Re: Snape and Harry’s Sadism (was: Lack of re-examination)

[mesmer44]

No: HPFGUIDX 186685

"Zara" <zgirnius at ...> wrote:
>
> > jkoney
> > It matters because she is the one who created him and has his story in her head/notes. She wrote him with specific thoughts and a certain point of view. At the worst the author can be unable to make you see that point. For me it's Harry naming his son after Snape. That I don't understand, but since she tells me it's true then I will go along with it.
> 
> Zara:
> That Harry Potter gave the middle name Severus to his son, and did so specifically to name him after Snape, is not an opinion of Rowling's hidden away in her notes or revealed to us in some obscure interview. It is a factual occurence within the series that we are shown in the Epilogue of Deathly Hallows. Either that, or we must suppose Harry deliberately lied to his son and there is some other, obscure to me reason that Al Sev is so named that we will never learn.
>
Steve replies:

I also accepted Harry's son as being named after Snape and as it came from JKR, respected that fact more than if it had been written in a fanfic story by someone other tan JKR. Whether or not JKR's opinions came from her notes or in her books, they are still opinions of the author of those books.  JKR didn't stop being the creator of Harry Potter and of Snape and all of the other characters after the books were published.  She still is the author and if she says something about Snape in an interview, it means a lot more to me than a mere fan saying it online.  I don't care if it was in the books or not, it's still JKR saying it and that means more to me than a fan saying it, no matter how many times that fan has read the books.
<SNIP>
> > jkoney:
> > Some people liked Draco in the early books. There was nothing good about him at all in those scenes. He was arrogant, petty, insulting, etc. He would then hide behind Crabbe, Goyle, Snape or his father. How does one see him as a good character at that point?
> 
> Zara:
> How else does one see him, as an evil eleven year old boy? We might reasonably fear he will be walking down a path that might one day lead him into evil; that is another matter. We might also suspect something would divert him from such a path. Both would be equally speculative suppositions (and the latter would be more correct, IMNSVHO). 
> 
> But I would disagree we saw nothing to like about him. His initial approach to Harry, an unknown boy at Madam Malkin's, revealed him to have been raised in some objectionable views by his family, but was otherwise a reasonable depiction of a boy trying to impress another in an attempt to make a friend.
>
Steve replies:

JKoney didn't write that Draco was evil, simply that he wasn't a good character and was arrogant and insulting.  Which IMNSHO is also true. A lot of children want to impress their peers and make friends, HRH as well, but they don't have bullying bodyguards around them to intimidate students that they don't like.  For most of the novels, Malfoy is not a character w/ a lot of fine qualities.    

> > jkoney:
> > Again I see it as a either a failure of the author or a failure of the reader. 
> 
> Zara:
> It seems to be a widely held view, that Severus Snape is perhaps Rowling's finest literary creation to date. Yet there are almost as many opinions about this character as there are readers. *This*, you would call a failure by Rowling? I would call it a triumph. <bg>
>
Steve replies:
IMO and I suspect quite a few others, Rowling's finest literary creation is Harry Potter, not Snape.  Although I do agree that he is one of the most complex and well written fictional characters ever.