The Dark Arts (Re:help with JKR quote/ Children's reactions)

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 176579

lizzyben:
<snip>
> You can prove your goodness in how much you hate "the other", the 
> Darkness. Associating the bad guys w/"Dark Magic" just gives us 
> another good reason to hate them. And IMO that's the real function
> of dark magic in the novels.

Jen: I don't see this as a means to encourage hate.  I mean, JKR 
could have actually portrayed what Snape's friends did at school or 
what Snape himself and Regulus did as DEs if she wanted to inspire 
hatred.  She chose not to bring that into the books.  I asked myself 
why, wouldn't that make a better story to show how far down a person 
went before attempting to redeem himself?  More like Darth Vadar in 
other words, where we actually see his crimes and the path to his 
redemption in action. 

My answer is that in order to show them in a different light later, 
those actions were purposely kept off-page or only referred to by 
other characters.  That tactic worked for me anwyay.  I felt sympathy 
for Snape in the Worst memory scene, during the other Pensieve 
memories and at his death.  Regulus was even more off-page but the 
way he handled the cave caused me to see him in a good light.  
Draco's characterization was a little different, we actually view him 
working for Voldemort, yet his terror at torturing people for LV was 
sympathetic and didn't encourgage me to feel hatred toward him but 
pity and sadness.  

Maybe she should have showed all the dark deeds claimed by the good 
guys in order to make the disctinction clear.  She'd definitely have 
had to work harder to make me see goodness in those characters in the 
end though.