Voldemort good/bad. Was: Twisted Irony

[suehpfan1]

No: HPFGUIDX 138882

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, Magda Grantwich 
<mgrantwich at y...> wrote:
>
Rebecca:
It was not what had happened to Tom that made him the person he
was, it was the way that he saw what had happened to him, and the 
way that he reacted to it. "he was special" , "better", it was 
the "others who 
were wrong". He was essentially arrogant and, basically,
not-a-nice- person.

Magdna: 
True....but there was another aspect to the 11-year-old Tom Riddle
that no one has commented on.  When Dumbledore first appears in his
room, Tom is immediately suspicious that he's some kind of doctor
who's come to take him to an asylum, he denies that he is crazy and
insists that Dumbledore tell him the truth about who he is.  Later,
he confides that he can understand snakes, that they come up to him
and "tell him things".  

I think that would be a pretty freaky thing for a kid to experience. 
Imagine hearing reptiles talk to you in clear language and then
trying to tell someone else about it.  Small wonder that when he
finds out it's magic, his relief makes almost giddy and he carelessly
tells Dumbledore things he later regrets.  His demeanour when he
tells Dumbledore about parseltongue is quite notable: finally he can
tell someone who WILL understand.

The relief at finding out he was sane and that there was nothing
"wrong" (in the way he'd feared) with him, must have been almost
overwhelming.


Sue(hpfan) delurking after an extended absence to add her thoughts.

No question that these things are true.  More telling than his fear 
or his arrogance (most fearful, insecure people are arrogant.  The 
more insecure the more arrogant typically) was his capacity and 
desire to hurt and control others.

When he discovered his powers he did not use them (at least as far as 
we know) to escape, create, change his environment to make things 
better for himself (like bringing more food into his room if he was 
hungry, repairing things that belonged to him when broken etc.) he 
used his powers against others.  I agree with DD that *that* behavior 
was way scarier than talking to snakes or even stealing.

Sue