Analyzing Draco (Was: Re: Dark Book - Blood and Cruelty)

[Carol]

No: HPFGUIDX 177285

Carol earlier:
<snip>> 
Elsewhere in this thread, someone asked what compels Draco to act as
he does (other than JKR's plot needs). IOW, considering Draco as a
character who exists in the pages of the books independent of JKR's
intentions (which may or may not have been realized) or her view of
him (which may or may not be shared by any given reader), what makes
him act as he does?
> 
> It seems to me that Draco, unlike Theo Nott (a fellow Slytherin in a
similar position), cares what people think. He wants to be a leader.
He likes attention and wants to be admired, if only by his fellow
Slytherins. He seems to be jealous of Harry, who receives attention
from the whole WW without seeking it and, at first, without having
done anything more than survive an AK through no skill or power or
effort of his own. Draco resents Harry's choice of friends (a
"Mudblood" and a "blood-traitor") and his rejection of Draco's
mentorship ("I can help you there," meaning I can help you make
connections with the "right" people--Draco at eleven seems to be a
budding Slughorn except that he fails to influence or impress Harry).
> 
> <snip my analysis of Draco's development between CoS and HBP> 
> 
> So what motivates Draco to continually oppose or confront Harry and
his friends? I think it's a combination of jealousy, resentment,
interhouse rivalry, belief in the "principles" he's learned from his
parents, overconfidence in his own abilities and (in the early books)
his father's influence. The Dark Lord's resurrection makes him certain
that he's on the winning side. His father's arrest gives him the
desire for revenge (and, having triumphed over Harry in the Hogwarts
Express, he thinks he can move on to bigger enemies). I think that
confrontation, mostly through taunts but occasionally through actions
<snip> is a compulsion for Draco, a form of attention-seeking that he
simply can't resist, any more than Hermione can resist raising her
hand and giving the right answer to a question. <snip>
> 
> Anyway, I don't think it's masochism that keeps Draco coming back
for more. I think it's a perverse sense of the rightness of his cause,
at least in the sense of "might makes right," the right side being the
winning side, the side in power. But he also resents Harry for
receiving so much attention, and if he can't eliminate that attention,
he can at least make sure that it's directed against Harry ("Support
Cedric Diggory") or against his friends ("Weasley Is Our King").
 
Carol again:

I apologize for quoting my own post, but the only response I received
was an offlist message pointing out that I hadn't really supported my
position with canon. I guess my friend wanted a book-length post <eg>.
If he or anyone else wants canon for my position, I can provide it,
but I'm not really arguing here. What I'm really trying to do is to
look at Draco without the distortion of Harry's perspective, which is
both limited and prejudiced against him. I am emphatically *not*
trying to say that Draco is really a nice, misunderstood little boy.
I'm trying to look at what motivates him and how he develops.

Does anyone think, for example, that Draco in the early books craves
the attention that Harry receives, even possibly viewing it as his by
right as both a Malfoy and a Black? Our glimpse of Prefect Lucius in
"the Prince's Tale" may give us an indication of the position that
Draco wanted (in Slytherin, at least). There's also a reference
somewhere to Draco "holding court" at the Slytherin table, which
reminds me of bit of Aunt Bellatrix's haughty arrogance in the
Pensieve trial scene (GoF) and Narcissa's equal haughtiness in
chapters other than "Spinner's End" (HBP) and "The Flaw in the Plan" (DH).

Instead of generalizing about Slytherins in general as "the damned,"
I'd like to see us analyzing their motivation and development to the
extent that that's possible. IOW, we are presented with information
(dialogue and actions) that the narrator, reflecting Harry's pov,
interprets in a particular way. But if we eliminate the narrator's
commentary (as opposed to straight reporting of words and actions) and
eh often biased or mistaken commentary of other characters), we can,
as intelligent readers, interpret motivations for ourselves and see
the difference in the character's attitude and behavior from point A
(for example, Draco's hope in CoS that Slytherin's monster kills the
"Mudblood" Granger) to point B (for example, his apparent reluctance
to identify HRH and turn them in to Voldemort).

I had always thought that Draco was merely using his thuggish cronies
as bodyguards and "backup" and that he didn't really care about them,
but his words and actions in the RoR in DH seem to show real affection
for both of them, holding the unconscious Goyle and making sure he's
safe and mourning the dead Crabbe even though Crabbe has rejected his
control and turned to the Dark side to an extent that Draco himself
apparently has not, given that he casts no curses and tries to block
or thwart Crabbe's. It's not just a matter of letting the Dark Lord
kill Harry himself. He seems not to want Crabbe to torture Harry,
either. (His reaction to Crabbe's attempt to kill Hermione is unclear
since he loses his wand in the aftermath and says nothing about her or
Ron; his concern seems to be for Harry. But he also pulls Crabbe out
of the way of a Stunning spell, and, of course, makes sure that Goyle
is saved along with himself.) Also, oddly, he expresses concern for
"that diadem thing" that Harry is trying to retrieve, afraid that
Crabbe will destroy it with one of his spells (DH Am. ed. 629). 

To me, this scene represents Draco's mixed loyalties--trying to help
Harry but at the same time still caring about his friends, who have to
differing degrees gone over to the Dark side. If he's really trying to
turn Harry over to LV (as Pansy suggested), it's odd that he doesn't
cast a spell himself and repeatedly tells Crabbe to stop or grabs his
arm. He could have encouraged the Crucio or hit Harry or his friends
with a Stunning Spell or Expelliarmus if that were really his goal.

Perhaps what we're supposed to see in this scene is Harry's mercy and
gallantry (in contrast to Ron's reluctance to save Draco and Goyle and
his harsh reaction to Crabbe's death), but we also see a Draco who
(like his father) has lost his authority but (unlike his father) is
reluctant to hurt Harry and shows genuine concern for someone other
than himself. (Yes, Lucius loves his son, but he seems to value his
own skin above all else.)

Carol, hoping that someone will reply this time, whether to agree or
disagree doesn't matter