Draco as leader and bigot (was:Re: Scapegoating Slytherin - The Moral Majority)

[festuco]

No: HPFGUIDX 144506

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Magpie" <belviso at a...> wrote:
 
> Actually, he first wants to know what house he'll be in and if he plays 
> Quidditch.  Asking who his parents are comes pretty late--after
Harry has 
> "coldly" said he thinks Hagrid is brilliant.  I'm not trying to say
that 
> Draco isn't intentionally acting just like Lucius there in saying 
> non-wizards shouldn't be admitted, but that the scene is not so
simple as 
> Draco walking in, being a bigot and Harry being righteously angry. 
I think 
> the scene is more subtle with more going on.

It is the first conversation the two of them have. In this first
conversation Draco wants to find out if Harry is the right kind of
wizard. I don't really care when in this first conversation the
subject is breached by him, but I do care that it is something he
really wants to know about Harry. Draco is being a racist here. 
> 

> Draco has basically no interaction with Hermione at all in the first
book. 
> There's no reason to think he considered her or not as a target. 
It's a 
> non-issue.  He picks on Harry Potter, so I doubt little Hermione
Granger is 
> someone he's going to avoid because she's so clever. He starts going
after 
> her after she draws first blood.  That's all we really know.

Gerry:
And of all the things he could have called her, he has to be a racist. 

> Magpie:
> 
> I don't think it's true at all.  The evidence in canon points
against it, 
> imo.

Which evidence? Draco's daddy bought amazing brooms for the Slythering
team and suddenly dear little Draco is a seeker, just as Harry and on
a better broom.... Where is the canon that he has not bought the
position? 

> Magpie:
> 
> Again, I think you're making it flatter than it is--there's more
interesting 
> stuff going on there, imo.  In B&B Lucius is chastizing him about his 
> grades, and Draco sulkily tries to claim things aren't fair at
school.  He 
> brings up Hermione as a teacher's favorite.  Lucius responds by
saying he'd 
> think Draco would be ashamed at having a Muggleborn beat him in
every exam. 
> Lucius uses her being a Muggleborn to shame Draco further.


Gerry:

The only interesting thing here is that Daddy does not buy Draco's
whining about Hermione being a teachers favourite, but actually
acknowledges that she did better than him. Draco makes his own
humiliation here, because he is the one who reminded his daddy that
Hermione did better than him (CoS bloomsbury paperback edition p. 85-86). 
> 
> The Quidditch Pitch scene is, imo, a continuation of that.  Hermione
does 
> humiliate him on the Pitch by suggesting he doesn't deserve his
place on the 
> team, which I think he certainly does, and if he bought his way on
the team 
> he'd be far more smug about it.  Draco strikes back with all the
frustration 
> he has about his position by attacking her racially.

Let's look at the scene: 
The Slytherin team has a note from Snape that gives them permission to
use the pitch to train their new seeker. When Fred asks if he is
Lucius Malfoy's son, Flint immediately uses that question to get the
Griffindor team's attention to the gift Lucius has given the team.
When Hermione and Ron enter the scene we get Draco's own words:
'I'm the new Slytherin seeker Weasley,' said Malfoy smugley.
'Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father bought our team.'
And he then goes on to insult the Griffindor brooms. To that Hermione
reacts with the comment that he bouhgt his position. 

To me it seems that he is indeed very smug about his dad's gift. The
whole scene is about the brooms. Nowhere do we see anyone remarking
Draco's talent as a seeker, including Draco himself. Hermione's remark
was spot on. 
> 
> I think those scenes in CoS are the only time Rowling has actually 
> dramatized the kinds of emotions that lead to racism.  No, Draco has
not 
> changed in HBP, but I think Betsy's point (and I agree) is that just
as he's 
> the one character whose racism has been personalized he's the one
character 
> who's been primed to change on this subject.  He hasn't yet, but I,
too, 
> consider Dumbledore's words about not using the word Mudblood
something that 
> might have been intentionally planted to have some effect.  

Hm, that could be possible. It will be interesting to see what happens
to Draco now. But Draco will have a lot of changing to do to be an
accetible human being. He already has committed some horrible crimes.
Being a racist actually pales against that. 

Gerry