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Poll: Villains Part Two: Deathly Hallows Revision, Which of the following was the best literary villain in the series? |
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 May 7 2008, 02:09 PM
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Neville's Most Ardent Supporter
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Now that Deathly Hallows has answered many of our long anticipated questions, there is still much to be discussed with regard to the various villains and their role in the series. Which of the following characters above was the best literary villain in the series? Has any one of the characters redeemed themselves? Which of the above villains played an antaganistic role towards Harry; and what was the reason and purpose of this from a literary standpoint?
You are encouraged to compare and contrast these villains. You can choose from more then one of the options above, and you are more than welcome to pose your own questions as well. Please feel free to discuss anyone that I have inadvertently omitted.
Have fun  !
This post has been edited by lirene: May 9 2008, 03:59 PM
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May 9 2008, 01:46 PM
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Helping Professor Longbottom plant the Holy Grain
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Location: Assistant Teacher of Herbology at Hogwarts Watching the Holy Grain Sprout
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Firstly, I don't consider Gilderoy a villian - he's there purely for comic value and really is a victim of his own success. I know some people are not fond of Gilderoy but I think he's a great character 
Ok Four villians for me - and in order too
4 - Fenrir Greyback. He was a seriously evil character. All he cared about was killing people and blood. He made Remus what he was. He inflictsed misery on a lot of characters.
3. Dolores Umbridge. She was also very cruel. She was the DADA teacher but she refused to teach the students the pratical lessons. She made them read the text books - study the theory. Even Hermione didn't approve of that way of teaching! 
2. Bellatrix Lestrange - totally evil and loopy! She tortured Frank and Alice Longbottom - and goodness know how many others - into insanity. She killed her own cousin. She was totally obssessed by Voldemort. She's my top female villian
and finally ....
1. Lord Voldemort He didn't know how to love. He killed for pleasure. He underestimated a lot of people and creatures. He's my top villian
Fantastic poll 
This post has been edited by JaneMarple9: May 9 2008, 01:47 PM
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W.L.Y.J.
We love you Jo
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"You're worth twelve of Malfoy!" (Harry to Neville, book 1) |
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May 9 2008, 03:40 PM
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Terrortours Travel Agent
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You forgot someone: Barty Crouch Jr. Insane but charismatic, superb actor, knows what makes the people he deals with tick. Had Voldemort sent someone like him to teach at Hogwarts in DH that teacher might have been able to turn not just the Slytherins but also many students of the other Houses against Harry.
I was disappointed with Voldemort and his supporters in DH. So little sophistication, so many Evil Overlord mistakes, so much use of brute force when mind control (Imperius and Veritaserum) would have been more effective. And though Fenrir was as disgusting as in HBP, where was his pack? Had he lost all influence on them? (Was Lupin more successful than he let us know, or was Fenrir too busy threatening Borgin and Draco and lost touch with the other werewolves?) And Voldemort was so focused on getting Harry that he couldn't care what else was going on. Some very promising villains became very lame characters.
This post has been edited by Oryx: May 9 2008, 03:51 PM
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May 9 2008, 04:34 PM
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Weremod Weevil
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My top Villain is Voldemort, of course. He has never experienced love, and he has no understanding of it. He is Harry's protagonist, and has been ever since he heard part of the Prophecy and decided it meant Harry. All his actions subsequently, furthered the story.
Delores Umbridge is my second Villain because she is a thoroughly nasty, cruel, woman who enjoys punishment, just for the sake of causing pain on those she has control over. She was a DADA teacher , and a really bad one, who taught theory but not practical application of Defence Against the Dark Arts.
Bellatrix Lestrange is my third Villain. She was insane after her imprisonment in Azkaban, but she was morally deviant even before that. She was in love with Voldemort and accepted all his philosophy on purebloods, (which was taught in her own family) and his DE views on the wizarding world. After his disappearance, when he killed Harry's parents, Bellatrix tried to find him, and tortured the Longbotoms into insanity in an attempt to learn his whereabouts. Crucio seems to be a favorite curse of hers.
