Levels and contradictions in JKR's writing ( was Re: It's over, Snape is evil )

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 138426

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Rachel Ellington" 
<ellcam at c...> wrote:

Rachel:
> I actually think that JKR has provided us with the story of 2 
children brought up in unloving environments, both orphans, and the 
divergent character development that insues.  This to me is a 
contradiction in the choice matter as they have similar beginnings 
and extreme differences in character.

<snip>
 
> One has to wonder why Harry turned out to be such a decent person, 
while Tom turned out to be truly evil, if their personalities are not 
grounded in nature.  LV also seems to me, so far, to be a shallow 
fairly uncomplicated character, whereas Harry has some depth to his 
character and struggles with his emotions.  

Geoff:
Speaking as a Christian, I do not believe that anyone is born totally 
evil or good but that factors influence us to move in one direction 
or the other – our disposition, our reaction to events and so forth.

As I remarked some weeks ago in a similar discussion, I am reminded 
of the old couplet:

Two men looked through prison bars, 
one saw mud and one saw stars.

Much depends on whether we view our surroundings or events in an 
optimistic or pessimistic way - whether we see a glass as half-full 
or half-empty. Whether a problem is to be tackled and overcome or a 
stumbling block to keep us permanently feeling hard done by.

Harry is basically an optimistic, affable person. Although his life 
at Little Whinging is made very difficult by the actions of Dudley 
and his gang, he obviously is prepared to try to be outgoing and 
friendly when the opportunity occurs – as when he meets Ron and the 
others in Gryffindor house. If he had been otherwise, he would 
probably have remained aloof and withdrawn – and unpopular.

In my teaching career I have known pupils who have faced great odds 
because of background or health and overcome them. I recall a boy who 
was a thalidomide baby and had no legs and a deformed hand but who 
was one of the most uncomplaining people I have ever met and who 
today is the IT manager for one of our bigger cities. We also have a 
friend who we knew as a boy. He lost both parents before he was 11, 
was pushed around from relative to relative like a piece of luggage, 
then placed in care until he was 18 because an aunt and uncle didn't 
want him but is today an upbeat, optimistic guy of 45 who shrugs off 
his boyhood problems as past history.

But then again, my wife sometimes labels folk as "Eeyore" people – 
the grey donkey in Winnie-the-Pooh to the uninitiated. We have some 
friends who always see the down side of things. You say "What a 
lovely day" and their response is "Yes, but they are forecasting rain 
this afternoon". Other friends give a litany of their aches and pains 
when there are many other things for which they can be thankful.

Tom had a rough time as a young child in the orphanage or so it would 
seem. Some folk have said that, unlike Harry who had 15 months with 
his parents, he had nothing to cling to. However, although Merope 
died in childbirth, Tom Riddle's comments in COS seem to imply that 
he had some sort of feeling for his mother's memory. But he went the 
other way to Harry and felt that the world owed him and that he 
needed to claw his way up from where he was and tread on anyone in 
the way. When he realised his wizarding ability, he turned to evil 
because he wanted to revenge himself and to put himself in the 
position where he had the power of life and death, he called the 
shots, his was the name which struck terror into those around him, 
including his followers. He chose to follow this way. His choice was 
that "he sank deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very 
worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical 
transformations that, when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was 
barely recognisable" (COS "Dobby's Reward" p.242 UK edition). He 
could have reached out to others round him and lifted himself to 
overcome and leave behind the horrible memories of his childhood – 
but he didn't and chose to descend into the dark.