Tom, evil, choices

[lady_aidil]

No: HPFGUIDX 134616

"delwynmarch" wrote:
> Moreover, I'm afraid DD burned his ships right away with his little
> demonstration of power. IMO DD made 3 major mistakes.
> 
> 1. He showed no acceptance and understanding for what Tom was *at 
> that time*. That's one of the basic steps of giving love: 
> accepting people *as they are*.  <snip>
> 2. He *forcefully* made Tom comply to what he (DD) expected. By so
> doing, he actually *reinforced* Tom's previous understanding of the
> rules of life: the biggest bully gets to make the rules.  
> 3. And finally, he didn't follow through. Instead of actively 
> trying to get closer to Tom and to give him better morals, he 
> instead sat back and let Tom get involved with the wrong crowd.
> 
> So no, I definitely do not consider that DD helped Tom in any way. 
> And in particular, he did NOT show him love. 


Your post is exactly what I`ve had in my mind since the reading of 
the book, this is the issue that bothers me considering the whole 
series, I don`t see now the matter of choices if the main evil 
character is simply the born psychopath, the victim of genes, neglected by his adult protectors.

I have the same opinion about Dumbledore`s role in the development of Tom Riddle, I think that it is one of his great mistakes, because he was in Hogwarts 7 years and did nothing save the constant dislike and suspicion.  I know that his abilities were more limited than later when he was the Headmaster, yet I can`t acknowledge somebody an excellent tutor when they simply let this kind of young man stay 
alone with his problems.


Lady Aidil