Lupin's resentment : An inside to Snape's resentment

[cerebella316]

No: HPFGUIDX 94883

Bella again! I know that this post is pretty much between Alla and 
Silverthorne, but I can't help myself.

<huge snip>


Silverthorne:

Some people defend Snape, some Sirius, some Harry, some defend all 
or none at all. I take Snape's side because until recently he was 
the most 'maligned' when it comes to who is right, wrong, or indifferent. I 
never said you could NOT have your opinions--I only stated that I 
wished people would give the same regards and respectful examination 
to all the characters--use the same measuring stick and see beyond 
the surface of things (something which is further colored by Harry-
as-the-narrator). 


Bella:

But we have!! I have been reading messages on this site for—oh my—2 
years now? (Long before OoP) And we have put every character under 
the microscope. There has been talk of ESE!Lupin, ESE!Ollivander, 
ESE!Ron, ESE!Molly, ESE!Dumbledore, ESE!Hermione, and the list goes 
on
and I don't mean necessarily that we've thought they all could be 
evil at some point, but we have studied everything from possible 
ulterior motives to just their basic flaws in their personalities. 
And everyone has their own stances when it comes to each of the 
characters. (There are many who involved in this site who are 
critical of Sirius, and there are other who take note of his flaws 
and accept them
) So don't think we haven't used "the same measuring 
stick" for the characters.


Silverthorne:

They are what they are--what JKR wants them to be...and although 
some are less 'savory' then others at first glance, they are all 
still on the same side, and they all have equally valid and invalid 
reasons for their behaivior. Remember, one of the big themes is 
*choices*--why, how, and how it affects all the characters. The 
other theme that comes up often is "All is not necassarily as it 
seems". I apply *both* factors to all the characters as I read--and 
my opinions of them change accordingly as I do so.

Bella:

And Snape has been given a second chance! Dumbledore spoke for him 
when he could have been sent to jail as a DE, and after 14 years 
Snape still *chooses* to be bitter and angry. (I would say this is 
all part of his act, but his is bitter and angry with Sirius and I'm 
not sure what to call it with Remus.)


Silverthorne:

<snip again> 

Just as 'child abuse' seems to set you (Alla) off when you read the 
books, people who are hypocritical in their treament of others sets 
me off. Snape may be cruel, but he's consistant. 

Bella:

Yeah, consistent in treating Harry and Neville crappy.


Silverthorne:

Sirius, on the other hand, chooses his targets, not necassarily on 
sound fact as to thier alignment, but rather in reaction to his own 
personal likes and dislikes (which are not always dead on). 


Bella:

Huh? Who were Sirius' targets? Besides Snape and Kreature? Who I 
think are understandable...not right by any means, but 
understandable...


Silverthorne:

Once that became appearent, I lost respect for him. As a 
representative of the 'postive' in people, he skewed that all to 
hell in my view as soon as he went after another kid for the simple 
reason that he was bored


Bella interrupts:

But it has been said in the books that there was more to it than 
that. There was a history between Sirius and James and Snape that 
hasn't been completely drawn out for us yet. And for goodness sake, 
they were teenagers. That doesn't make what happened right, but 
teenagers are still still *discovering* themselves, trying to 
understand that good and bad isn't black and white. Moral 
development involves making mistakes and learning from them. Many 
posters have argued that they would never want to be judged on 
something they did in high school, because at that point you still 
have a lot to learn about life.

Snape and Sirius just haven't gotten past that...


Silverthorne:


and it made it worse when he allowed himself to maintain that 
stance far into his adult life. He could have chosen any number of 
other ways to deal with Snape in school--they all could have, but 
they didn't. He could have let it go later in life, but he didn't. 


Bella:

You are forgetting that Sirius spent 13 years in prison. I'm sure 
the detachment from the real world alone had some major impact on 
Sirius's psychological, moral, and behavioral development. Not to 
mention the guilt over the Potters death he sat brewing on...or the 
fact that Dementors were feeding on all that had been good in him...

And his first encounter with Snape upon returning to the real world 
is Snape's intrusion upon the Shrieking Shack scene and trying to 
send Sirius back to prison without listening to the real story—even 
after Dumbledore seemed to believe it. ("You fool," said Lupin 
softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back 
inside Azkaban?" PoA Ch 19, p 359, US hardback)

I think I would've been a little upset if I were Sirius...and that 
may not only rehash an old grudge, but start a new one!


Silverthorne: 

As the 'positive' one of the Severus/Snape pair, he should have, 
even if Snape couldn't. That is, in my opinion (which may not match 
yours, and I know that), what a 'good guy' does, after all is said 
and
done. And perhaps he would have eventually if he hadn't died at the 
MoM. Until then though, I am constantly left with the thought 
of "For god's sake, Sirius. You're on the same side and grown up 
now. Let it rest." But he couldn''t, and that does indeed color my 
opinion of him.

Bella:

How can say that Sirius should be better adjusted and morally 
developed than Snape? I mean
it has been hinted that both had hard 
childhoods. And it seems that Sirius bullied Snape. But, while 
Sirius suffered for 13 years in a cold jail cell with dementors 
sucking all his happiness and 1 year in a cave eating rats and 1 
year in the old house of his parents which forced upon him memories 
of a painful childhood, Snape got to spend those years all warm and 
snuggly and safe in the dungeons of Hogwarts under the care of Albus 
Dumbledore, the epitome of good in these books. Did he learn nothing 
from Dumbledore's example? No! He tried to send Sirius back to jail 
(I know! he believed he was a murderer at this point!) Then he 
goaded Sirius to do something rash and leave Grimmauld's place with 
his words that Sirius was not *useful*.

Both are equally childish when it comes to their attitude towards 
each other. But which character do you really think a psychologist 
would say had an environment more conducive reforming, to *growing 
up*? 

My bet is not Sirius...



And please don't think I'm picking on you, Silverthorne! I always 
enjoy reading your posts--mainly *because* your opinion is different 
than mine, and I like different perspectives!

~Bella