Draco and Dumbledore

[Renee]

No: HPFGUIDX 160128

 
> Carol:
> <SNIP>
> > Rightly or wrongly, and I know we disagree here, Dumbledore trusts
> > Snape and believes that he can't afford to lose him. 
> <SNIP>
> 
> Alla:
> 
> Yes, I know Dumbledore trusts Snape and JKR needed to save Snape 
> till the end - what I am saying that  if she made Dumbledore act 
> that way to save Snape, Dumbledore looks to me as arrogant and 
> reckless, only thinking about Snape safety and Draco safety and 
> forgetting that he has many students under his care.
> 
> I am pretty sure JKR did not intend DUmbledore look that way, she 
> intended him to give second chances every poor lost soul, but the 
> fact is - he **does** looks like one to me, because if you ask me 
> Hogwarts students are the ones who needed to be saved first and 
> foremost.
> 

Renee:
This is the question that bugs me: did JKR intend DD to look that way,
or did she just give priority to her plot, not realising or not caring
people might think less of him as a result? 

At the end of OotP DD says something about not caring about countless
others in a vague future as long as Harry is happy (don't have the
book available right now, so I can't give the exact quote). Here in
HBP, protecting what he considers a vital agent towards the downfall
of Voldemort seems a greater priority to him than ensuring the safety
of the students, even though he does take precautions. In OotP he
admits his choice was wrong. And maybe the choice he made in HBP is
why he says things like `I know I did wrong' in the cave - because if
you choose between two evils, this is what you may end up thinking anyway.

Are we dealing with a Dumbledore who has to choose repeatedly between
two evils, instead of between what's right and what's easy? If this is
the case, the series would actually gain depth for me, because in
reality, choices aren't always between what's right and what's easy,
and suggesting they are has always struck me as a bit simplistic. It
also saves Dumbledore's character for me, because he realises he takes
guilt upon himself, one way or another, but is prepared to do so for
the greater good. Also, I can retain more respect for JKR as a writer
than if she made him choose the way he did because of plot demands.

Renee