"Voldemorte is not a villain" discussion

This is pretty much the dictionary definition of a villain, you know.

Since a villain is evil by definition, which would mean an absense of vitrue, I’m not sure what you’re defining, just that it’s not a villian. Anti-hero, maybe? Like the main character in Falling Down?

Well, someone who opposes the protagonist, but does so from recongizably human motives. This doesn’t have to be an anti-hero. Take Draco Malfoy. He’s a contemptable character with no redeeming qualities (pay no attention to Harry/Malfoy slash), but he hates Harry for logical reasons. Malfoy is a stuck up aristocratic prig, he’s a bully, he likes the adulation of his brutish Slytherin henchmen Crabbe and Goyle, he has a secret crush on Hermione and loves her and hates her, and so forth. All perfectly comprehensible and perfectly human and perfectly loathesome motives for opposing Harry, all without making him an anti-hero.

Trunk:

Then you missed A LOT, Voldemort-wise. If some decent definition of Voldemort makes or breaks the series for you, you’d be condemning it unfairly if you don’t read book 6.

Voldemort did have parents, of course. OPne walked away bfore he was born and one died before he was born. He gives no indication that he cared at all for either, although he was pissed that his father was not a wizard and that his mother was weak enough to die.

Actually, Draco does have at last one good quality: he really, truly loves his parents. In fact, he risks his neck because he wants to protect them. heh. Love is weird, ain’t it? I;m not even being too picky about “virtue” here. I’d even accept Voldemorte as a villainif he even loved himself, but notihng I’ve ever seen suggests he actually does. He really and truly seems to hate or hold in contempt everything. Draco does like and love people, and although he’s a jerk, he’s not a space alien or animal.

So, another thread where you tell everyone how [Book/Game/Product X] would be better if you were the one writing it?

-Joe

Actually, I think there is something that Voldemort loves, and that’s Hogwarts. When Voldemort was in school he was at the top of his class and excelled with all kinds of awards. While at the orphanage he felt ostricized but at Hogwarts he felt like he belonged. He tried to apply to work there but Dumbledore turned him down. It’s this obession that causes Dumbledore to suspect that a few of the horcruxes are artifacts from the Hogwarts founders.

Voldy also has a bit of an OCD complex for dramatic flare. He could have horcruxed a perfectly inconspicuous rock, but his horcruxes have to be objects special to him. He could have probably portkeyed a dirty sock or something in book 4, but he had to have Harry Potter’s death be a big theatrical event. When he murders someone, he has to make sure everyone knows he did it, so he leaves behind the dark mark.

Voldemort is like a mad scientist, but with magic instead. He thirsts for knowledge, a respectable goal, but uses it for evil ends. Not exactly a very complex character but a bit more than a brainless malevolent force.

Rowlings is not a very good writer. The thinness of her characters–relying on gimmicky surface signifiers of personality, rather than real human personalities–is one of her greatest weaknesses.

Anyone else feel that the other characters are plot devices? I’ve only seen the
movies but the amount (or lack thereof) of personal growth shown by the heroes
seems minimal, at least as compared to some other teens who had to deal with a
supernatural world (Buffy).

[Sees lissener’s post, answers own question] Yes.

Ah, the Macduff scenario.

Actually his mother dumped him at the orphanage before she died. That’s how they knew to call him Marvolo, after his grandfather.

Also to be considered is his family’s history of mental illness. Reminds me of the Minwanabi in Raymond Feist’s Servant of the Empire books. They have a history of cruelty and such that just is part of who they are, and take every opportunity to find new ways to work it.

One could argue that some of the characters become more caricature than character. A motivation is sought for their actions when the author makes us aware (so far) of none.

I suspect that in the final book, we will discover some of the ‘why’ of Voldemort and Snape. I’m looking forward to it!

Get thyself to the library ASAP.

You missed a lot. Not only are you missing out on a ton of story, but IMHO, The Half Blood Prince was the best Harry Potter book since Prisoner of Azkaban.

It’s a little slow, ubt much of interest does happen… eventually.