Bad Slytherins/ Good Slytherins (was Does JKR want us to hate Draco? )

[Emily]

No: HPFGUIDX 129665

SSSusan:
She does for me.  Buckbeak, his taunting of H/R/H, his constant put-
downs and threats about Mudbloods and Lupin and Hagrid, his attacks 
on Harry, his insults of the Weasleys, ....  I don't see how this 
ISN'T succeeding at showing us that he is, if not evil, damn near 
close, and certainly not likeable.
 
Potioncat:
snip 
I think JKR has shown that Draco is a horrible person. I've never 
seen anything in canon that would even hint at any goodness in him. 
snip

Neil:
I think one reason why people don't see the evil of Draco is that it
is not related to huge, clear-cut incidents. We see it in some
actions, parts of conversations. You have to pay attention, but for 
me JKR did an excellent job in convincing me Draco is not nice.

imamommy:
What clinches it for me is Draco's attitude in CoS.  He openly 
says "You'll be next, Mudbloods" and to his cronies he expresses the 
desire that Hermione will be killed.  That's pretty extreme for a 12 
year old.   

Draco reminds me of Voldemort in some ways.  He's a coward; he's 
scared for his own neck but thinks nothing of harming those he finds 
lower than him, or exploiting them to his own advantage.  Even his 
friends he uses as a means for power and influence.  

The question for me has never been if Draco is a good or a bad guy, 
but more the degree of how bad he is.  He's unpleasant, and a bully, 
but to this point Harry has outpaced him.  Whether this will remain 
the case will be shown in the next two volumes. 

Potioncat: 
> Some readers are upset that 11-year-old students are comdemned to 
a 
> life of evil by the Sorting Hat. 
snip

imamommy:  
I have never agreed with this view.  The trait of ambition is not 
evil by itself.  If there is any flaw in the way this is written, 
it's that very few of the Slytherins *are* ambitious.  Would you 
describe Crabbe, Goyle, or Montague as ambitious?  If anything, too 
many Slytherins just follow the crowd.  

I also think, if JKR is trying to show that all Slytherins are a 
pain, that it's been more an acknowledgement that a roughly a fourth 
of the population may make trouble for the remaining %75, not a 
sentence to become a pain.  


imamommy