Of Sorting and Snape

[Zara]

No: HPFGUIDX 175348

> lizzyben:
> I just meant that in the
> "Prince's Tale" chapter, every one of Snape's childhood memories shows
> him doing something "bad" - from the nine-year old dropping a branch
> on Petunia, to insulting Muggles, to defending future Death Eaters.
> It's one of the places where I could almost here the Author's Voice in
> the background saying "See, see, he was a bad kid from the get-go!" 
> I almost felt like it was deliberately included to try to forestall
> reader sympathy for this neglected little boy, & encourage us to see
> him as a lost cause. 

zgirnius:
I loved that about the memories, myself. My very favorite being the 
inclusion of Snape's first meeting with Dumbledore. Yeah, Sev, way to 
convince Harry you're a good guy - feature that scene where Dumbledore 
is disgusted with you because you could not care less about James and 
Harry.

If Rowling intended the inclusion of the 'bad' elements to be a turn-
off, she failed with me. The memories have a confessional sort of 
nature (they are far more information than Harry needs, and they tell 
the story of Snape's life, really). And that they do not show Snape in 
a completely perfect light makes them seem honest. Presumably those 
memories, warts and all, were chosen within the story *by Snape*, 
whatever reasons Rowling had for writing them.