Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
discussion
James Potter or Severus Snape?
ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Dani wrote: "ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Dani wrote: "ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Okay let's say Snape and Lily happened. Snape would've still been the Death Eater, he would've still been devoted into the Dark Arts like he ..."Well, he did cut them once Voldemort killed Lily and only pretended to be one. Of course it was too late, then, but yeah. Apparently Snape spent his whole life being a little too late.
Dani wrote: "ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Dani wrote: "ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Dani wrote: "ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Okay let's say Snape and Lily happened. Snape would've still been the Death Eater, he would've still been devoted into the Dar..."I guess that could be called the nearest to cutting it off, but would Snape have done the double agent thing if Lily was still alive? Yes, I agree.
Mercedes, I like the way you think :DWay to look in deep
James was the one who started all the trouble and he made Snape's life horrible. He jeered at Snape and called him snivellus just because Snape said he like to be in Slytherin. Therefore Snape is better than James.
Tikiri wrote: "James was the one who started all the trouble and he made Snape's life horrible. He jeered at Snape and called him snivellus just because Snape said he like to be in Slytherin. Therefore Snape is b..."No. You are wrong. I think I've already explained this one hundred times. Here's to one hundred and one.
James was a boy. He was an eleven year old boy who grew up to a family who brought him up with a simple, basic rule: Slytherin is bad. Gryffindor is good. I know what he did was wrong, but people make mistakes, James made one. All children do. I'm sure you have to. I know I have.
James disliked Severus because he afflicted with the Dark Arts, because he had Death Eater friends. Just because James bullied him, don't think that Snape is the saint here, he bullied people too.
I honestly beg you to read my other posts and everyone else's or just please, please, please read the books again before you start typing like that again. It really is annoying, offending and just makes me want to shoot myself in the head. My arms are sore from yesterday and I still need to reply to the other person below before my arms need to be surgically removed.
James Potter just never seems as three-dimensional a character as Severus Snape.
Tenae wrote: "I see James Potter as really vindictive. We see a lot of that vindictiveness in OotP. He goes after Snape when Snape is not provoking him at all and attacks him. I hate it how the Potters are p..."
CALM DOWN. No. Tbh, you don't sound angry. Speaking honestly your post was insulting, annoying and just wanted to make me kill myself because we have been talking about this for about a page and three quarters and it would've been brilliant if you had read it.
So before I proceed into a long rant on how much I disagree with your non-fact based post. I'm not trying to be rude or upsetting or disgraceful or anything really. I'm a nice person and I had a really fun debate with Dani without insulting her once, but your post...just your post...oh my good god...
I just looked up 'vindictive' in the dictionary and had a good old laugh when I found out what the word meant (being only fourteen, I'm still at the learning process of my life). How in the name of logical reasoning can you see James Potter as a person who wanted revenge? Revenge for what? For being a person who studied the Dark Arts and having Death Eater friends? You can't base everything on a memory of Severus Snape's. One, it could be biased. Two, there are reasons to why James did that, some mentioned by Remus and Sirius and some mentioned in Deathly Hallows.
James wasn't 'all that'. He didn't care about what anyone thought of him, no one asks to be popular or not popular. It just happens. I can say more in Harry's defence because we know more about him. Harry wasn't 'all that' either. In the books, at more than one point of his life everyone didn't like Harry because they thought that he was a fake by what Rita Skeeter was printing. He wasn't popular. He didn't ask to be the Chosen One. He didn't ask for all the fame at all. As for 'getting the girl', in James's defence, you could not be more wrong. James did EVERYTHING to get Lily Evans to love him. He pursued Lily for SEVEN years of his life. James made a fool out of himself in front of her, he changed for her, he died for her.
I also disagree in saying that Lily and Ginny are alike, because I adore Lily Evans and I hate Ginny more than anything in the world, but I'm not going to dwell on that because this is a James and Snape discussion.
