Voldemort the Cartoon (was Re: Draco = Evil?)

[kiricat2001]

No: HPFGUIDX 124825


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "lupinlore" <bob.oliver at c...> 
wrote:
> 
> You know, this is very interesting, and I think at the heart of a 
lot
> of arguments we have over the Dursleys, Snape, and Draco.  That is
> that people often point out that the Dursleys/Snape/Draco aren't
> *really* evil, because Voldemort represents the *real* evil in the 
books.
> 
> And there I think is the problem for a lot of adult readers, 
including
> myself and others in my circle.  We just can't take Voldy 
seriously. 
> The man is *such* a cartoon!  I mean, who can read a Voldemort scene
> and not laugh?

Marianne:

It's only when he has an audience that he gets ridiculous.  I found 
him horrifying in the first scene of GoF, and somewhat scary in the 
graveyard scene, too. Of course, then he makes the mistake of 
pontificating in true Evil Overlord fashion, and <<Presto!>> he slips 
back into ridiculous mode.

For that matter, most of the DEs can fall prey to the same thing. 
What really gave me the heebie-jeebies in the graveyard scene was the 
thought of this one poor kid facing down all these adults hidden 
behind their masks and having to listen to their mocking laughter 
while their Master toyed with Harry.  That whole bit was entirely 
revolting.

But, in OoP, the DEs, too, slip into too-much-talk-not-enough-action 
mode.  I found myself muttering an "Oh, please..." as Lucius Malfoy 
acted the part of Evil Overlord in training, rabbiting on to Harry 
while not one of these deadly henchmen saw Harry muttering 
instructions over his shoulder to Hermione.  Yeah, right. 

Lupinlore:
> And therein lies the problem.  We can take the Dursleys seriously,
> particularly after OOTP, because we have all known people who make 
or
> would make abusive parents.  We can take Snape seriously because we
> all know the kind of pain his hatefulness can bring.  We can take
> Draco seriously because we have all known bullies and know what can
> happen to them in adult life.  We can take Dudley seriously for the
> same reason.  But Voldemort?  The man is an over-the-top cliche
> straight out of a comic opera or a comic book.  
<snip>
> So perhaps, just perhaps, how seriously you take the behavior of the
> Dursleys/Snape/Draco depends largely on how much you can believe in
> Voldemort.

Marianne:
Spot on. It rather mirrors my thoughts about the Devil/Satan or 
whatever. Devil/Satan=Bad, but, really, in my day-to-day life, when I 
hear about atrocities on a large (genocide) or small (an abused 
child) scale, I don't associate those actions with the Devil or some 
eptiome of evil.  I associate them with specific people. I can't say 
to myself, "Yeah those people are nasty, but, hey, at least they're 
not the Devil." 

Marianne