Snape and Draco again was I see no difference

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 160876

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Magpie" <belviso at ...> wrote:
>
> --zgirnius, still not 100% convinced, but now finding that comment 
by
> Snape.odd.
> 
> Magpie:
> I wonder if it's the way the line is described without any sign of 
humor on 
> Snape's part--I mean, you'd expect him to be hiding a smirk or 
something if 
> the line was supposed to be a zinger.  The fact that he says it 
like such a 
> pronouncement seems to make it more serious on his part, more 
calculated, 
> like he thought about it.  And I'd almost expect it to be more of 
an impulse 
> if it were a true insult.  Plus, as you say, he just doesn't 
usually insult 
> peoples' looks.
> 
> Still, I can't see any other way to interpret the line, really.  
Maybe it's 
> just a sign that Snape can be a jerk in ways we hadn't seen 
before.:-)


a_svirn:
The real question is why should we try so hard to interpret it any 
other way? Insulting people is what Snape does, what he's good at. 
Of course, he's good at a number of other things, but that's another 
matter. Frankly, I find the argument that he's usually does not 
comment on people's looks somewhat perplexing. Snape strikes where 
it hurts – that's all there is to that. Neville is the easiest 
target – diffident and unsure of himself – so he gets bullied, pure 
and simple. Sirius feels excluded and powerless, so he gets taunted 
because of that. Neither of the above or any other individually 
tailored insults would have worked on Hermione – she is no pushover, 
she is always in the thick of it etc. But she is also an ambitious 
overachiever, and – for all her accomplishments – she is still a 
teenage girl with all the insecurities that go with the territory. 
Which is why Snape opted for ridiculing her drive and her looks. If 
she had been a prom queen he'd have to think of something else to 
get to her. If he'd bothered at all.