I think Tom Riddle was born evil, but could've grown up to be nice, except he chose not to. I think that Nature and Nurture both are important to determine the end result "person"; however I also think people have the choice. It's not all nature or nurture, it's not all about what genes one has or where one grew up in, but just the choice of acting out what one wants to act out. Like, if Helga Hufflepuff had grown up in a house filled with sadness I think she would be able to rise and shine and be even more empathic towards people who come from broken homes. That's because she already had a heart of gold. Growing up around sad people would not change this fact.
So Harry and Voldemort were similar, in a way that Voldemort gave a bit of himself to Harry- but in fact, their genes aren't similar at all. Harry came from a family of intelligent, hot-headed people, whereas Voldemort came from a family of close-minded, hot-headed, power-hungry people. The nurture part is more similar in that they were estranged from their family so I'll disregard the nurture part and focus more on the nature part: basically Voldie is already more inclined to pick indulging himself and his whimsical fantasies of Killing All due to his genes. Harry is just normal.
So I come to choice: I don't think that Harry chose to be good. In my mind, he's actually quite neutral. He chose to be against Voldie, because Voldie made himself an enemy of Harry by killing his parents. It was just convenient that Voldie was a bad guy, so that automatically pushed Harry in the Good Guy camp. Voldie, on the other hand, chose to be bad, though, because it was easier for him, just like some people find it easier to become alcoholics.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-02-21 09:17 pm (UTC)So Harry and Voldemort were similar, in a way that Voldemort gave a bit of himself to Harry- but in fact, their genes aren't similar at all. Harry came from a family of intelligent, hot-headed people, whereas Voldemort came from a family of close-minded, hot-headed, power-hungry people.
The nurture part is more similar in that they were estranged from their family so I'll disregard the nurture part and focus more on the nature part:
basically Voldie is already more inclined to pick indulging himself and his whimsical fantasies of Killing All due to his genes.
Harry is just normal.
So I come to choice:
I don't think that Harry chose to be good. In my mind, he's actually quite neutral. He chose to be against Voldie, because Voldie made himself an enemy of Harry by killing his parents. It was just convenient that Voldie was a bad guy, so that automatically pushed Harry in the Good Guy camp.
Voldie, on the other hand, chose to be bad, though, because it was easier for him, just like some people find it easier to become alcoholics.
Mia of Ravenclaw
p.s. I've got all the books.