Motivations for Joining DEs - Pure blood and Propaganda

[zgirnius]

No: HPFGUIDX 140927

> Elyse: I'm not so sure Young!Snape was all that comfortable with 
the 
> pureblood issue. 
> He was in Slytherin, so he must have been wary of revealing his 
> parentage; I'm guessing there was a lot of pressure attached to it. 
> Maybe he had already heard terms like Mudblood applied to other 
> people.
> If,in an uncanny parallel to Harry's first meeting with Malfoy,
> 11 year old Snape had overheard a conversation that included things 
> like
> "I really dont think they should let the other sort in, do you?"
> he would have realised that having a Muggle father was not 
> exactly "something you bandy about" when youre in Slytherin.
> So if nobody knew about it, he could have pretended to be pureblood
> well into his fifth year, when he made that Mudblood comment.

zgirnius:
I have no opinion as to young Snape's views on the blood purity 
issue. However, I am not so sure that he posed as a pureblood at 
school. I am not even sure that he *could* have, had he wanted to. 
The problem is that his Muggle parent is his father, making him a 
Snape, not a Prince. The Wizarding World would seem to be small 
enough that pureblood types in Slytherin for whom this was an 
important issue would know there were no pureblood Wizarding Snapes. 

I'm not so sure we can even conclude that Sorting of half-bloods into 
Slytherin is unusual. From the evidence we have, it does not seem 
that Slytherin House has far fewer students than any other house 
(rather, the Houses would seem to be of approximately equal size). We 
know plenty of purebloods get Sorted into other houses. (James 
Potter, Sirius Black, the entire Weasley clan, Neville Longbottom, 
just to list some Gryffindors).

Yet, on the other hand, we are to believe that purebloods are a 
vanishing breed, that families which insist on maintaining blood 
purity are all intermarrying with their close relatives, which may 
eventually result in lots of "Gaunts". If almost all Slytherins are 
purebloods, then purebloods must make up well over 1/4 of the total 
Wizarding population, and probably more than 1/2. 

> Elyse:
> It strikes me as a little unlikely though that he would toot his 
own 
> Dark Arts skills as an advertisement. 
> We have been told that Snape was an oddball.
> There is no canon to say it was because of his fascination with the 
> Dark Arts, but it doesnt seem to be a very normal thing among 
> Hogwarts students. Even Draco Malfoy who was a child of Death Eaters
> has shown no particular interest in or inclination to invent the 
> kind of curses young Snape was "upto his eyeballs" in.

zgirnius:
Assuming that the invention of novel Dark spells takes brains, hard 
work, and magical talent, it would be an unusual ("oddball") interest 
in any group of young people. It is too much like "real work". This 
does not mean, however, that such an interest might not be 
appreciated by such young people once they see the useful results. I 
think the "Slytherin gang" knew Snape was not a pureblood, and they 
did think he was an oddball, but "Levicorpus" for example, was just a 
*cool* spell and they could see the use of someone who came up with 
that sort of stuff. Even if joining Snape in trying to develop such 
spells held no attractions for them. From Snape's POV, being accepted 
to some extent into the "gang" may have provided some protection. 

Hermione Granger comes to mind as another example of this. Harry and 
Ron appreciate her in part for her abilities in library research and 
magic. This does not inspire them to start reading moldy old books 
themselves, or to spend hours practicing advanced magic. But it is 
definitely a useful thing about Hermione (not to mention all the 
honework help...) (I do think Hermione clearly mean more to Harry and 
Ron than just that, there are emotional ties, true friendship, 
romantic love, etc. I am just saying that this one thing among many 
Hermione has to offer Ron and Harry was what may have made Snape 
acceptable in Slytherin to some extent).

Elyse:
> We do know, however, that pureblood issues were used to get people 
> over to the Dark side. So really, this blows my theory of Snape 
> having had a change of heart in sixth year to smithereens.
> If he really was proud of his parentage, he would not have become a 
> DE. Even if he was okay with exterminating Mudbloods, he must have
> known that people would find out he was half blood eventually.

zgirnius:
Elsewhere in this thread people have pointed out the 
relatively "respectable" face which Voldemort may have put on his 
goals. I would imagine this would *not* include advocating the 
killing of Mudbloods or Muggles. Rather, I imagine it would express 
itself as a respect for traditional values. Stop admitting Muggle-
borns into Hogwarts. Reduce the influence of the Muggle world in 
Wizarding society and the MoM, in favor of restoring the influence of 
purebloods, the "true guardians of ancient Wizarding traditions". 
(Yes, as a side effect this would tend to mean marginalizing and 
denying employment to Muggle-borns...a sad necessity, a temporary 
one, and one that need not be dwelled on...) Discourage intermarriage 
of wizards/witches and Muggles. (If Snape's parents' marriage was not 
a happy one, he might easily see the "logic" of this one...)

Another factor I can hypothetically see having an influence in 
Snape's decision is economic. He's a talented wizard, outstandingly 
so in Potions and Dark Arts/DADA. But what is his financial situation 
as he reaches adulthood? Does he have a viable income/job 
opportunities in the Wizarding World? We hear a lot about James and 
Sirius being such excellent students, but not about Snape despite the 
obvious evidence of ability in adult Snape. Maybe Snape did not have 
the OWLs in some of his less-favored subjects due to poor work 
habits/attitude/whatever. He may have needed the influence of more 
influential Slytherin patrons to get his chance (like, say, Lucius 
Malfoy...) and could have joined to cement such connections.