Marietta, was Slytherin's Reputation

littleleahstill leahstill at hotmail.com
Thu Feb 5 11:02:19 UTC 2009


No: HPFGUIDX 185657

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "jkoney65" <jkoney65 at ...> wrote:
>> jkoney:
> The difference is that Snape was an adult, the teacher of the class 
> and he singled out a student in the first class. Then his behavior 
> doesn't get any better as time goes on. He also is horrible to 
> Neville a poor student and to Hermione a great student.
> 
> I don't think we need to list his actions to show that he acted as an 
> arrogant, petty, vile little man in his interactions with students 
> that weren't in his house.
> jkoney
>

Leah: 

You know, it's not exactly unheard of for a teacher to single out one 
student to answer questions.  It does happen in classrooms from time to 
time.  Is Snape just acting like a 'normal' teacher here? No, I don't 
think that he is.  Does he have reasons for singling out Harry? Yes:

1. It's his job to protect Harry - it would help to know what Harry is 
like.

2. The whole James/Lily thing and more specifically: Is Harry arrogant 
like his father? Is he a potions whizz like his mother?  

3. Is Harry a potential Dark Lord?  Snape recalls to Bellatrix at 
Spinners End that the Death Eaters thought Harry might be a potential 
leader.  If he does have Dark Lord potential, tnen Snape (and 
Dumbledore) need to know that, so again find out what he's like. Snape 
and Harry have already had an odd 'encounter' when Quirrellmort made 
Harry's scar hurt, but Harry attributed the feeling to Snape who was 
looking at him at that time.  Harry must have looked odd to Snape, and 
possibly Snape was already getting vibes himself from Quirrelmort.

And because we see this all from Harry's perspective, we are 
deliberately given the impression that Snape is setting out to 
humiliate Harry, but really, wny would Snape think Harry couldn't 
answer the questions?  He's had his potions textbooks for a month,and 
we know that in fact he has read them; we learn that when he's at the 
Dursleys' and are reminded of it again while Snape is questioning him.  
He just hasn't taken them in. The information required to answer has to 
be in the textbooks because Hermione, a muggleborn, manages to know all 
the answers. Snape also knew Harry's parents at school and very 
probably shared classes with them. We know from McGonagall that James 
was bright and did well at school, and we have Slughorn's opinion of 
Lily's potions prowess, so it is not unlikely that Harry is going to be 
a child who is interested and does well academically.  

Unfortunately, Harry doesn't know the answers and makes matters worse 
by cheeking Snape. We know this is how Harry copes with the Dursleys, 
but Snape doesn't. It's just cheek and raises the James factor in 
Snape's eyes.  From then on, it's downhill all the way.

As for Hermione, she is intelligent, hard working and very competent to 
say the least, but a great student?  She is disruptive (her behaviour 
in the first potions class is disruptive, but she gets no points taken. 
She goes on arguing, when she should keep quiet. She 'helps out' other 
students by helping to make their potions or virtually doing their 
homework for them, she allows them to copy her notes. This is not 
helpful behaviour as far as a teacher is concerned. She also lies and 
steals and is complicit in a plot to cause an explosion in the potions 
classroom (an action for which she (and the boys) would probably have 
been expelled from a muggle school.  However, IIRC, Snape may be nasty 
to Hermione on occasion, but we never hear that he gives her a bad mark 
for either her potions or her homework. She is not criticised in class 
for her work.  When Snape marks the mock OWLS paper, Hermione comments 
that she wouldn't expect the top mark on a first attempt at OWL 
standard, indicating that she has been given Exceeds Expectations, and 
that she considers this to be an entirely fair and proper mark. 

Snape and Neville require more time than I've got.  Neville is 
potentially lethal in a potions classroom and Snape goes about trying 
to remedy this in entirely the wrong way for Neville is a summary.  

It would be foolish to deny that Snape is never petty or vindictive or 
overdoes the sarcasm. But equally his behaviour can be exaggerated.  
The trio and Neville are not the only Gryffindor students in Snape's 
potions class but we don't see him reacting badly with any of the 
others.  In HBP, forthright Hufflepuff Ernie Macmillan, seems to have 
no problems with Snape as a teacher. There is a deliberate Harry filter 
in the presentation of Snape.  And yes, Snape is an adult, but he is, 
like Sirius, a damaged and emotionally retarded adult, who gets 
absolutely no teaching support from his headmaster.

Leah   





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