Would Harry forgiving Snape be character growth for him? Re: CHAPDISC: HBP 29,

[Jen Reese]

No: HPFGUIDX 164209

> Magpie:
> I don't.:-) Because in HP, Harry wouldn't be wiser than Dumbledore. 
> He's based his belief that Snape is working for Voldemort not on 
> wisdom but on anger. Understandable anger, but anger that makes him
> *unwise.* It makes him look for evidence that supports what he
> wants to be true, and it doesn't come from his heart or the still 
> portion of his mind, but his angry desirefor Snape to be wholly
> evil. (And also on his anger at things Snape has done, like kill 
> Dumbledore right in front of him--everybody believes Snape's evil
> after that.)
<snip>

> Alla:
> Harry clearly learns to not judge people by appearance IMO, it is
> just a possibility to me that he may learn that lesson not on the
> example of Snape. <snip>

> Magpie:
> Harry doesn't judge by appearance with Snape but by how Snape 
> treats him and feels about him. The one place Harry's had this kind 
> of lesson before is in GoF with Fake!Moody where he did seem 
> primarily swayed by Moody's liking and disliking the right people. 
> But Harry wasn't personally invested in Fake!Moody the way he is 
> with Snape. He didn't do half as much work trying to make Fake!
> Moody fit his view of him as he does with Snape.
> It's only with the Slytherins there's an issue of Harry disliking
> the person intensely, and being disliked in return, and so seeing 
> them as the most likely suspects in crimes that sometimes have 
> nothing to do with them.

Jen: This seems like a good place to insert a question on my mind 
during the discussion.  I don't really understand the emphasis on 
Harry being right or wrong about Snape and how that will end up being 
a huge lesson Harry needs to learn.  Why are people certain JKR will 
emphasize this aspect so much?  I understand the loyalty issue needs 
to be fully revealed, and see why Harry has to understand how 
destructive his hatred and resentment toward Snape are, that his 
feelings are undermining what should be the more important issue of 
defeating Voldemort.  

The theme I see more vividly is Harry coming to terms with the gray 
area of life rather than being completely right or wrong about Snape, 
Draco or Slytherins in general.  The most important aspect of 
realizing Snape is loyal would not be for Harry to discover his 
vision of the world is skewed and he can't trust his judgement so 
much as realizing, like Dumbledore did, that you can ally yourself 
with people whom you don't necessarily like or have anything in 
common with except a specific goal.  That's how I read Harry's 
shifting perception about Draco after the bathroom scene and on the 
tower, that Draco was not exactly the person Harry perceived him to 
be, but Draco does believe in pureblood elitism to an extent and 
Draco's and Harry's values aren't compatible even if Draco has many 
good traits and chose to be different from his father (huge choice 
for Draco).  

OOTP really hits this theme hard, summed up by Sirius' "the world 
isn't split into good people and Death Eaters" and then in HBP the 
theme was continued with the introduction of Slughorn and the 
shifting with Draco.  Harry is learning what most kids do when they 
transition from the black/white world of childhood to the gray area 
of adulthood, that choices are not so clear and the rules for making 
choices get murkier and murkier as a person forms a moral system to 
call on when faced with ethical dilemmas.  

Maybe I'm misreading what people expect to happen in DH, but I really 
expect the biggest growth for Harry will be integrating all the 
lessons Dumbledore has emphasized over the years and those lessons 
Harry has learned himself.  One of these 'aha' moments will likely 
include Snape, but the big picture will include many important 
realizations on the continuum of good/evil and right/wrong.  In that 
respect, Harry being wrong shouldn't be front and center to resolving 
the Snape conflict because it would be a regression of all the hard 
work JKR has put into growing Harry into a moral adult who needs to 
rely on his own instincts and judgments for his decision-making.  


Jen