Draco's Hand of Glory (was: Re: Half-Blood Prince)

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 183929


> > >>Carol:
> > JKR had plans for both Snape and Draco. They just weren't the
plans we were hoping for.
> > That aside, I think that Draco *is* a major character in the
series  as a whole, but his arc climaxed at the end of HBP. The rest
is     falling action, working toward the denouement.
> > <snip>

Pippin:
Getting trapped in an inferno and having to call on your worst enemy
for aid is falling action?

 I see Draco's arc as paralleling Neville's. Over the course of the
story, Neville learned that he was more of a hero and a leader than he
ever imagined. Meanwhile Draco learned that he was less of a villain
and a follower than he thought. The tower was a turning point, not a
climax, IMO. Draco saw that he didn't want to be used by Voldemort,
but he had no purpose of his own.  

In the RoR, we finally see Draco decide and act for himself, with no
help or expectation of reward from Dumbledore or Voldemort or Lucius.
Saving Goyle was an act of no importance to anybody but Draco. He
doesn't become a leader or a hero -- but he does become a man. Which
is, um, the point of a bildungsroman, right? 


> Betsy Hp:
> I think he *was* but, like Snape, his role was seriously reduced in 
> DH.  Which was too bad, especially considering the way I was reading 
> the series. ;)
> 

Pippin:
Snape's role was *reduced* in DH? It was utterly pivotal! 

JKR switches to a more epic storytelling style towards the end of DH,
so we don't get an intimate view of *any* character compared to what
we had earlier. Even Harry's feelings are obscured. 

Partly it suits the scale of events, and partly I think she didn't
want to follow Harry into a more adult mode of thought. We have the
option of reading his actions as informed by an adult sensibility, but
it isn't forced on the reader.

Pippin