Why are students sorted/ Snape's "strange behaviour"

[pigwidgeon37]

No: HPFGUIDX 31723

Adana wrote:

>But in the Potterverse kids are selected for houses based on 
specific, 
>sometimes hidden (Neville) character traits.
>Why?
>Psychologists tell us that "labeling" a child (or a grown-up, for 
that 
>matter) is a sure way to lock him into that type of behavior. If you 
>consistently expect a certain type of behavior, you will more than 
likely 
>eventually get that behavior.

In some way this brings us back to the discussion about the houses 
being essentially "good" or "bad". If you look at the problem from 
Harry's (highly biased) POV, influenced by Ron, Hagrid, Draco etc., 
then of course you'd get the idea that Slytherin is bad, Gryffindor 
is good, and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are so-so. It's not easy to 
detach yourself from that POV, above all because we don't have much 
canon evidence to base our assumptions upon. There is, of course, the 
Sorting Hat, which doesn't give any judgment at all, it merely states 
certain characteristics of the houses as well as of their founders 
(darn, I don't have the books here, so it will be from memory again- 
sorry!). Take Slytherin, f.ex.: The mere fact of being cunning and 
sly and knowing exactly what you want isn't bad in itself. Neither is 
bravery, one of the major Gryffindor character traits, good in 
itself. What's important is what you make of them. And that might be 
exactly the reason for putting the kids into the respective houses: 
They have to learn how to use those natural abilities like bravery, 
ambition, loyalty and intelligence in the best possible way. And you 
can train them more easily if you got the brave ones under the same 
roof. 
So far, we haven't heard too much about teaching techniques at 
Hogwarts, but I suppose it might be possible that the professors use 
a very different style of teaching for each house. The only example 
that comes to my mind is Snape's Potions classes: Now there you have 
an case in point for treating two houses in an entirely different 
way, a fact that we have always been blaming on Snape's alleged hate 
of Gryffindors in general and Harry in particular. But what if it was 
partly motivated by the Hogwarts teaching strategy? Bring out the 
courage in the brave ones, but when you see they are using it in the 
wrong way, take away house points or give them detention- so in the 
long run they will learn by trial and error? What a pity we can't see 
anything of what's going on in the other classrooms, f.ex. I'd really 
like to know how Snape treats the Ravenclaws.



Still Adana:

>I wondered about Snape's behavior the first time I read this 
passage.  The 
>first time the students see him bring the potion, he seems to be 
very 
>concerned about making sure that Lupin takes it.  It's 
understandable that 
>he would make the potion if Dumbledore asked him to, but given what 
we know 
>(or think we know) about him, it would be more in character for him 
to make 
>it, wait for Lupin to come fetch it, and if he didn't, to shrug and 
say, 
>"Well, I did what I was supposed to."  If Lupin runs amok, so much 
the 
>better, from Snape's point of view--another old school enemy down.

First, it might very well be that Snape actually saw Harry entering 
Lupin's office and wouldn't that be just a great occasion to go there 
and ostentatively bring Lupin the potion, hopefully making him think 
about why Snape would make a potion for someone he so obviously 
dislikes? IMO, it's just another of Snape's attempts to hint at 
Lupin's lycanthropy, like he already did with the werewolf essay.

>At this point (IIRC) we don't know that they are old school enemies, 
but we 
>can already see that there is at least a massive unfriendliness, and 
this 
>seeming concern on Snape's part is suspicious.  It seems to to HRH, 
too; 
>they warn him about drinking anything that Snape makes.   And the 
other 
>strange thing in this scene--Lupin is not concerned at all.  He 
drinks it, 
>no problem.  If this is such a difficult potion to brew, it would be 
easy 
>for Snape to put something nasty in it and claim that he made a 
mistake, he 
>didn't really *mean* for Lupin to break out in boils.  But Lupin is 
not 
>worried.

Now honestly, why should Lupin believe even for a moment that Snape 
put something into his wolfsbane potion? It seems that it is a very 
complicated concoction, so chances are that adding something 
(remember? Even sugar makes it useless!) would alter or destroy its 
effect. IMO, Snape is way too clever to expose himself in such a way, 
he would never do anything as obvious as putting poison or whatever 
damaging substance into a potion everybody knew he and only he could 
prepare. As to staging a "mistake"- I think that Snape's self-
consciousness for being a top-of-the-range Potions Master would never 
allow him to deliver anything but perfect products.


Susanna/pigwidgeon37