So? It was his own fault that he had 'personal demons' and 'hatred' and 'despair', so you can put the blame on Harry or James. Snape didn't have to 'protect' Harry, it was his own choice. Also Harry didn't act like James. Sirius said how unlike Harry was to James at one point.
Haha, Snape saved the world. :D Okay fine, I admit, Snape did save the world. But don't forget he definitely DID NOT save the world for the people in it. He saved it for Harry's dead mother, out of regret and remorse; out of guilt. Not because he wanted to as you put it save the world.
James was a coward? A coward? A coward? Wow. That is the biggest lie I've heard. So James was a coward for being Sorted into Gryffindor, James was a coward for asking Lily Evans out numerous times and even making a fool out of himself, James was a coward for pulling all those pranks that he was famous for, James was a coward for helping Remus with his werewolf problem, James was a coward for saving Severus Snape from the Whomping Willow, James was a coward for marrying a muggleborn that was Lily Evans, James was a coward for deifying Voldemort THREE times, James was a coward for going up against Voldemort WANDLESS to save his wife and child. And those are the things that come out of the top of my head.
Now you are just speculating. You can't just say that James just saved Snape because he wanted to save Sirius. I can then just say that you are wrong and that James did that because he didn't want Snape to be murdered. He saved him because he thought it was a noble thing to do.
Now that is way, way, way, way out of line. I can't believe you said that. I know that James Potter's a fictional character and that I'm being a bitch about everything, but he is one of my favourite characters and like most people on this thread have taken the side of Severus Snape I have taken the side of James Potter. And you are just WAY out of order for wishing a 'long torturous death' on him because I couldn't even dream that on people I really hate. It's just disgusting.
'He was no better than the Death Eaters hunted down'. What does that even mean? That doesn't even make sense. I just can't believe...
No, he wasn't perfect at everything. Just because he was popular and the ship Lily/James is a canon then it doesn't mean that James is perfect.
James's faults:
-James spent seven years obsessing about one girl.
-James USED to hex innocent people.
-James WAS prejudiced on all Slytherins.
-James was a prankster.
I think this is the longest post I've made in my entire life, and I really don't want to repeat myself.
Nancy wrote: "James Potter just never seems as three-dimensional a character as Severus Snape."I think you say that because there isn't as much information about James as there is about Snape, but James has his many flaws and is far from perfect which to me makes a very interesting character. I would love to find out more about him.
James. Yes, James was arrogant and a bully to Snape but James grew up. He shaped up for Lily's sake, because he loved her. Snape continued to hang out with his Death Eater friends and while he apologized to Lily for calling her a mudblood, he still called every other muggle-born mudblood. He grew up to become a Death Eater, and while he did protect Harry, he did it for Lily, not because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted to or because he cared in the slightest about Harry. He was downright nasty to not only Harry, but Hermione and Neville and many others as well. He wasn't a good person, he was a bad guy with a crush that he couldn't get over. James got his act together, and was a loving husband, father and friend. Snape was a bully til the end.
Katie wrote: "James. Yes, James was arrogant and a bully to Snape but James grew up. He shaped up for Lily's sake, because he loved her. Snape continued to hang out with his Death Eater friends and while he apol..."THANK YOU. (:
Agreed. Alan Rickman wins all the awards.
Katie wrote: " Snape continued to hang out with his Death Eater friends and while he apologized to Lily for calling her a mudblood, he still called every other muggle-born mudblood."No, actually Snape never called any muggle-borns a mudblood ever again after that. Remember in The Prince's Tale, when that former headmaster called Hermione a mudblood Snape snapped at him.
Until I see proof that James genuinely regretted the things he did as a teenager, like we did with Sirius and Remus, I still see him as an arrogant jerk.
Litera wrote: "Dani,unfortunately, seeing as James didn't get to live to any further than TWENTY ONE, and he spent most of that time fighting in a war against Snape, and protecting his family, I doubt he had mu..."
Sirius and Remus felt ashamed of what they did, why couldn't James if he was so noble? If the only reason James matured was for Lily, how can you condemn Snape for only switching side for Lily?
