The Snape question (Was: Helping Muggle children) (SPOILERS!!)

[justcarol67]

Don't read this post if you haven't read HBP!

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Joe Bento wrote:
><snip>
> I am curious at how you explain Snape to a child troubled by DD's 
> apparent death?  People on this board have already expressed the 
> thought that you don't simply dismiss a child's questions because 
> Harry Potter is just an imaginary story.  Do you tell the child that 
> DD was murdered, and explain that Snape is likely a very bad man?  
> How could you explain that Snape may have been following DD's 
> wishes, justifying an apparent murder?
> 
> While I certainly don't want to doubt the intelligence of a child, 
> can they discern the difference between:  
> 1) The thought that Snape may have been fulfilling DD's wishes.
> 2) Snape may in fact have committed an unforgivable crime.
> 3) A violent gang murder on the evening news.
> 
> It seems to me that explaining DD's death might be a bit more 
> complicated than explaining the passing of someone from natural 
> causes.  A child is most certainly going to pick up on the AK 
> incantation as well as the detailed hatred in Snape's expression. <snip>

Carol responds:
Hi, Joe. I attempted to answer this post offlist because I was unsure
of the spoiler policy (thank you, List Elves!) but I don't think I did
a very good job. I was too concerned with defending Snape rather than
answering the very important question that you raised.

As earlier posts in this thread imply, a grown-up's first concern is
helping children deal with the loss of Dumbledore (whose death is not
apparent but real within the contxt of the books), but there's also
the question of how to help them deal with Snape (who unquestionably
killed him). Here are my thoughts:

Sophisticated older children who had deduced from earlier books that
Snape may be a "horrible teacher" but Dumbledore was right to trust
him may be devastated by Snape's close links to the DEs and in
particular by his killing of Dumbledore. These older children, who are
clearly skilled readers, should be encouraged to reread the book,
examining the text for clues that they may be right and Harry wrong
about Snape's motives. (Are there, or were there, any Snapefans under
the age of seventeen?)

For most children, however, especially those between nine and fourteen
or so, thoughtful parents and teachers can raise a few questions.

1)What would have happened if Snape had broken the Unbreakable Vow? 
(Answer: He would have died.)
2)Would his death have saved Dumbledore? (Answer: No. Dumbledore would
have been killed by the Death Eaters, including the horrible Fenrir
Grayback.)
3)What does keeping his vow allow Snape to do that he could not have
done if he'd died breaking it? (Answer: Keep his promise to help and
protect Draco.)
4) Could Snape's expression of hatred and revulsion, which seems to
mean that he hates Dumbledore, mean something else? (Answer: It
*could* mean that he hates having to kill him. This one may require a
rewording of the question to elicit the right answer.)
5) Is it possible that Snape isn't evil? Why do you think so? (Correct
answer for the child, as opposed to the adult asking the question, is
whatever the child thinks it is.)

If the child is still convinced that Snape is evil (So what if he
saved Draco? Draco's evil, too!), the parent or teacher could ask

1) Why do you think JKR has evil characters in her books? 
2) Why does it matter that Dumbledore is killed by Snape and not by
another Death Eater?
3) What do you think should happen when Harry meets Snape?
4) Is it all right for Harry to kill Snape with an Avada Kedavra or is
Snape right that Harry should not use Unforgiveable Curses? Why do you
think so?

And if all else fails, the parent or teacher could ask the child to
write an essay called "Why I Hate Severus Snape." At least that would
allow the child to espress his or her ideas and at the same time find
an outlet for outraged feelings.)

What do you think, Joe? Anybody? Would these ideas work? If not, how
would you help a child deal with hatred of a fictional character?
("Don't worry about it. Snape's not real" is not going to solve the
problem.)

Carol, who really needs some answers to this question