Relative evil of Voldemort & The One Ring (was: Re: Death and Justice)

[John Walton]

No: HPFGUIDX 37000

talondg wrote:

> People have done evil things for corruptive influences - money, power,
> fame, drugs - but nobody's suitcase full of money is conciously
> attempting to control them. Nobody's suitcase of money is *alive* in
> the way the Ring appears to be.
> 
> The Gollum -> Wormtail analogy falls down on this point. Gollum is
> swept along under the influence of the Ring. He resists from time to
> time, but the Ring is stronger than him, and ultimately lays claim to
> him.

Hang on. Surely Lord Voldemort is just as evil as the Ring in
_The_Lord_of_the_Rings_. A case could certainly be made, using examples of
Wormtail's snivelling and wimpiness, that Wormtail is at least as "swept
along" as Gollum. Moreover, the Ring is an impersonal object, though it does
involve Sauron; however, one cannot see Sauron when one is not wearing it.
In comparison, and particularly during Voldemort's reign, and to an extent
in the GOF-and-beyond of canon, Wormtail is under the control of Voldemort
as much as Quirrell ever was.

> But let's tweak the example a little bit. At the risk of invoking
> Godwin's law, let's pretend that 1) I'm French 2) my yard is in France
> 3) It's 1941 and 4) that's Adolf Hitler lying unarmed in my backyard.
 
*yells* Godwin's Law! I win! (Kidding, kidding. Those of you new to Godwin's
Law, check out http://www.faqs.org/faqs/usenet/legends/godwin/)

> Changes things, doesn't it?

Yep. For those responding to this, please remember that discussion of the
Holocaust not directly relevant to HP (usually in the context of Voldemort's
reign) tends to invite impassioned (okay, irate) responses from all sides.
As such, these non-canonical references are one of the very few things not
allowed here at HPFGU. See the Humongous Bigfile (www.hpfgu.org.uk/admin)
for the others.

--John

PS. Of course, the Gollum/Wormtail analysis belies the Wormtail/Wormtongue
similarity from LOTR. But that's another Very Secret Diary... :D

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Ai! Lantar i Mindonu ilcalar, || Alas! The gleaming Twin Towers are falling,
     Helwa Menello, uryala || Out of the pale blue sky, blazing
     Mir mallennar analye. || Into the richest streets
  --from Quenya poem, Minquëa Yavannië, "September Eleventh", by Kai MacTane

John Walton || john at walton.vu
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