Dani,Not putting anything on Sirius, but I don't think Sirius didn't feel ashamed of what he did. He hated Snape as much or maybe even more than James did. If you can forgive Sirius than you must be able to forgive James, on top of that they both behaved foolishly when they were children. They didn't carry grudges like Snape.
Litera wrote: "Besides, Sirius was in his thirties, when he'd had time to reflect on how he behaved. James didn't. That's the point I'm trying to make.Besides, I'm not condemning Snape for switching sides for L..."
ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Dani,
Not putting anything on Sirius, but I don't think Sirius didn't feel ashamed of what he did. He hated Snape as much or maybe even more than James did. If you can forgive Sirius than you must..."
Actually, Sirius did tell Harry that he was not proud of the way he just randomly picked on Snape just because he was bored when Harry confronted them about what he saw in the penseive.
I don't hate them, they're just characters in a flippin' book! lol But I do have my opinions, and I see Sirius and Remus as better men than James, especially Remus. I've already given my reasons as to why I can sorta look past Snape's misdeeds when he was at Hogswarts and being a Death Eater (but please don't think I condone his actions). Suzie was right, neither man was perfect. I just happen to prefer Snape to James. But I don't like sounding like an idiot, so I try to back up my reasons if I can.
For anyone here in this discussion whose familiar with it, I just finished reading Watchmen for one of my classes and I kinda relate Snape to Roschach.
James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be a better man, at least Lily seemed to think so. Snape was the awkward kid who was tortured because of it. If I had to choose I would have to go with Snape.
Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be a better man, at least Lily seemed to thi..."If you call James a bully, you really can't forget that Snape was one too. I also don't think James damaged Snape's life...
Yes, Snape was a bully too but would he have been if he had not been treated that way by James and his buddies? I also think that Snape remained damaged but am OK with you feeling differently.
Jerri wrote: "Yes, Snape was a bully too but would he have been if he had not been treated that way by James and his buddies? I also think that Snape remained damaged but am OK with you feeling differently."James wasn't the only person who bullied Snape. When James bullied him, everyone else watched and laughed along with James, with the exception of Lily (though that one time, she did stoop low and called him Snivellus), so you could say the whole student body of Hogwarts bullied Snape. As well as his father. Snape was already damaged when he went to Hogwarts. James and co. just made it worse.
Although, you can't really blame them, because they were teenagers. Snape was obsessed with the Dark Arts and Snape's Death Eater friends weren't a help. Sirius also said that Snape disliked James because he was jealous etc. Oh and Lily only called Snape 'Snivellus' because he called her a 'mudblood' which is much worse. I think Snape would have been the same bully with the company he had with him. Snape could've changed into somone better, but he didn't.
James did continue to bully Snape after Lily and James began dating, James just hid it from Lily. Sirius says this in the conversation when Harry asked him and Lupin to explain Snape's worst memory.
ϟHinaϟ wrote: "Although, you can't really blame them, because they were teenagers. Snape was obsessed with the Dark Arts and Snape's Death Eater friends weren't a help. Sirius also said that Snape disliked James ..."You can't cite being teenagers as an excuse for them bulling the heck of somebody day in and day out. Harry said it himself. At 15, a person is old enough to understand that making people's lives a living hell just because you feel like is not okay is the least bit. When I was 15 and I got bored, I read a book or turned on some music to listen to or something. I didn't go out looking for someone to torment.
Lily may have called Snape 'Snivellus" because he called her a mudblood, but two wrongs don't make a right. She may have been "justified", but she still should have rose above that.
Snape is definitely the better man, and I do understand that Lily may not have been able to love Snape the same was he loved her. Yet I find it hard to understand how she could fall in love with James while she is obviously a smart and good person and James was a bully and a show off.
I don't think we can accurately judge james's character by what we've seen in the books. We only hear how great he was from those who loved him and see him at his worst from someone who hated him. People aren't simply good or evil. They make mistakes and we have no idea if James ever felt regret for his actions with the one exception of saving his life. He was, however, willing to sacrifice himself for his wife and child. That action alone makes him a good man. If anyone was an unrepentent bully, however, it was Sirius. He never had the chance to "grow up". He spent a decade in a cell and came out an emotionally stunted man.
