Did you LIKE Snape?

[Troy Doyle]

No: HPFGUIDX 183162

>zanooda:

>Snape didn't try to save George, he tried to save Lupin, at whom the 
>DE's curse was aimed. However, it speaks even more in Snape's favor, 
>doesn't it, considering his animosity against the Marauders. I found it 
>touching that he could overcome his grudge and tried to save Lupin even 
>though, as you say, he didn't need to do it, his mission being only to 
>protect Harry.
   
  afn:
  I think he was over the whole Maraurders thing (at least with Lupin) when he mixed up potions for Lupin way back in PoA and didn't really "out" hime as werewolf (despite the assigments on them in general).
   
  Second, Snape is a character so he was acting and feeling as likable or not as JKR chose to portray him. For example he was savagely crueler than before to Harry in potions class and occlumency sessions in OoP.

  On a basic, naive, child-like reading Snape is almost totally portrayed as unlikeabe.  That is/was my take on him at that level. I never liked him.
   
  As an adult, seasoned reader I saw behind the JKR chimera of the character.  There red herrings that he was bad could have been better.  More hints like this earlier in the series may have reserved judgement and add more suspense as to liking him or not.  As a grown up I would have needed more hints of  redeeming qualities and action to like him preDH.
  Of course in DH the redeeming climax and denoumont (?sp) forced you to see his selfless willingness to sacrifice his own life.  As a supposedly mature adult professional teaching kids he is almost unquestoningly cruel and basically psychologically unfit for his position.  So until his big reveals and sacrifice nearer the end of DH it was hard to like him, but I knew the early writing showed what would finally make him likeable at the whole series end.
   
  Then, of corse I liked him--but could hardly do otherwise with the story writing plot.  But even as a grown up I couldn't like him pre-DH.  I felt sorry for him mostly through the series and just really disliked him in specific over the top cruelty, e.g. Harry's dungeon detention designed or at least easily foreseen to cause grief and real mental pain sorting detention records making him think of his dad and Sirius. By DH we saw he may have been used by DD to serve DD's purposes in ways tending a bit toward unfairness to Snape.
   
  Bottom line, I didn't, nay couldn't like him as written by JKR prior to DH.  With the series over and loose ends tied up and past stuff cleared up I can't help but like him (but mixed with a giant measure of feeling sorry for him)

       

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]