Who suffers better in Potterverse - good guys or bad guys? WAS : Unbreakable vo

[Goddlefrood]

No: HPFGUIDX 165640

> Neri:
>
> If I had the impression that JKR really really likes Snape I might 
actually consider that she would go to such length just to acquit 
him, but unfortunately I don't get that impression from her at all.

Goddlefrood:

Isn't it rather the point of the discussion regarding Snape that he 
is and remains an enormously ambiguous charcter. Each action he has 
taken throughout the series can be subject to argument as to whether 
it was serving Dumbledore's purpose or Voldemort's purpose or his own 
purpose.

The point is it is difficult to get a handle on Severus and JKR has 
quite deliberately left the point inconclusive. As she says all will 
be tied up in a neat little bow in DH, which presumably includes 
Snape's motives. Personally I expect at least three or four chapters 
on Snape, whether with Harry present or otherwise.

> Pippin:
>
> If JKR wants to torture Snape on screen, she'd do better to make
him one of the good guys. She's much more graphic about their 
suffering than anyone else's.

Goddlefrood:

There are instances of bad guys being torured "on screen" as it is 
put. One that springs to mind is the instance of the baby headed 
Death Eater (who for reasons expanded on elsewhere is Crabbe senior). 
That was certainly unpleasant and actually kind of offensive on JKR's 
part. What it brought to my mind was the old insult "pinhead", with 
which JKR would be more than familiar being of a similar vintage to 
this writer and of a similar background.

Another instance is Quirrell whose suffering was made quite plain 
during the course of the Man With Two Faces and he was IMHO rather 
misguided than an actual bad guy.

If the implication is, Pippin, that Snape is a bad guy as we have not 
seen him suffer "on screen" then I would beg to differ and say that 
it is no proof one way or another.

> Pippin:
> Off the top of my head in no particular order, Harry hears Lily
screaming in his dementor memories, screams himself in the graveyard, 
sees Molly screaming over the boggart memory, Ron screaming about 
spiders in the FF, Sirius being tortured by Voldemort (okay it's 
not "real" , but it's still a torture scene) Neville tortured by 
Bella, Ron getting attacked by brains, suffering for at least an hour 
with a broken leg, and so on.

Goddlefrood:

Allow me to add to this list the case of Hagrid being beaen up by his 
half brother throughout HBP, Lockhart having his memory blasted by a 
backfiring wand (even though Gilderoy is really neither good nor bad 
and insignificant in terms of the wider story ark), Katie Bell being 
cursed by a necklace, Madam Rosmerta labouring under an Imperius 
curse, Tonks pining for love and Lupin being compelled to hang out 
with werewolves.

> > Pippin:
> > The bad guys tend to suffer more permanent damage, but it's 
usually off screen. Whatever happened to Umbridge, we didn't see it. 
Ditto Crouch Jr, Quirrell, Karkaroff, Bella, Lucius, Kreacher, need I 
go on?

Goddlefrood:

Response to first comment of Pippin's as above, there are examples of 
bad guys suffering before our eyes, or rather Harry's.

One of these days I must write a long planned piece regarding Snape 
that compliments my theory (way uplist) that Snape never wanted the 
DADA job. Whether this will convince anyone or just give me personal 
satisfaction for having finally put it together is another matter.

Goddlefrood with a small two penn'orth FWIW.