Now Snape wasn't really a prince either. He loved Lily in an almost obsessive way. He had no problem with James being killed or for that matter Harry, he only wanted her. He protected Harry not because he felt any emotional warmth for him but because of his guilty action that led to Lily's death. I do think at the end he was finally able to look at Harry and see beyond the surface resemblance to James. Harry was Lily's son too and his anger at Dumbledore's "plan" for Harry was real. He wasn't an evil man, but he wasn't exactly an emotonally healthy man either. His willingness to act as a spy for the Order marks him as a very brave man. He was strong.
Both were brave and deserving of Harry's respect. They both were willing to die to protect others.
So I have to say that I choose Harry as the best man in the series. He makes mistakes but, in the end, he's willing to sacrifice himself for everyone, not just a special few.
Great post, Maggie!
ϟHinaϟ wrote: "But why would Lily have married Snape in the first place? She disliked him. They severed their friendship in fifth year and Snape went on to become a Death Eater with his friends and continued to s..."He was embarrassed and so he said he didn't need the help of a filthy mudblood.
Mercedes wrote: "They are both men, therefore human, and had flaws as no human is perfect.
Snape was a good person, but made some bad choices that he thought was better for him, and in turn Lily. He thought that Li..."
Alannah wrote: "Right after reading Order of the Pheonix I began to dislike James and after reading the Deathly hallows Snape became my favourite character.
Would James have done the same?
Would he have prote..."
I agree. Snape was kind of pushed into a dark world. He corrected himself later. As soon as I read the part when Snape killed Dumbledore in the sixth, I hated him. By the end of the seventh, I loved him.
Snape was a good person, but made some bad choices that he thought was better for him, and in turn Lily. He thought that Li..."
Alannah wrote: "Right after reading Order of the Pheonix I began to dislike James and after reading the Deathly hallows Snape became my favourite character.
Would James have done the same?
Would he have prote..."
I agree. Snape was kind of pushed into a dark world. He corrected himself later. As soon as I read the part when Snape killed Dumbledore in the sixth, I hated him. By the end of the seventh, I loved him.
Mercedes wrote: "They are both men, therefore human, and had flaws as no human is perfect.
Snape was a good person, but made some bad choices that he thought was better for him, and in turn Lily. He thought that Li..."
I better hope James will forgive Snape. Snape may have done it in a rude way, but he protected Harry all through his Hogwarts years+.
Snape was a good person, but made some bad choices that he thought was better for him, and in turn Lily. He thought that Li..."
I better hope James will forgive Snape. Snape may have done it in a rude way, but he protected Harry all through his Hogwarts years+.
I don't think James himself would've forgave Snape, especially if he found out about what he did. It was partly his fault that they died and besides they hated each other.
BOTH. They are both great men who have their faults, just like anyone else.
Litera wrote: "His obsessive love for Lily"I think you're mistaking an undying love for an obsession. An obsessive love is the creepy kind where you have someone stalking you and refusing to let you have a life outside of your relationship with them. And when you do, they attempt to kill a.k.a. love you to death.
Even before Lily let go of Snape, she had her own people that she would talk to, her own hobbies; her own life outside of her friendship with Snape. He didn't attempt to control her. And afterwards, when she cut ties with him, he let her go.
Maybe it's the gryffindor in me but there's just something about snape I don't like.
But it's half and half because if snape was really brave he would have stood up against Voldemort eventually. But it was brave of him to be a double agent and secretly defy Voldemort.
The thing with James is that he loved Lily so much he wouldn't stop until he had her. And Lily fell for him maybe because of his ambition. Also I think there is more to James than Rowling let on. He may have not always got along with snape, but he did save his life. James did what he wanted but he also did what was the right thing to do.
