Character Analysis: a Boy Haunted by His Past

Introduction

This is the character analysis essay example of Draco Malfoy from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series. I chose this character because I have seen all the movies and read the books and I know that the way he behaves is because of the ways he was brought up and because of his background etc. so I thought that this would be the right person whom I could analyze.

Character Introduction

Draco Malfoy is the pure-blooded son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. During his childhood, he led a highly privileged life and got anything he wanted without question. This caused him to be self-centred, impatient and selfish. He was raised to have the same racist beliefs of his Death-eater parents, that Pure-blooded wizards were better and more important than Half-blood or Muggle-born wizards. He despises anyone who does not have pure blood status, or is a 'blood traitor' simply because of the racist prejudice he was taught from a young age. Draco is very much a racist, a bully and a bad person in many ways, but is there actually a reason for this?

Draco is intelligent, magically proficient, and grows into a strong wizard; his father introduced him early on to some Dark Arts magic that most young wizards his age rarely see or even know about. This has given him some advantages that other wizards lack. Like most in his family, Draco was sorted into Slytherin House where he is favored by Professor Snape, a powerful wizard at Hogwarts and head of Slytherin. Draco's family is particularly wealthy and influential. Rather than developing his own unique personality traits and abilities, Draco's character is almost entirely formed and sustained by his family's wealth and reputation, as well as by his followers.

Character Analysis

Psychologically speaking, yes, there is a reason for Draco's negative behaviour and traits. Growing up, Draco would have witnessed his parents treating other people or certain groups of other people, such as half-blood or Muggle-born people, or even those who had a lower economic or social standing than that of the rich and influential Malfoy family negatively. A small child would have watched his parents behaving in this way and taken it as an example of how he himself should behave. This idea of the 'proper behaviour' would have been further re-enforced when he was praised and encouraged for his actions. All his life, he believed that treating others like something dirty he had stepped in was normal and he acted accordingly.

Draco was taught at a very young age that money is power and anything below that was scum. Draco is clearly trying to show his father he can be just as nasty toward the lower class. Draco is craving for approval from his father by acting out and it is clear Lucius Malfoy isn't giving Malfoy the love and support he is desperately searching for. He did not have the greatest role models growing up and I think that is part of the reason why he was so mean and sly towards others (lower than him).

Even when he arrived at Hogwarts, he was sorted in to Slytherin house, which traditionally had a heavy emphasis on pure-blood supremacy and other traditional, but now mostly outdated, wizarding beliefs and values. Here, he was surrounded with other children, many of them who were also very rich, that possessed that same views on blood status.

Draco being the son of a death eater grew up favouring pure bloods and hating impure bloods. The character of Malfoy begins as someone who was intolerant and disdainful towards others. He treated others based on whether they were pure bloods or their social status. He belonged to the Slytherin group known for his sly nature. Draco became a death-eater at a very young age and was assigned difficult tasks from voldemort and his followers. J.K. Rowling has shown that Draco who belonged to Slytherin, known for his slyness couldn’t kill Professor Dumbledore, Though from small age, he is characterised as sly, intolerant and heartless towards treatment of others, his centre changes as he fails to kill Professor Albus Dumbledore. Deconstruction of Draco’s characterisation highlights the contradictions of his characterisation.

Draco chose to externalize his problems by taking it out on others and bullying them. Because I think it is a fact that when an individual bullies someone it is usually because they have other problems within themselves and typically have low self-esteem and they have to show it out on someone.

But later as Draco gets older, he seems to grow up and realize the consequences of some of his actions. But if Draco had been raised differently, it is very likely that he would have had a different personality.

Last but not the least, it is clearly seen that Draco envied Harry because Harry had everything with him, friends, love, fame, etc. which made him behave in a rude manner with Harry and his two friends. I also think that Draco was a character that was like a puppet, he had no choice but to do what others (his family and voldemort’s followers) had assigned him to do, because he was clearly afraid to go against their will, fearing that he will not be loved or rejected. I think he was “used” as a tool by voldemort and his followers.