Snape as bully/teacher/protector/disciplinarian/nemesis/ally...

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 120171


SNAPE, SNAPE, SNAPE!  Wow.  We sure are going off on Severus lately, 
aren't we?  These threads are so intertwined *and* so spread out 
that I've given up on attempting to respond in any one thread, and 
I'm startin' afresh.

WHO & WHAT IS SNAPE?
Wouldn't JKR get a kick out of all this?  Is Snape a bully or just a 
firm administrator?  Is Snape a good teacher or a p*ss-poor 
teacher?  Is Snape Harry's protector?  Is he the only one who 
disciplines Harry in any sort of consistent manner?  Or does he only 
discipline Harry because he wants to take every chance he can to 
bring Harry down a notch and make his life miserable?  Has he 
managed to teach Harry anything?  Whose fault is it if he hasn't?  
If he has managed to teach Harry something, has he managed to teach 
him all he could?  Does Snape know the prophecy or does he not?


WHO & WHAT ARE WE?
My, my, my.  So many questions.  And so many of us looking for 
answers.  Are we Snape lovers?  Snape apologists?  A bunch of 
bullies?  [Yeah, right.]  Snape bashers?  Snape fence-sitters?  
Personally, I'm a Snape Fence-Sitter and proud of it!  Down deep I 
want to think that DD's not a fool to trust Severus Snape and that 
Snape is acting fully of his own free will in the Order business, 
not *just* because he personally wants to bring Voldy down, but 
because he believes in The Cause.  But as Renee so beautifully 
expressed in #120134, it's the DISCREPANCIES surrounding Snape which 
make him so fascinating.  We know so little of his background, of 
his motivations for turning to the DEs, for turning to DD, for his 
nastiness, for his cruelty to Neville & Harry, for his watching out 
for Harry.  We see it all, but we see it through Harry's lens ...or 
even if we see it more neutrally, it's still without all that 
background detail which could help us understand clearly.  He is the 
proverbial mystery, wrapped in an enigma.  

So calling Snape "lovers" a bunch of bullies is really just too 
ridiculous to even consider.  Snape's fascinating to many of us, 
period.  I was never bullied, and I never bullied others.  I don't 
love Snape, but I sure do love to talk about him and think about 
what makes him tick.  No one can categorize us HPfGUers as 
simplistically as that and expect it to be accurate. 


SNAPE AND HIS TEACHING METHODS/WHAT DOES SNAPE KNOW?

Del raised some points in #120177 about whether I jumped to too many 
conclusions about how much Snape knows.  I'll concede that *if* 
she's right, much of my argument crumbles.  For those who don't 
recall, my argument is this:

1) Snape is truly on the side of the good guys
2) Snape wants Voldy taken down
**3) Snape understands that Harry is the only one with the chance of 
vanquishing Voldy**
4) Snape *should* logically therefore want Harry to be the best-
prepared "weapon" he can be -– in charms, spells, dueling, potions, 
transfiguration, occlumency -- in every area possible
5) Snape *should* therefore want Harry to NOT just get by or learn 
enough to not fail, because he *should* understand that the future 
of the WW might well rest upon how well & how much Harry learns
6) In my view, Harry clearly isn't learning *well* from Snape
7) Snape *should* therefore swallow his pride/repress the rage/do 
whatever it takes, including – horrors! – evaluating his methods and 
alter his instruction tactics with Harry


Now, if Del is right that Snape DOESN'T know about the prophecy and 
that Harry is WonderBoy, fine, I'd back off a bit from this 
argument.  

Of course, I don't think I'm wrong. :-)  Although I could believe 
the argument that it could be dangerous for Snape to know too much 
of the prophecy.  It would be dangerous – to Snape and potentially 
to the Order if Voldy could get the info from him.   

If, however, Neri is right in his #120154 [please go read!!], about 
Molly, Arthur, Sirius & Lupin knowing about the prophecy and about 
Harry's importance, then it's hard to imagine Snape wouldn't also 
know.  It could be because DD told him, or it could be because 
Snape's the one who overheard part of the prophecy in the first 
place.  *However* he came to know, I agree with Neri that it does 
seem logical that he knows enough to know that Harry's "it," and so 
for now I will stand by my argument that Snape should have 
instructed Harry differently, both in Potions class and in 
Occlumency.  

Disclaimer 1:  I believe Snape did try harder in Occlumency than he 
had in the past.  Disclaimer 2:  I believe Snape & Harry's 
relationship was so bitter & distorted by this point that there was 
little chance of success in Occl. without a lot of intervention from 
DD.  So some of this is a moot point by book 5.  

But I just can't get over how someone who ostensibly understands how 
important Harry's role will be won't do whatever he can to make sure 
he's prepared.  Yes, yes, yes – I know Snape may see preparation 
as "toughening" Harry up.  It also may include keeping him alive, 
something I think Snape has in mind when he punishes Harry for being 
out of bounds & flaunting school rules.  But it also includes making 
sure the relationship isn't so sour that the kid won't listen and 
can't respect the teacher.  Harry can be a prat, but he also *can* 
listen and *can* respect a teacher [McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, 
Lupin, Hagrid – none seem to have big problems with Harry, do 
they?].  

I can't but fault Snape for not seeing the bigger picture here.  

You've gotta be tough to face Voldy, but you've got to know your 
stuff, too, and Harry's not learning his stuff as well as he could, 
imo.  His fault?  Some, certainly.  But Snape's too in my way of 
seeing things.

Siriusly Snapey Susan