[HPforGrownups] Snape's teaching methods, and a theory

[Allen, Rebecca]

No: HPFGUIDX 33051

Ah, more good observations on Snape's teaching methods; thank you to
everyone posting on this. Having recently been in graduate school and
getting it from both ends, both teaching and being taught, I certainly think
it's a provoking issue.

Anyway, I wanted to take the opportunity to launch my theory about Snape and
Neville. If you think it's too bizarre to be feasible, please flame away.

Preliminary point #1: However cruel Snape is to Neville, it still doesn't
top what Neville's own family does to him to smoke out his magical
abilities. Didn't they toss him out of a window and try to drown him when he
was quite little in order to provoke him to summon his magical abilities? It
seems his family's idea of tough love is much tougher than Snape's.

Preliminary point #2: This treatment of Neville reminded me of what Hagrid
says to Harry when he first picks him up from the Dursleys. He asks him if
Harry ever noticed anything strange happening when he was particularly angry
or frightened. And of course, Harry has.

Thus it seems adrenaline has something to do with triggering magical
ability.

OK, my theory: What if Snape is deliberately trying to infuriate or terrify
Neville; what if he thinks that the adrenaline rush or righteous fury or
whatever will actually force Neville to summon all his magical ability in
his own defense? I mean, wouldn't it be pretty cool is Neville's first
successful spell was to transfigure Snape into a newt? If it could work that
way it would be a brilliant ruse because it would fit right in with Snape's
effort to torment the Gryffindors, which I also think is a ruse, but it
would secretly be in Neville's best interest.

Now I know that in the real world this wouldn't make much sense; Neville
would need patient nurturing and maybe lots of therapy. But since JKR's
world seems to have more black humor, I thought it just might work that way.


Also, judyserenity asked: 

> Did anyone notice that Snape gave Neville and Ron detentions that involved

> dismembering the type of animal they have as pets?  (Neville, who has 
> a pet toad, had to disembowel toads; Ron, who used to have a pet rat, 
> had to pickle rat brains.)  If this was supposed to be deliberate on 
> Snape's part, it would argue that he was just plain mean, because the 
> Slytherins might not even know what Neville and Ron had for 
> detention. 

True, but wasn't Ron's rat brain detention in GoF? At that point he might
not be keen on rats any longer. ;-)

> However, I am really hoping Rowling provides a good justification for 
> Snape's behavior, he'd be so much less interesting as just another 
> meany. 
> 

Me too!
/Rebecca