Likeable Regulus.

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 178085

> lizzyben:
> One reason that the whole Slyths=bigots thing annoys is because it
> seems to overlook the crucial role that family & environment play in
> forming people's ideology. Most children become members of the same
> religion as their parents; most join the same political party as 
their
> family, because that is what they have been taught to believe. So
> taking a child like Regulus, and steeping him in pure-blood ideology
> at home, then shipping him to spend his formative years at a hotbed 
of
> pureblood bigotry, the wonder would be if he *wasn't* bigoted at the
> end of that. Teenage boys especially tend to join gangs in order to
> gain a sense of identity. The Mauraders had their gang; the gang
> available for Slytherins was the Death Eaters. Becoming a Death 
Eater
> made his family proud, & made him a part of what his friends were
> doing - just as joining the Order did the same for James Potter. And
> yet it seems, at the end, Regulus thought for himself & followed his
> heart rather than his family's teachings.

zgirnius:
I just have to recap your final sentence, "And yet it seems, at the 
end, Regulus thought for himself & followed his heart rather than his 
family's teachings." because I so agree with it. However, in my 
opinion, Rowling in no way overlooks the importance of family and 
environment in shaping people's ideology. On the contrary, she 
provides us with numerous examples of this in action. Without any 
detail, the assorted Death Eaters/sympathizers who represent separate 
generations of the same family (Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Mulciber, 
Rosier). Regulus, as you ably demonstrate above (and the little canon 
we have about him stresses the influence of his family and his pride 
in his House). Snape, who we learn is the product of an unhappy mixed 
marriage with a Muggle father who "doesn't like anything, much" and a 
witch mother who 'cowers' when he shouts, and whose relationship with 
his Muggle-born best friend becomes strained when he associates with 
the people he lives among in the "hotbed of pureblood bigotry". 
Draco, as well. We actually meet *his* parents and see quite clearly 
where he learned his ideas. The hopeful message is that, in the end, 
even people with all those disadvantages can choose to follow their 
hearts, and when they do, good things happen. As Snape did when he 
resolved he would do "Anything" (namely, betray the Dark Lord and his 
fellow DEs as a spy) to keep Lily safe, or when Draco, given the 
choice, realized he did not want to kill Dumbledore. And, of course, 
as when Regulus made his amazingly courageous sacrifice to destroy a 
Horcrux.