Straightforward readings? (was Re: Truth vs. what meets Harry's eye )

[dumbledore11214]

No: HPFGUIDX 140732


Pippin:

<SNIP>

> Now, Snape, being a fictional construct,  has never picked on 
> any real children, so I suppose that to engender such a desire  he
> must represent real people who pick  on children, in the same way 
> that Harry, to Snape, represented the people who bullied him.
> 
> In Snape's case, this old prejudice led him to place too much 
reliance
> on superficial evidence and biased witnesses, including himself.
> 
> Whether readers are making the same mistake is for them to 
consider.


Alla:

So,  the readers who are arguing about Snape being evil or out for 
himself are exposing some kind of prejudice and make the same 
mistake as Harry does? I think this is a weak argument, personally. 

The difference between what Snape does to 
Harry and what I as reader do ( I am very uncomfortable to speak for 
anyone else but myself) when I interpret ... say events on the Tower 
is that it is still to be PROVEN as FACT that reader has superficial 
evidence and biased witnesses when deciding that Snape is guilty. 
While it had been proven as fact that Harry is not James in a sense 
Snape thinks he is, IMO.



> Potioncat:
> Snape overheard the prophesy while he was a DE and reported it to 
LV. 
> At the time he heard the prophesy he would not have known who it 
> referred to. And if he's as dense as me, he would not realize it 
was 
> an unborn child. (OK, granted, Snape is smarter than me.)


Alla:

LOL! I am sure he is more dense than you are. :-) But from  the part 
of the prophecy Snape heard  it is clear IMO that it talks about  
the child. As I said above - Snape delivered to death unnamed 
couple, whoever those people would turn out to be - then Snape would 
be complicit in their deaths. Well, their names were Potters.



Potioncat: 
> Before LV took action upon "the one who approaches" Snape informed 
> DD. Snape changed sides and began working against LV. DD 
apparantly 
> does/did not think punishment was required or perhaps placed acts 
of 
> reparations upon Snape. (Is that what I'm trying to say?)
> 
> So I think if we said to DD, "Don't you remember, Headmaster, 
Snape 
> is responsible for James's and Lily's deaths?" DD would answer to 
> us, "My memory is as good as ever." 


Alla:

Don't get me wrong, if I knew that Snape was truly remorseful for 
that, I would be fine with it, but firstly I don't know that for 
sure and secondly IMO that is SO not up to Dumbledore to decide 
whether to grant Snape absolution or not.

I mean I understand for story line constraints Dumbledore giving 
Draco absolution for  the attempted murder of Ron and Kathy ( even 
though I also don't like it)

But when Harry comes to Dumbledore full of righteous anger for what 
Snape did to his parents and Dumbledore casually dismisses him as 
Harry has no right to be upset, that was my only "let's slap 
Dumbledore" moment in HBP. Which is quite an improvement since I had 
plenty of those in OOP. :-)



Just my opinion of course,

Alla