Ever so Evil poll report

[dfrankiswork at netscape.net]

No: HPFGUIDX 40167

Time for an interim report on the Ever-So-Evil poll.  You can find it at
groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/surveys?id=929853
Note: the numbers may have changed slightly by the time you read this.

Here are a few findings; they are mostly pretty obvious.

Turnout was shockingly poor.  Only 300 or so votes out of 4000+ members.  And since you can vote for more than one character, we can't be sure that as many as 300 people voted.

The volume of theorising on the list does not reflect the views of the voting electorate.  Evil!Lupin and Moody got 5 votes each.  McGonagall did slightly better, with 14 votes putting her into 8th place, but still hardly a ringing endorsement.

On the other hand, that trusty old warhorse, Cornelius Fudge, easily topped the poll (perhaps this is how he got to be Minister for Magic?), gaining 16% of the vote (51 votes).  In his case though, there is the question of what we mean by 'ever so evil': are people voting because they believe he is a secret Voldemort supporter, ot because they see his temporisation at the end of GOF as evil in itself.  I think a similar question may be raised regarding Draco Malfoy, who did well, coming third with nearly 11%.  Is it that he is seen as becoming much worse, or just that if he merely remains satisfyingly nasty, that qualifies him for a vote?

Ludo Bagman's following is less ambiguous, and he may therefore be seen for the time being as king of the flying hedgehogs (see Hypotheticalley in the admin files for an explanation).  I would like to know whether electors see him as someone who has been evil all along, someone who was evil and will go back to it soon, or someone merely venal who is about to suffer a major fall.

It's interesting that despite Penny's best endeavours, there is still a hard core of Percy-haters: 25 of them, no less.

At the bottom of the list, I am surprised to see that there are *no* votes whatsoever for the Weasley parents.  With all the misplaced ingenuity sloshing around on this list, surely *someone* can demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Voldemort is merely the puppet of the shadowy mastermind Arthur Weasley.  Or possibly that Voldemort is AW on polyjuice.

More pleasing is the low vote for Severus Snape: if HPFGU have any say, his redemption is secure.

What about the 'other' vote - 33 votes? Who did I miss? Rita Skeeter?  or were these votes just cast on the general belief that if you name an evil person, JKR will magically ensure that you are wrong (perhaps this is the reason the WW refers to Voldemort as he-who-must-not-be-named: it's a way of avoiding narrative surprises, of fending off the malicious humour of their capricious creator).  I hope it isn't Hermione.

And what of the 'no' vote: 10 people voted that there are no secretly Ever So Evil characters at the end of GOF.  Everybody is exactly who they seem.  It's not totally implausible, as virtually all the thus-far revealed villains have been new to the volume in which they were introduced: Scabbers is the only exception.

Anyone want to comment?

David


__________________________________________________________________
Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop at Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/

Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/