Whose side are we on?? :was: Arthur right or not?

[sistermagpie]

No: HPFGUIDX 155976


> Alla:

> What I find amusing is that while **good guys** are held to the 
> highest ethical standards of behavior, Snape and Draco's behavior 
> gets excused pretty much for everything IMO.
> 
> And I am not replying to your argument exactly, more like in 
general, 
> so bear with me.
> 
> So, Ron is very bad when he says Get away from me werewolf, for 
> example, but Draco just does not know any better than to call 
> Hermione "mudblood" for example, he could not help himself when he 
> was so excited to start serving Voldemort. He  just does not know 
any 
> better. 

Magpie:
Yes, I think that type of thing is the same kind of thing. Not that 
nobody should be allowed to say those things about characters, but 
there's no reason not to go beyond that.  It's not that Draco 
doesn't know any better than to join Voldemort, or that Snape 
couldn't help but be a DE or pick on Harry.  If you cut those 
characters off from their choices you're not analyzing the 
character. I think JKR is giving us more specific things to 
understand about their actions--and they're not always particularly 
flattering.  For instance, I love the scene in B&B in CoS for the 
way it sets up Draco's later use of the word Mudblood to Hermione.  
But I like it because it helps me understand Draco's motivation in 
choosing himself to use that word.  It doesn't take the choice out 
of it.  It's the opposite of "he doesn't know any better," imo.  It 
to me suggests the kind of personal satisfaction the word gives 
him.  Understanding his own problems doesn't make the word any 
better.

Ultimately these characters too are either going to learn or not 
learn--and a lot of the problems inherited from the last generation 
seem to be about not learning.  It's maybe important for us to 
remember that the last generation was *losing* the fight against the 
Dark Lord and got a reprieve when this miracle happened at Godric's 
Hollow.  This generation is imo going to have to grow beyond them if 
they're going to beat Voldemort for real, and having the older 
generation around for examples might help them do that.  As likeable 
as some people from the last generation are, I wouldn't want Harry 
to grow up to be Sirius.  I don't think it would be a triumph for 
Draco to grow into his father.  Even if one has sympathy for Draco's 
position...what does that mean for the character?  I think most 
people understandably have more sympathy for Draco in HBP because he 
seems like he might be facing the bad consequences of his own 
actions and having to learn.  Even if he was obviously born with a 
higher risk for being a DE, only he can make the choice to not be 
that.

One of the things I love about the MWPP generation is that when they 
teach they almost always do it by accident.  They're not these wise 
sages leading by example, most of the time.  The kids I think often 
can't help but see their flaws.  Snape's especially fun this way 
because he's the one that's right at the school and he's the one 
that's the most stuck, making him a potentially especially dangerous 
example for Harry and Draco.  Luckily JKR's kids never just follow 
the pattern of the people who came before.

-m