Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
discussion
Sympathy for Draco Malfoy - A scared boy in a man's world
He's living in a thin one way road, his parents work for Voldemort, and they want him to follow exactly in their footsteps. His dad had time to gradually go from kid to killer, and Draco's childhood has been stolen because he has so little time to conform to DeathEater standards.
Exactly. He's an arrogant, cowardly boastful little brat but he really has no choice especially when Lucius Malfoy is taken to Azkaban for his part in the department of Mystery in the Ministry for Magic in HP and TOOTP and Voldemort wants to punish the family by setting up Malfoy as a deatheater.
Sorry I meant Lucius' failure to get the prophecy from the Ministry in The order of the Phoniex
Lucius is a really terrible dad, as he set up his only son to be a cold-blooded killer for a master who doesn't appreciate them. One slip, and the entire family is at Voldemort's mercy (Lucius's epic fail w/ the prophecy).
I think Tom Felton did a great job in the sixth movie, you could tell how scared he was
Yeah, as much as I love to hate Draco, as a mother, I do feel bad for him. He was one of thoes children that was trapped in the world created by his father. He had no choice but to follow in his father's footsteps. But I think that towards the end, he was really seeing how evil Voldemort was and how bad and how deep his family was in it. I think that if it weren't for his mother, he may have joined the side of good. He really did love his mother and father and knew that if he were to leave, they would be punished for it. His mother, Narcissa was just as trapped as he was. We know that when she went to Severus begging for his help. It makes me wonder if she maybe kind of knew that Severus was really on the side of good. Who knows!?
I sometimes start to feel bad for him because you know how he's expected to kill Dumbledore and that's alot of pressure to put on a teenage boy.
Poor Malfoy. It took a long time for me to actually feel this way, but in HBP we see some complexity to his character, and it makes it so much harder to hate him. He is entirely a product of his upbringing. His father is the one who should really be hated through the whole thing. While Draco was still young and immature (Pre-HBP) he was really only repeating what his father (and possibly mother) was saying: muggle borns are bad, pure bloods are only true wizards, etc. Now we see the true effect that this upbringing and lifestyle has on Draco, and how hard it has hit him in this book. I do agree, the directors of the movie, as well as Tom Felton did a great job portraying this change in the movie, you could see from the first scene with Draco that he was more pale, and looked thinner...only adding to the mental image provided by JK Rowling's words.
Definitely a series-changing book, and one of my favorites (as if I could choose just one).
Vc wrote: "Does anyone else get more and more sympathetic for Draco as the series goes on. ******May contain Spoilers*******
I feel especially sympathetic when Draco is on the top of the Ast..."
Yeah, I gradually felt worse and worse for him and I eventually kinda liked him in the end.
***SPOILER (kinda)***
He turned out kinda good, ya know?
I think it kind of reflects life in the real world too. Kids who's fathers/mothers who are in gangs, prisons, dealing drugs, etc are brought up in that world because they don't know any other way when they are younger. Some of them grow up & see the light like Draco does, & wants to change, but is afraid for his parents' sakes, but others just don't. You could easily see that he didn't WANT to kill Dumbledore because he genuinely liked & respected him. The poor kid tries to put on a good front, but yeah, I feel sorry for him too, from a mother's standpoint.That said, I still think Lucius was only doing what was expected of him in raising Draco to be a Deatheater because he was just as terrified of Voldemort as every other Deatheater is.
I dont exactly get sympathetic for him since he was so mean to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, etc. But I do like that he's deserving what he gets for everything he did. Sometimes when I was reading the HBP, I thought maybe she went hard on him but I never completly felt sorry for him
He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and its grudging respect they have. And, lets face it, Draco made the story interesting with his many colourful insults
agreed i do feel for draco especially when I think its crabbe or doyle dies etc, and just having lucius as a father...i must say tom felton was born to play draco
I feel sorry for Draco, I really do. I can't help but feel that if he were raised in a different enviroment, he would have been a decent human being. He was highly vulnerable and probably felt jealous of Harry for having real friends and being surrounded by so much love. All Draco had were two goons and lots of material wealth.
