We could really, really get into nature vs. nurture on this one, couldn't we? I tend to believe that Tom had some little oddnesses to begin with -- kleptomania, for one -- and when punished for those, he punished back -- and discovering that he COULD, he DID, and by the time Dumbledore met him, the kid was screwed.
That scene in HBP made me both a bit repelled, and desperately sorry for Tom. A boy doesn't say "You're from the asylum, aren't you?" unless he's a really, really scared little kid. Which supports my theory that people told him his oddities were "crazy" so often that he pushed further and proved them right.
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Date: 2006-12-05 05:55 am (UTC)That scene in HBP made me both a bit repelled, and desperately sorry for Tom. A boy doesn't say "You're from the asylum, aren't you?" unless he's a really, really scared little kid. Which supports my theory that people told him his oddities were "crazy" so often that he pushed further and proved them right.