Snape- Universal Teacher - Universal Story

[sophierom]

No: HPFGUIDX 128461

 "Steve" <bboyminn at y...> wrote:
 <snip>
> I honestly think that relative to the school aspect of the story,
> Snape is there simply because every protagonist needs an antagonsit.
> Among the students, Draco fills that role, among the teachers Snape
> fills that role, in the greater world, Voldemort fills that role.
>Don't get me wrong, in the greater arc of the story, Snape has a
> greater more complex role to play, but limiting our perspective to
>the school day itself, Snape is there simply to make Harry stuggle
>and to give him something to stuggle against. <snip>

Sophierom:

This is an interesting parallel you've set up here. I think this works
in the first four books.  I wonder, if in OotP, JKR didn't disturb
this structure a bit by inserting Umbridge as the antagonist among the
teachers. Perhaps with Occlumency and the Pensieve scene, Snape moved
into a different (though equally uncomfortable and antagonistic) role.
 Although ever since PS, we've known that Snape held a grudge of some
kind against Harry's father, it's only in OotP that we really
understand the nature of that grudge. I don't know what to call this
new role (perhaps he's the embodiment of Harry's struggle to learn
that there is no easy way to define "good" and "bad").  But I do
wonder, especially as we learn more about Snape's
past, if he won't become less of an antagonist in the classroom.  Ah,
what am I talking about? He'll probably give Harry a hard time until
the last page (or, should he die, his last breath).  


Steve again: 
> So many question, and so few answers. As a side-side note, I often
> wonder if two more books is really enough to resolve all the
> unanswered questions we have? 

Sophierom:

Oh, definitely not! I do hope the last two books will answer the most
important questions (though I'm not wise enough to say what those
are).  But I imagine we'll continue to have unanswered questions about
Snape when the series ends (even if he dies before the conclusion). If
Rowling does somehow manage to answer all of our questions, I know
there will be many fanfiction readers and writers out there who won't
know what to do with themselves! :-D