I think that there were several brave people in Harry's life. Dobby for one was very brave, doing anything and everything to protect or help harry no matter what the cost. In the end it was his life.
But people also forget about the brave women in harry's life. Hermione is one. So many situations she was in on her adventures with harry...she was very brave.
Then there's Luna. I personally think she has her own type of bravery.
So there's more than just the bravest man he knew. Don't forget the women.
But it's half and half because if snape was really brave he would have stood up against Voldemort eventually. But it was brave of him to be a double agent and secretly defy Voldemort.
The thing with James is that he loved Lily so much he wouldn't stop until he had her. And Lily fell for him maybe because of his ambition. Also I think there is more to James than Rowling let on. He may have not always got along with snape, but he did save his life. James did what he wanted but he also did what was the right thing to do.
I think that there were several brave people in Harry's life. Dobby for one was very brave, doing anything and everything to protect or help harry no matter what the cost. In the end it was his life.
But people also forget about the brave women in harry's life. Hermione is one. So many situations she was in on her adventures with harry...she was very brave.
Then there's Luna. I personally think she has her own type of bravery.
So there's more than just the bravest man he knew. Don't forget the women.
Izzymaerose wrote: "Maybe it's the gryffindor in me but there's just something about snape I don't like."Dumbledore himself says that Snape could've been in Gryffindor when he said something like, 'I sometimes think that we sort people too early' because Snape was so brave.
Litera wrote: "Right, so refusing to cut his ties with his Death Eater friends unless Lily cut her ties with James and the Marauders isn't trying to control who her friends were?"
Where exactly was this in the book? This is not the memory where Snape talks about James fancying Lily and then becomes so emotional that he sputters. When she answers that she thinks James is a bullying toerag, Snape relaxes? That scene? Where was the quid pro quo in that scene?
How does that match up to when in Phoenix, James hangs Lily's friend (Snape) upside down and says he'll stop hexing him if she'll go out with him?
Litera wrote: "Right, so refusing to cut his ties with his Death Eater friends unless Lily cut her ties with James and the Marauders isn't trying to control who her friends were?"I'm with Mickey. Where in the book does he attempt to make this deal?
In my opinion, James is a git and Severus is the greater man.James was raised in a great situation, given the time period, with wealthy parents that gave him plenty of attention.
Severus however, grew up in a bad home with fighting parents in a not so great financial situation, he had reason to be angry and bitter at the world. Though this doesn't justify some of his less honorable actions, it certainly gives him more reason then James ever did. James spent a good time bullying and pranking other kids, namely slytherins, simply because of their title, and in Snapes case- a connection with the girl he liked. Severus was alone in the world, other then Lilly, who went up and abandoned him when he made a mistake. What else is one to do when your alone and have literally nothing to live for then to turn to the first person that could give him a sense of meaning, of belonging. Plus, even after everything Lilly put him through, Severus still turned himself around, put his own life on the line, to protect her, and later, her son.
What did James do other then deflate his huge head an inch or two, and die? Yes, I won't deny that James is a good man in his own way- after all, he did join the order and was able to become less... bigheaded, he won over Lilly and was able to have his own wonderful son, who he died protecting. But in the end, would he have risked his life for Lilly and Severus's son had Snape gotten Lilly instead? No. Because he would have other anchors in his life to hold onto, and didn't only have one (Lily), he would have no attachment to the boy and probably would have cared less about the boy. Yes he probably would have helped and protected the Golden Boy, but not Harry.
Though both have had their time in the spotlight, in my opinion, James is a git and Severus is the greater man.
Mickey & Dani,Your questions are meant for Litera, but I think she talking about the scene when Sev and Lily are arguing about James and his Death Eater friends. I don't remember it to well (it's been ages since I've read the books), but I remember Snape saying the line, 'James Potter fancies you!' or something. Snape comments on James and his friends and Lily argues back about his friends. I think it'll be better if Litera answers/confirms this though.
Rebecca wrote: "In my opinion, James is a git and Severus is the greater man.James was raised in a great situation, given the time period, with wealthy parents that gave him plenty of attention.
