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

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 124860


Northsouth wrote:
> Voldemort is human though. I just typed and deleted "or was", 
> because IMO he is human, whether he, and Hagrid and Harry and us,
> for that matter, like it or not. It's disturbing, to me, that he 
> chose to disfigure himself, whether as a sacrifice to his quest 
> for immortality, an attempt to erase his own humanity, or something 
> else. 

a_svirn:

And where is the proof of that? He certainly doesn't look human; he 
wasn't born like any human being but MADE artificially. He is rather 
like Frankenstein and his monster in one. And besides we know on the 
authority of Dumbledore that his is not human enough to die and on 
his own authority that he's "much more than a man". And these two 
are the best informed persons in the whole WW after all.

> Northsouth:
> But if all we knew about LV was his present incarnation, he'd be 
> laughable, because he so neatly fits the typical Evil Overlord <snip> 
> They [wizards] take Voldemort perfectly seriously, on every level -
> they have cause to, they've already been through one war with him. 
> Much like Hitler, except that the WW Hitler has been resurrected, and
> they know he's dangerous. Making Voldemort silly looking isn't going
> to help in drawing any parallels with silly looking 1920's Hitler. 

a_svirn:

Well there is a certain cardboard quality in Voldemort although I 
fail to see how it makes him look like Hitler or Stalin. THEY were 
unfortunately very much flesh and blood. As for wizards taking him 
seriously, well he did have a knack to make his point perfectly 
clear after all  look at Mrs Weasley's boggart. 

Dave:
> It seems to me that in disfiguring himself in pursuit of 
> immortality and total evil-overlordiness, Tom Riddle robbed 
> himself of his most powerful weapon. In the Chamber he tells 
> Harry, "I've always been able to charm the people I needed." 
> It's hard to be charming when you have a snake-like face, big 
> red eyes, and spidery fingers.

a_svirn:

I suppose he needed his charm to get where he is, but having 
established himself as a Dark Lord he could well afford to dispense 
with such foolishness. Besides, we don't know whether he was such a 
snake-like monster before GH. He did use snake venom while creating 
an "embryo" that would account for his present looks. And that 
wasn't his fist choice either  I suspect should he get hold of the 
Philosopher Stone he could have looked differently. 

Alla:
> The gist of my post was that I don't find Voldemort to be very 
> scary at all. <snip> I think that JKR does NOT portray him well. 
> <snip>
> 
> After all, Voldemort and what he stands for is supposed to be an 
> ultimate threat, right? But even during the time of peace, evil 
> things keep happening and I am not going to stop calling them evil, 
> just because much bigger Evil is lurking in the shadows (well, he 
> is not lurking anymore, but you get what I mean).

a_svirn:

I think we are all being a bit hard on JKR. I am quite sure that the 
lack of the "third dimension" in how she's portraying LV is quite 
deliberate on her part. This is her admittedly not-too-subtle way of 
showing that the worst evil is always of our own making. While Tom 
Riddle is certainly a talented wizard and worthy opponent he is not 
scary enough to make the whole WW tremble. Now, Voldemort is 
something altogether different. He is not so much a wizard (even a 
dark one), but the personification of the worst fears of the 
wizardkind. His very name is taboo, for God's sake! His power is 
akin to that of the Dementors, because he feeds on fears and 
discordance that exists in the WW. And really why should she even 
try to make someone who denies his own humanity appear less carton-
like. 

a_svirn