Maddie wrote: "He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and its grudging respect they ha..."yahza
Yes--another kid stuck with bad parents!
I think the moral of this story is ..Parents - who'd have 'em????? lol
As a sister I know how much I feel for Draco, as a girlfriend I know that he really just needed someone to hold on to, just to talk to and have them listen.But as a friend, I know that this was Lucious's fault.
I felt terrible about what was happening to Draco. I actually fell in love with his character as a result of it all. And I do blame Lucius Malfoy.Oddly and randomly enough, I found fragile, weepy Draco attractive.
his behaviour was Lucius's fault
I don't feel entirely sympathetic for Draco because even though his parents raised him a certain way it didn't mean he had to be like them. Look at Sirius who hated his family and the way they saw and treated muggles and house elves. Its all about choice and Draco chose to see muggle-borns as lower than purebloods.In Half-Blood Prince though I did feel sorry for him, he was placed in a terrible position and was being forced to do something completely awful and pay for his father's mistakes.
Maddie wrote: "He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and its grudging respect they ha..."And Lucius and Narcissia were raised to be like that by their parents. It's unfair to paint Draco as a victim, then go on to blame his parents. They were only passing on what they were taught by their parents, which is how these things work. It's up to the child to grow up and question what they've been taught and form their own opinions. Draco is sixteen years old in this book, that's nearly an adult in the wizarding world.
Besides, it's not like Lucius and Narcissia mistreated Draco. Out side of the bigoted elitism they were very loving parents. In the end they abandoned Voldemort to look Draco. Narcissia lied to Voldemort, making it possible for Harry to kill him. Lucius begged Voldemort to let him look for his son. When Voldemort said no Lucius ignored him and left to look for him anyway once the fighting resumed. That's something only loving parents would do.
I think Draco is a good kid but was raised wrong. Slytherin is my favorite house but I hate snakes... Can't even look at pictures of them.
Maddie wrote: "He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and its grudging respect they ha..."I liked the meeting eyes thing too. Malfoy....is misunderstood. He was pressured and he turned the only place he knew where to turn, Voldemort. But yeah, he definitely had it in him to turn against his parents, but he had alot of pressure on him.
Molly wrote: "Maddie wrote: "He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and its grudging ..."but still
Arti wrote: "Molly wrote: "Maddie wrote: "He was raised to be like this. Really its his fathers fault. I did feel sorry for it. And I loved it in the epilogues when Harry and Draco catch eyes at Kings Cross and..."I'm sympathetic for Draco, don't get me wrong there. He's not a bad person; he was just taught some bad things. But I don't believe in diverting all the blame onto his father. Draco should have thought more about what he was signing up for.
Really, I shouldn't feel bad for him after he tortured Harry in the 1st to 5th. But as I've read each book about 15 times, I really think it's his surroundings making him this mean, cruel brat. Sure, he's a bit mean-spirited, but his father and all the Death Eaters have watered that spirit and made it into a full-fledged monster.
Shreya=Drastically Random. Find the emoticon. wrote: "Really, I shouldn't feel bad for him after he tortured Harry in the 1st to 5th. But as I've read each book about 15 times, I really think it's his surroundings making him this mean, cruel brat. Sur..."Aren't all people only the monster they are made to be?? You have to wonder how Lucius was raised to make him the way he is. Eventually though you have to take responsibility for your own actions but Draco is too young (to be fully responsible for his choices) and has no real means of escape so he does what a scared young boy does and looks to his parents for guidance.
I think Malfoy wants to do the right thing but he's under the influence of his parents and pressure of Voldemort. I felt sorry for him through out the six and seventh book. He couldn't kill anyone, he always hesitated until someone came around and did it for him. He acted like a big shot around everyone but cried like a baby in solitude. You can't help but feel some type of sympathy for him.
I think Malfoy got himself to that postition. I mean, i know he had bad influences, but he knew the right from the wrong. He knew what he was doing. His parents weren't right beside him every second. You can't blame someones actions on their parents. I , myself did feel bad for him in the latter books but he got himself there. You make decisions, you deal with the consequences. (Sp?)
