I Hate Snape... (& Snape as a teacher + Neville)

[drmm_fuuko]

No: HPFGUIDX 56339

Well, this Snape fan won't flame anyone that dislikes Snape. As 
fascinating as I find him, I agree that he's a bitter, cruel man; 
quite frankly, he's an asshole. If I met him in real life, I'd 
probably want to hit him with a sledgehammer.

However, I think that Snape is one of the most important characters 
in terms of Harry's emotional growth. In PS/SS Harry, Ron and 
Hermione automatically assume that the cruel teacher must be the evil 
one. Good people = nice. Bad people = nasty.

This is a fairly simplistic world view, typical of young people. 
Harry is shocked when he realizes that Quirrel, someone he felt a bit 
sorry for, is the bad guy. This revelation, combined with the Barty 
Crouch revelation in GoF, is important for the Trio to realize that 
all nice people are not good and all nasty people are not evil. I 
think that future revelations will help cement that idea into Harry's 
brain.

Since Snape IS firmly in the 'grey' area, to me, he's the most 
interesting character in the books. He's the most complex character 
we've encountered so far, so I can't help but find him more 
interesting than any of the other characters.

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "darrin_burnett" 
<<> Well, except for Hermione and the Polyjuice Potion, I see no 
evidence 
> that any student has learned much. Perhaps that is unfair, since we 
> have no evidence that anyone has learned any Arithmancy, Muggle 
> Studies, or Runes, either, but hear me out.
> 
> Snape really does seem to teach a lot like Professor Blinns. Recite 
> and expect the students to get it. And then berate them, unless 
they 
> are Slytherins, when they don't.>> 

Well, we certainly aren't told a lot about what he teaches in Potions 
since Harry and Ron don't pay any attention to Snape. However, he 
obviously does more than just make them memorize; Hermione learned 
about the Polyjuice Potion during a lecture, so he has to teach them 
more than just memorizing ingrediants. And don't forget that Fred & 
George manage to make a lot of practical jokes, most of which must 
involve Potions to some degree.

I sometimes think that Snape's presence could be benificial to the 
students. Potion making is an exact science. One small mistake can 
spell disaster. If a person gets flustered or startled, who knows 
what could result from their mistake. They could end up covered with 
green moss or causing a huge explosion.

Snape spends most of his time hovering over his students, 
intentionally trying to startle them. They must learn to cope with 
one of the most intimidating people they'll ever meet on a daily 
basis. He certainly does his best to put a lot of pressure on 
them ... After taking classes with Snape, almost any other situation 
would be a breeze. 

As for Neville, I suspect the main reason why Potions is his worst 
subject, is that he has a poor memory. Since potion-making is exact, 
if he forgets to add something or adds it at the wrong time (which he 
frequently does), he could cause a disaster. Of course, Snape doesn't 
help ...

DrMM
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