[HPforGrownups] Snape's Rage at Being Called Coward : Brave Snape

[dracojadon at yahoo.co.uk]

No: HPFGUIDX 171914

Vivamus:
> He fully expects to die doing what he believes is right, damned
> forever with no redemption by everyone on both sides, including Harry.
>   It is probably the bravest act by any character in the entire
> series, for he cannot even take comfort in being called a hero when he
> dies.

Jadon:
Is that bravery or self-sacrifice for a noble cause? It _involves_  
bravery - I don't think Snape can be called a coward for an instant;  
whatever side he's on, he's in the thick of it. Plenty of enemies,  
and he's just killed the wizard who believed in him. The coward stays  
out of the war, the Gryffindor scrapes through to victory at great  
personal risk, the Slytherin operates by preference from a safe  
distance, but he'll walk in and sacrifice everything to the cause if  
he considers it necessary. Consideration, planning is the key.  
Slytherin doesn't require glory; it requires results. It might  
involve what a Gryffindor would call cowardice (and all Harry's doing  
in this scene is trying to get a rise out of Snape; Snape thinks he  
has better options), or it might involve outright daring, but it's  
unlikely to be showy, and I this is one thing Snape is very touchy  
about: he does believe, to whatever extent, that Harry is arrogant  
and likes to show off. Perhaps he really does want the recognition  
Harry gets, feeling he deserves the glory. He doesn't appreciate that  
luck is a quality of Harry's as putting effort in and working for  
results is a quality of his own.

If Snape does have a plan to save the world, where does that leave  
Harry, our designated hero? If there's a possibility that Snape is  
_competing_ with Harry to save the world first, he has to fail; it's  
unthinkable that anyone other than Harry should defeat LV, and that  
would be too tragic an ending: sacrifice everything, all for nothing,  
because Harry's just defeated the Dark Lord on sheer unworked-for  
brilliance.

Carol:
> I know that the simple answer is that Snape should have died defending
> Dumbledore and the boys, but what good would it have done?

Jadon:
Exactly. That's the big difference between the way Snape thinks and  
the way Harry thinks. No-one doubts that Harry means well, but if  
anyone other than Harry used Harry's methods, LV would already be  
directing the WW, over the bodies of all his opponents.