Snape: good or bad?

[Gary Meuse]

No: HPFGUIDX 143172

A thought from another list about this:
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.harry-potter/msg/136518773724e6f8

Here is an interesting outlook on Snape:

---
Tamar wrote:

I think Snape always meets the new first-years after the staff 
have had a week to observe them, so he can have a specific plan 
for how he is going to treat each kid.

He ignores Hermione in class because she has always been rewarded 
for knowing everything.  She needs to develop other ways to 
validate herself. She also needs friends; being unfairly treated 
by Snape gets the Gryffindors to support her, even though they 
resent her for being a know-it-all themselves.  In order to keep 
the plan consistent, he had to be abominably rude and lie about 
the 'teeth' incident in GoF.  Since Hermione did have other 
teachers to go to for help, he considered it more important to 
keep the attitude consistent.

He is suspicious of Harry; I think Dumbledore has told him to be 
the one who takes the dimmest possible view of Harry's motives, 
to counteract the tendency _among the staff_ to assume the best 
when Dumbledore doesn't know how much Harry may have been tainted 
by the original context with Voldy.

He tends to treat Ron as just another Gryffindor unless Ron gets 
involved in something with Harry and Hermione during class.

He is leaning on Neville to improve his memory; that is something 
everyone agrees Neville needs to work on.  He also did support Neville once, in a way that nobody noticed: he pointed out that 
Neville would have creamed Finch-Fletchley in a duel, because of 
his lack of control combined with his undeniable power.  'We'll 
be sending Finch-Fletchley up... in a matchbox."

He supports Draco emotionally with praise because Draco hasn't 
ever had much approval from his parents.  Draco is as nervous as 
Hermione on the train, but he has a pair of bodyguards, possibly arranged for by his father because his father knows what would 
happen to wimpy little Draco in Slytherin if he didn't have 
bodyguards.

The rest of the Slytherins are also probably victims of low 
self-esteem. They are generally homely and desperate enough for 
control over something in their lives to make that their first 
way of responding to any situation.  They'll do _anything_ to 
succeed.  That's desperation.  (I'm leaving out the occasional 
sociopath that no doubt shows up.)

---

"The principal difference between a science-fiction writer and 
a large pepperoni pizza is that the pizza can feed a family of 
four."
Spider Robinson


----
and

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I Am the Very Model of an Anti-Hero Archetype
A filk by Mariner to the tune of I Am the Very Model of a Modern 
Major-General, from The Pirates of Penzance 
http://home.att.net/~coriolan/faculty/snape1.htm#Anti-Hero_Archetype

Scene: Enter SNAPE, swirling his cloak, followed by a chorus of 
SLYTHERINS

SNAPE
I am the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype,
My condescending manner's guaranteed to make the heroes gripe,
I hang out in a dungeon that a nicer guy would wither in,
It doesn't bother me at all because I am a Slytherin.
I always dress in black with a theatrical and stylish flair,
It makes up for the fact that I don't brush my teeth or wash my 
hair.
I work with smelly potions in an underground laboratory
And have a gift for sarcasm and other snarky oratory.

SLYTHERINS
He has a gift for sarcasm and other snarky oratory,
He has a gift for sarcasm and other snarky oratory,
He has a gift for sarcasm and other snarky oratory!

SNAPE
I'm biased toward Malfoy and the other kids in Slytherin,
I terrorize Longbottom into quiverin' and ditherin',
In short I can assure you that I more than live up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype.

SLYTHERINS
In short we can assure you that he more than lives up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype.

SNAPE
I have an evil history that's murky and mysterious,
I have a vicious grudge against that bloody bastard Sirius,
I torment Harry Potter every opportunity I get,
But when he is imperiled I am always there to save the brat.
I was a double-agent in the previous Death Eater war,
And now I go again to risk my scrawny neck for Dumbledore,
Exactly what I'm doing, only JKR can say for sure,
But if I'm caught I'll probably get Crucio'd by Voldemort.

SLYTHERINS:
But if he's caught he'll probably get Crucio'd by Voldemort,
But if he's caught he'll probably get Crucio'd by Voldemort,
But if he's caught he'll probably get Crucio'd by Voldemort.

SNAPE
I'm capable of standing up to hazards occupational,
I'm capable of carrying a grudge cross-generational,
In short I can assure you that I more than live up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype.

SLYTHERINS
In short we can assure you that he more than lives up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype.

SNAPE
In fact, when we discover the true history behind the Prank,
And learn the real reasons for my quitting the Death Eater ranks,
And why I knew Dark Magic by the time I first showed up at school,
And whether I'll make Dumbledore look like a genius or a fool,
And if Karkaroff mentored me the way he mentors Victor Krum,
And if I ever really had a crush on Harry Potter's mum,
In short, when Jo reveals the truth behind my nastiness and rage,
You'll say a better archetype has never stalked across a page.

SLYTHERINS
In short, when Jo reveals the truth behind his nastiness and rage,
You'll say a better archetype has never stalked across a page.

SNAPE
I'm complicated and intense, heroic and despicable,
My motives are so twisted, some would say they're inexplicable,
In short I can assure you that I more than live up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype.

SLYTHERINS
In short, we can assure you that he more than lives up to the hype
Of being the very model of an Anti-Hero Archetype!

-----------------

"Gee, the Chamber hasn't opened in 50 years.  Poor basilisk.  Must 
be awfully boring down there.  I hope he had toys."


--Gary