Tom Riddle and Anakin Skywalker: a parallel
Thursday, May 18, 2006
I started re-reading my battered copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince for the nth time yesterday. Yes, I am one of those sad 'adults' who reads Harry Potter for pleasure. But I feel that the magic of J K Rowling (pardon the pun!) has been slipping for a while now. She hit top form with Goblet of Fire. With Order of Phoenix she seemed to have fine-tuned the art of waffling. HBP - well, I have to say, was a huge disappointment of mammoth proportions. Agreeably, the subtle nuances of the story hasn't penetrated my think skull yet but I am yet to see the sanity in killing Dumbledore off.
But as I delved deeper and deeper into Pensieve and saw Tom Riddle as he slowly metamorphosed into Lord Voldemort, I couldn't help thinking how similar this was to Anakin Skywalker as he slowly walked down the Sith way of life. They were both young enough when they changed from what they were into the extremely powerful beings they end up being. 
But therein ends the similarity. While Tom Riddle seems to have been bent on turning Dark (was he ever a good wizard?), Anakin didn't start out liking the Dark side. Tom didn't believe in what Dumbledore calls 'the oldest kind of magic' - in fact, he scoffs at it. On the other hand, it is love that makes Anakin Skywalker let in fear and fear is the first step towards the Dark side.
Tom Riddle is the quintessential leader; he doesn't let anyone tell him what to do nor does he let anyone in too close to him. Anakin Skywalker, on the other hand, is easily influenced - first by his master, Obi-wan Kenobi and later by Senator Palpatine. This continues to the very end, until young Luke Skywalker comes in and breaks the link.
So, is Anakin weaker because he let in love, therein fear, which ultimately caused his downfall? Is this not against Dumbledore's tenet that love is the greatest magic of all? When you look at it, Lord Voldemort seems lot more competant and together than Anakin Skywalker, who seems more a mass of confusions, fear and hate.
But who really is the stronger, meaner and ultimately powerful of the two - Lord Voldemort or Darth Vader? You decide!
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Posted by DesiGirl 8:56 pm
Voldemort on the other hand was just a orphan whos hate for others was great..... i mean his apparent need for the use of horcruxes was kind of a stupid move....... so in my opinion Vader is meaner and ultimately powerful......