Good People and Deatheaters





"I want you to listen to me very carefully, Harry. You're not a bad person. You're a very good person, who bad things have happened to. Besides, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters. We've all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That's who we really are."

-Sirius Black
     

 

    Sirius Black is one of my favorite Harry Potter characters. This is one of his best known quotes, but often people only focus on the part of the quote about both light and dark  inside us. That part is very true and important, but today in this post, I want to focus more on the part highlighted in green, "the world isn't split into good people and deatheaters."

 

    When I saw this picture on Pinterest, I instantly fell in love with it because I believe it captures the character of Draco Malfoy perfectly. Although he seems all cool and confident on the outside he is always struggling like most people. I think this quote really applies to him, especially the highlighted portion. I believe that deep down Draco is a good person. He makes bad choices though, and some of those choices are not necessarily his fault. By being born into a family of deatheaters, one is more likely to make bad decisions, except in a rare case like Sirius, who still does do wrong things, like tormenting Snape when he was younger, but ultimately leans heavily toward the "good people side".

 

      Although most deatheaters are bad people not all are. Like Narcissa Malfoy is not a great person but saves Harry (you could argue that she does it because Draco is alive and all but still). Some people are truly evil, like terrorists, serial killers, and dictators but most often  people are just conflicted. They are battling the light and dark inside them and ultimately make the wrong or right decision. That is what Draco does. You know he doesn't want to kill Dumbledore but the urge to please Voldemort and his family wins against the urge to do the right things.

 

   Rarely people can automatically be put  unto one side. Most of the time it's the struggle that reveals who the person has chosen to become, even if they have potential to be on the other side. The deatheater side of Draco wins but given a different circumstance it could have been the other way around.

 

   Another example is Harry, with all the fame and glory it could have gone to his head and he could have turned to the dark side on a quest for power. But he didn't. Throughout the series many people tell him he is similar to Tom Riddle. It probably is because he was a piece of Voldemort's soul. Harry and Tom both wanted power, Tom wanted the power to rule ruthlessly and murderously. Harry wanted the power to stop him. Harry went to the "good people side" rather than the "deatheater side" because unlike Tom, Harry used his willpower and leadership abilities to spread light, while Voldemort spread darkness.

 

~Simply Nerdy