I really think that all Malfoy is trying to do, like many people, is make his father proud of him. If he was raised with different parents, he could have been a really decent character. He always hesitated before he killed anyone, because he didn't want to kill anyone, and someone always did the job for him.
I think Draco was a perfect example of how anyone can be redeemed under the right circumstances. That's why Dumbledore did not want him to become a murderer. This way he was still able to avoid his father's fate. The implication is that Harry's and his kids might even become friends at Hogwarts- I thought it was sweet.
Masha wrote: "I think Draco was a perfect example of how anyone can be redeemed under the right circumstances. That's why Dumbledore did not want him to become a murderer. This way he was still able to avoid his..."I don't think Draco ever had it in to be a murderer. He was a rotten, bigoted, spoiled brat, but not a murderer. He's bad, he does bad things but he never struck me as someone who could actually kill an innocent person. At least not without some serious damage to his psyche.
Vc wrote: "Does anyone else get more and more sympathetic for Draco as the series goes on. ******May contain Spoilers*******
I feel especially sympathetic when Draco is on the top of the Ast..."
you're right. he just couldn't kill dumbledore and he was forced to join voldemort in the dh. he didn't want to do anything bad, and harry understood that. thats why he saved him in the room of requirement in the fifth book
Emily wrote: "I think Malfoy got himself to that postition. I mean, i know he had bad influences, but he knew the right from the wrong. He knew what he was doing. His parents weren't right beside him every secon..."I agree with you, that he Draco made his own decisions and he is accountable for them. I think it's harder for him to actually perform dark magic than it is for Crabbe and Goyle, they didn't seem to have remorse about starting the fiendfyre, and they egged Draco on a few times in DH.
Draco's all talk and no action.
I agree also with the suggestion that he is accountable for his own decisions. To quote my grade seven teacher..."You always have a choice. But you must face the consequences."Still, I do feel sorry about him, and I'm glad he managed to "see the right" at the end. I do think endings/outcomes/results account for much of a person's character...no? It proves that, at the bottom of his [Draco's] heart, he does know what is "right."
I guess since HP is a coming-of-age story as much as anything else, that's how you can view Draco's character. He goes from a bratty kid, to a horrible teenager on his way to self-destruction, to an adult when he discovers himself incapable of cold blooded murder. I think that since his mother in the end chooses to find out about his safety rather than to give away Harry shows some redeeming quality about her that got passed on to Draco. Plus he got exposed to the example of Harry and his friends (including Harry saving his life) so that had to have some effect on pulling out whatever intrinsic good was in him despite his upbringing.
Draco is a class A bully except...you know, he's cute and smart. He was never 'evil' or 'really bad' but he just had a lot of pride because of the way he was raised. He was spoiled with no end too, but his parents never taught him the true values in life like: friendship, bravery, selflessness, etc, etc. But I'm glad he changed his ways when he grew up. JK Rowling said he made a better boy/man out of Scorpius than he ever was. Whole heartedly agree with Masha too :)
i do sympathize for Draco.. but it's his father's fault in the first place.. the bastard made the world so cruel to Draco.. like father like son as the cliche goes..it's in the way how he molded Draco.. maybe it affected the development process of Draco as a child so he turned bad when he grew up..
his story makes me want to cry. i feel so badly for him because i feel that its his parents fault because they're scared that they force him to do this stuff. TinaBee: yes i am SO HAPPY that he did seem to change at the end, again proving that he probably was influenced by his parents because he changed once he got away from them. i feel like his storyline is one of the most interesting and emotional. i think he feels like he has to live up to the expectations he, his parents, and his friends have set for him.
draco is a cry baby! i like when hermione punches him in the nose in the 3rd book
i agree with tinabee on her latest post
I DONT FEEL ANY SYMPATHY FOR HIM!! lol... he is just a BIG cry baby...
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******May contain Spoilers*******
I feel especially sympathetic when Draco is on the top of the Astronomy tower about to kill Dumbledore and crying in the bathroom before he can mend the wardrobe to allow the deatheaters in. He's so trapped and lost and even though he's a baddie, you have to feel sympathy for him.