius' comment that it's not prudent to appear less than fond of 
Harry, I believe that Draco may have offered friendship to Harry on the train 
in PS/SS at Lucius' specific request, and that his failure to do so did not 
sit well with Lucius.)

Thus, I wonder if the agent for Draco's "redemption" is not some hidden good 
quality but his own weakness, and more specifically, his cowardice.  There 
are plenty of examples to illustrate this (Draco runs from the sight of 
Voldemort drinking unicorn blood in PS/SS; he backs off in the ferret scene 
in GoF when Harry comments on his mother, then takes a cheap shot at Harry 
when his back is turned).  Draco has dealt with his weakness, IMO, in the 
same way that Pettigrew did.  Pettigrew felt weak, and sought stronger folk, 
the Marauders, as allies.  When it appeared that Voldemort would prevail, he 
sought Voldemort's protection.  Draco similarly  has surrounded himself with 
Crabbe's and Goyle's brawn for personal protection (in exchange for Draco's 
brains and leadership), and relies on the family money and Lucius' influence 
for the rest.  I think it's the latter, and the continued evidence of Lucius' 
power (Lucius even succeeded in removing Dumbledore as headmaster - at least 
temporarily), that gives him so many apparent fans in Slytherin House.  But 
if he finds his back against the wall, or the tide is turning, could he keep 
it up?

Unfortunately for Draco, I can imagine Lucius  taking Draco along on a spot 
of Muggle-torture, and while it might sicken Draco, I think it's at least 
equally likely that the combination of his contempt of Muggles (to which 
Lucius has conditioned him) and his own struggle with cowardice would cause 
him to relish the opportunity to participate.  He might find the feeling of 
power exciting and comforting.  But Muggle-torture is easy (the World Cup 
episode demonstrated that wizards can pretty much do what they please with 
Muggles).  His epiphany, if any were to occur, would be more likely in my 
view to come if he is required to do something difficult, like engaging an 
equal opponent in a confrontation.  To date we have never seen him do 
anything but back down from his threats when pressed, starting back in PS/SS 
when he failed to show up for the wizard's duel.  If he ever felt personally 
threatened, I think he would break down, perhaps blurt out things he 
shouldn't, in effect forcing him to switch sides in acknowledgement of the 
fact that he'll never get the respect of his father.  It's not heroic, but 
IMO it's the best we can reasonably expect from Draco.  

Debbie



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]