[HPforGrownups] Does Snape Favour the Slytherins? (WAS Snape's Treatment of

[wynnde1 at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 47274

Just a quick comment which occurred to me when reading this discussion 
Snape's treatment of Draco, 

> Audra wrote:
> Snape's treatment of Draco as interpreted by Harry and others may just be 
> another misconception about him.  We are led to think that Snape just 
> favors 
> the Slytherins and especially Draco just because Snape shares the belief 
> that 
> purebloods are superior and because Draco is from a prominent, wealthy, 
> pureblood family.
> 
> Eloise responded:
> The other way round, I would say. It is easy to *assume* that the reason he 
> 
> favours Draco and the Slytherins is because he shares the pureblood 
> superiority doctrine, but I cannot think of anywhere in canon where he 
> implies or demonstrates this. In fact, I don't think that anyone so close 
> to 
> and trusted by Dumbledore *could* embrace this doctrine.
> 
> 

Now me:
Actually, I'm not sure we can conclude that Snape does actually favour Draco 
*and* the Slytherins. I have a bit of canon that I noticed the other day in 
re-reading Philosopher's Stone which would seem to contradict this 
widely-held belief, and indicates that Snape is actually mean to just about 
all the students:"

>From Chapter Eight (The Potion's Master):

"Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to 
cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh 
dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone except 
Malfoy, whom he seemed to like."

So it seems that he's *not* really favouring the Slytherins here - he 
dislikes them, as well. Sure, we see him take points from Gryffindor and not 
Slytherin, but the performance of his own house reflects upon him as much as 
his students. And I'm certainly not trying to argue that Snape *doesn't* hate 
Harry, which also could explain some of the heavy-handed treatment he 
receives from Snape. But that's not the same as favouring the Slytherins - 
not any more than, say, McGonagall favours the Gryffindors. She wants her 
House to win at Quidditch, and managed to bend the school rules so that Harry 
could have his broom in first year, after all. And, as Eloise pointed out, 
Hermione has a better grade in the class than Draco, so we don't have any 
evidence that Snape is tampering with grades in the favour of the Slytherins. 
Our first canon mention of Snape favouring the students comes from Ron 
earlier in the same chapter I quoted earlier ("They say he always favours 
them"), and strikes me as being of the same flavour as Percy's statement that 
Snape wants the DADA job - often, something that "everyone" knows to be true 
is just the opposite, especially when talking about the opinions of 
school-aged children! <G>

I'm sure others will be able to find lots of examples to dispute this . . . I 
can't wait to read them! <G>

:-)
Wendy


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