Slytherin has been playing the scapegoat practically since the beginning, but never in such extreme forms as here in OotP, where as you say we spent most of the book hearing about how one Slytherin and another wound up in the infirmary. I didn't see the Inquisitorial Squad having any real function in the book save to indicate the "evilness" of everyone who participated (or the marking of everyone who knew better than to antagonise Umbridge as a convenient target).
And clearly taking points from Gryffindor is a capital offence in Harry's POV. See Montague, whose possibly permanent brain damage is shrugged off because - again - "he deserved it."
Draco didn't "side with Umbridge" any more than Harry did; he just knew how to get on her good side instead of pointlessly and repeatedly antagonising her. He seemed to see her far more clearly than Harry did, at any rate - the ridiculousness and the easily exploitable biases, not just the "Evilness."
One of the things I enjoyed about Draco in OotP is the way he seemed to be king of the chaos, seeing just how unfair and ridiculous things were but finding it funny and exhilerating.
I really like this view of Draco! It's one of the rare occasions where we see him acting as a Slytherin should - seeing what is truly going on but using everyone's biases to his advantage.
Draco just shouldn't be destined to be a DE or even a junior DE. He's just never shown the ability to persue anything but his own very limited personal agenda.
Draco is so much the class clown I have a hard time buying him as "evil" in any circumstances. If he were initiated as a Death Eater, he'd very soon find himself in over his head, and with nowhere to retreat, too. I'm sure he'd sooner chew off a limb than go to Potter for help, and Harry gives the impression he wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire, anyway.
Still, apart from having a father who is one, and the occasional "Mudblood" comment, I don't see anything about Draco that predestines him to being a Death Eater. He's a brat, yes, but going around killing people when he's even afraid of blood? Not likely. Also there is, as you say, his very definite personal agenda, which doesn't seem to allow for any other priorities. I mean, he can't manage to make nice with Potter even when his father asks him to...
Hmm. Maybe there's a post there.
Yes, please! Your essays are always so insightful; I've learned a lot about characters I hadn't thought that deeply about from you. These kinds of discussion have given me a much firmer grasp on what makes many of these characters tick.
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And clearly taking points from Gryffindor is a capital offence in Harry's POV. See Montague, whose possibly permanent brain damage is shrugged off because - again - "he deserved it."
Draco didn't "side with Umbridge" any more than Harry did; he just knew how to get on her good side instead of pointlessly and repeatedly antagonising her. He seemed to see her far more clearly than Harry did, at any rate - the ridiculousness and the easily exploitable biases, not just the "Evilness."
One of the things I enjoyed about Draco in OotP is the way he seemed to be king of the chaos, seeing just how unfair and ridiculous things were but finding it funny and exhilerating.
I really like this view of Draco! It's one of the rare occasions where we see him acting as a Slytherin should - seeing what is truly going on but using everyone's biases to his advantage.
Draco just shouldn't be destined to be a DE or even a junior DE. He's just never shown the ability to persue anything but his own very limited personal agenda.
Draco is so much the class clown I have a hard time buying him as "evil" in any circumstances. If he were initiated as a Death Eater, he'd very soon find himself in over his head, and with nowhere to retreat, too. I'm sure he'd sooner chew off a limb than go to Potter for help, and Harry gives the impression he wouldn't spit on him if he was on fire, anyway.
Still, apart from having a father who is one, and the occasional "Mudblood" comment, I don't see anything about Draco that predestines him to being a Death Eater. He's a brat, yes, but going around killing people when he's even afraid of blood? Not likely. Also there is, as you say, his very definite personal agenda, which doesn't seem to allow for any other priorities. I mean, he can't manage to make nice with Potter even when his father asks him to...
Hmm. Maybe there's a post there.
Yes, please! Your essays are always so insightful; I've learned a lot about characters I hadn't thought that deeply about from you. These kinds of discussion have given me a much firmer grasp on what makes many of these characters tick.