RIDDLE’S DIARY- SOCIAL MEDIA?

Perhaps my favorite Harry Potter book was actually the second one, “The Chamber of Secrets.” I’ve always been fascinated with hidden chambers, dark corridors, monsters lurking, and heroes in shining armor rescuing the fair maiden. Classic stories, made alive again! 

Although the Chamber of Secrets has all these old and classic story plots, there are a few things that are not so cliche at all. Here’s the thing: old stories are never outdated. Sometimes old stories can be reinterpreted to have new meaning according to the new problems of the times. For example, a form of racism was introduced in the Chamber of Secrets, the “pure bloods” and the “mudbloods.” While racism is almost as old as civilization itself, the Harry Potter books seem to have a lot of echoes of WW II, for many reasons. But I’m not going to talk about that in this post in detail, though I probably will in another one. I’m going to talk about Tom Riddle’s Diary, and how we can compare it to social media. 

Ginny Weasley, youngest child and only girl in a sea of brothers, seemed like an innocent little girl with a debilitating crush on Harry. Harry of course had no understanding of things like that. He was kind to Ginny, but he was kind to everyone. Ginny adored him, so she hid from him and became super clumsy in his presence, barely speaking whenever he was around. It’s all for the best. Eleven and twelve year olds aren’t ready for this sort of thing. Rowling instantly depicts Ginny wonderfully, making us feel sorry for the little girl with a crush, sympathize with the underdog, and never once suspect that she OPENED THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, the very chamber that has killed so many children. Innocent little Ginny was tricked into receiving an innocent-looking diary. She began to write in it, and found that it wrote back. 

“‘Ginny!’ said Mr. Weasley, flabbergasted. ‘Haven’t I taught you anything? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?’” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, p. 329)

Innocently, she continued to speak to this mysterious Tom who replied to her, and sympathized with her every trouble. It was like having a pen pal, but better. Tom Riddle, the one speaking to her from out of the diary, turned out to be Lord Voldemort himself. 

“‘The diary,’ said Riddle. “My diary. Little Ginny’s been writing in it for months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes- how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with secondhand robes and books, and how’ -Riddle’s eyes glinted- ‘how she didn’t think the famous, good, great Harry Potter would ever like her… It’s very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl,’ he went on. ‘But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply loved me. No one’s ever understood me like you, Tom… I’m so glad I’ve got this diary to confide in… it’s like havin a friend I can carry around in my pocket…’” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, pp. 309-310) 

A friend she could carry around in her pocket? Does that sound kind of like a… CELLPHONE?!!!!

Yes. Exactly. When children freely roam the internet, they are exposed to bad things and bad people. They don’t know where these people are, they “can’t see where it keeps its brain.” They just find condolence and sympathy. But there’s a price to pay. They could meet a predator on the internet, and most children are too innocent and naive to know better. 

“If I say it myself, Harry, I’ve always been able to charm the people I needed. So Ginny poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted… I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few more of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her…” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, p. 310)

An eleven-year-old is innocent. Her father, Mr. Weasley, was shocked that she didn’t “know better.” You can’t expect an eleven-year-old to know better! You have to guard them, or see sinister things happen. Personally, I think it’s interesting how magic in the Harry Potter books was viewed by wizards the same way Muggles view electricity. What do phones and computers, which contain social media, run on? Electricity. 

“Of course, she didn’t know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries… far more interesting, they became… Dear Tom,’ he recited, watching Harry’s horrified face. ‘I think I’m losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don’t know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can’t remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I’ve got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I’m pale and I’m not myself. I think he suspects me… There was another attack today and I don’t know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I’m going mad… I think I’m the one attacking everyone, Tom!” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, p. 311)

After that, Ginny began to suspect her trusted diary and tried to throw it away. But then, when it found its way into Harry’s also innocent hands, she began to fear that the diary would expose all her secrets. So, she stole it back. After that, Lord Voldemort solidified his hold on her. She could not break free, and she was dragged down into the Chamber of Secrets to have the rest of her life force sucked away, and then to die. 

But, although Ginny could no longer save herself, someone else could. Someone who actually cared about her. Someone not nearly as eloquent, but someone with real sacrifice inside him. Someone just as innocent, but someone aided by forces outside his own. Harry went down into the chamber to rescue her. No evil can exist without good. Hope never dies. But how to get rid of the evil diary? 

“Then, without thinking, without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Harry seized the basilisk fang on the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book… He had gone. Harry’s wand fell to the floor with a clatter and there was silence. Silence except for the steady drip drip of ink still oozing from the diary. The basilisk venom had burned a sizzling hole right through it.” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, p. 322)

So the diary was destroyed. Ginny now needed time to recover from that awful experience. Harry wasn’t quite used to dangerous experiences, but he had definitely gotten his feet wet last year. Both were a lot wiser. So, both had been very young, it was excusable that they did not know what they were getting into. We can easily say, “It’s okay, Harry and Ginny. You were very young when you got attacked by a predator on the ‘wizard internet.’ Now you know better. You won’t make the same mistake again twice, right?” 

Well, Ginny certainly took what had happened to heart. She was always careful with magical objects like that, but Harry got a little bit cocky and sure of himself in the Half-Blood Prince, even if Ginny and Hermione collectively warned him against that book he loved. And it turned out, Snape was the original owner. At that point, Harry had no excuse. He had been warned by friends, he had experienced a time when evil attacked through one of those objects, and he was no longer eleven years old. He was sixteen, and he should have begun to think for himself, which he certainly did. He chose to be very foolish. But let’s face it. Sixteen-year-olds are very dumb too.

So, there’s a lesson there, isn’t there? Let’s repeat the Mr. Weasley quote again.

“‘Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain?’” (Rowling, Chamber of Secrets, p. 329)

So, be careful on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and especially Tick-Tock and Youtube. These are very dangerous sites, and, although there are many well-meaning people on there, there are also predators. In fact, there are inevitably predators on every one of those sites. Be careful who you give your heart, your time, your secrets, and your soul to. It could cost you everything.