Snape, I don't consider a Villain. He plays the part of one throughout the series, and he is definitely unkind and spiteful in his treatment of Harry, but he is actually Dumbledore's man all the way through. He tries to protect Harry while he is at school even though he dislikes him, and sees his rival, James Potter, in him and not Lily Potter, the woman he loved. Snape turned against Voldemort, when he killed Lily, after promising that he wouldn't. He then played a double game of spying for Dumbledore while Voldemort thought Snape was loyal to him. He was a very brave man in this dangerous deception which he continued even after Dumbledore's death. He stayed true to his promises, and thus redeemed himself. The love he had for Lily, and his sorrow for her death was always with him, and he kept his promise to protect Harry to the end.
This post has been edited by sver/nor: May 9 2008, 04:38 PM
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May 10 2008, 12:23 PM
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Dumbledore's Personal Secretary
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This is truly a very difficult and awesome poll ! 
I'm hard put to it to make just a few choices. Leaving aside the usual Voldemort, Greyback, Bellatrix and Umbridge; not that I don't think they are horrible, it's just that I can't seem to think of anything to add to reasonings of the posters before me; I'll go for Peter Pettigrew.
Peter Pettigrew, to me, represents the worst thing a person could posibly become. Yes, even worse than Voldemort. Pettigrew became a traitor who betrayed the people who thought him to be a true friend and trusted him with their lives. Voldemort may have done the actual deed, but Pettigrew has as much share in the killing of James and Lily as if he had used the Avada Kedavra on them personally.
Pettigrew did not even have the dedication that Barty Crouch Jr. or Bellatrix had - not that dedication makes their actions any less heinous - but they show some good qualities even though they use it in the service of evil ends. Pettigrew betrayed those who believed that in trusting him, they had nothing to worry and thus fell victims to their misplaced trust in a rat who saw nothing wrong or reprehensible in giving up his friends just to save his own skin.
Peter Pettigrew did not stop at causing the death of Lily and James, he proceeded to take advantage of the fact that no one knew who the real secret-keeper was and adroitly framed Sirius - another friend who trusted him, for the horrible crimes. IMO Voldemort's bursting into the Potters' house and killing them doesn't rank anywhere near to Pettigrew's actions on a scale of utter despicability.
Pettigrew was a person who had no love for anyone except himself and went about his pathetic life ensuring that he got safety and security, no matter how many dead bodies he left on the way. Voldemort had the correct measure of him when he said Wormtail returned to him out of cowardice and not loyalty. He returned not because of his devotion to Voldemort, but because of fear of his one-time friends who he knew would kill him on sight if they ever saw him again and felt he would be better off with the protection of the biggest bully around - which according to him was Voldemort.
IMO, Pettigrew was the one who was the perpetrator of the most ghastly sin ever - that of betraying a friend's trust. I can never ever forgive him for what he did to James, Lily, Sirius, Remus and Harry. Everything every other villain did pales in comparison with that unspeakable rat's actions in killing the trust his friends had placed in him and thereby, killing his friends themselves.
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May 11 2008, 09:06 AM
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Firebolt-Polisher at Quality Quidditch Supplies
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Excellent topic!! one of the most interesting toipics I've ever come across!!
I voted for Lucius . He had the whole personality of a loathsome, stone-cold, evil villian. He's double-faced, he's calculative, cruel and s . He's also had a key role to play in the books obviously. Apart from that .... he sets an evil atmosphere. His is a very interesting character, from the literary point of view and even otherwise.
Of course LV is also a 'very, very good' villian, even from the literary point of view but Lucius surpasses LV in the 'all rounder' category. Being villanous is not all about committing stone cold murders. Lucius' actions make you go 'aaaaaaah' in some cases. His sly, evil ways of going about things .... his personality, in the end, is what makes his such a detestable villian; a good literary villian.
rowena ... I was impressed by your analysis of Pettigrew, though Peter always struk me as a charcter forced into the evil catgory by his weak response to situations, rather than his own thinking and will.
This post has been edited by Smartaps_2: May 11 2008, 09:15 AM
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May 11 2008, 12:29 PM
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Just Through the Brick Wall
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Joined: 4:58pm February 8, 2007
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3. Dolorus Umbridge - overly sweetly evil
2. Bellatrix Lestrange - she's like a female Voldemort
3. Voldemort - for obvious reasons!
Umbridge is also a manipulator (like Voldemort) so it was hard to choose between 2nd and 3rd but Bellatrix has killed to many lovable characters!! poor Dobby 
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