Severus howeve..."
It's funny how you use Snape's background as an excuse when Sirius Black had an even worse situation and Andromeda Black was sorted into Slytherin and still turned out brilliantly.
I admit, bullying is wrong. What James did in his younger years was wrong, but he didn't do all the things he did to the Slytherins just because they were Slytherins. Snape and his group of friends were much worse, bullying muggleborns and Hufflepuffs just because of their status and houses. There is evidence to this since Mucliber cursed Mary MacDonald at one point. Lily even said that Snape and his friends called everyone of her type a 'mudblood'.
Are you trying to imply that it was Lily's fault that Snape turned out the way he did? If you are that is just ridiculous. Lily ended their friendship after he called her the foulest thing that you can say to someone in the wizarding world. Her own friend? James would never have done something like that. Some things are just unforgivable.
Snape didn't 'turn himself around'. The only reason Snape 'changed' is because Lily died and her son remained. It's as simple as that.
Ha, you could've actually read the rest of the comments before posting. *copying and pasting* Things that James did:
James loved Lily since the beginning and he wasn't afraid to show it. He made a fool out of himself just for her. Imagine what he must have went through every single time Lily said no. Or the time when Lily said that she would rather go out with the giant squid? His heart must have broken into millions of pieces then stepped on and he still never gave up.
James helped Remus with his werewolf problem and became and Animagus just for him. It requires advanced magic and is supposed to cause a lot of pain.
James saved Severus Snape from the Whomping Willow when it was his best friend who led him there and Snape and James were enemies
James married a muggleborn that was Lily Evans
James deified Voldemort THREE times and the only other people in Wizarding history to have done that was Alice and Frank Longbottom.
James went up against Voldemort WANDLESS to save his wife and child.
And those are the things that come out of the top of my head. You also don't know what other things James might've done, we all don't.
Lily and Snape never happened! Snape was too far gone into the world of the Death Eaters for it to have happened! You are also just assuming that James wouldn't have saved Lily and Snape's baby. I can just assume that he did. We don't know. Only present the facts.
Another thing, Dumbledore picked James as Head Boy in school so he must've done some amazing things to have achieved that position.
Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be a better man, at least Lily seemed to thi..."But doesn't Snape do the same thing to Neville. I mean, Neville's parents are tortured to insanity by Bellatrix and Neville still fears Snape more than her or anything else in the world. I don't know about you, but that's a sign of some pretty bad bullying right there. Even worse because Snape's job as a teacher is to protect children and help them, not become something they fear more than death and torture.
Molly wrote: "Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be a better man, at least Lily..."I don't think Nevile feared Snape because of his bullying. I think he feared Snape, because Snape supposed had a scary look to him along with his dark, commanding presence and Neville was had such a cowardice tendency when he was younger.
Dani wrote: "Molly wrote: "Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be a better man,..."Well, Snape was also an ass to him and a lot of the students. He picked on Neville all the time, and he was known for being mean to the Gryffindor students. He was always mean to his students, but he seemed to have a particular hatred for Neville, almost more so than Harry. Yes, I understand he had a hard childhood and his father was a jerk, it happens to the best of us. But that is no excuse for treating people badly. Especially children who really don't deserve it.
Molly wrote: "Dani wrote: "Molly wrote: "Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he grew up to be ..."I'm not much a Gryffindor fan, so I don't really care too much about him bullying Gryffindors, except Hermione, Dean, and Semous(I think that's how you spell it), and Neville. Yeah, it's wrong, but I still don't really care (Yes, I'm biased).
Besides, I don't really remember him targeting Neville like he did Harry. I just remember that in the first 4 books there was a thin line between Neville and the word 'punk'.
Dani wrote: "Molly wrote: "Dani wrote: "Molly wrote: "Jerri wrote: "James was one of those bullies we read about in the news today, a person who damages another's psyche for life. I would like to think that he ..."He nearly poisoned Neville's pet because Neville wasn't a great potion maker. That's an asshole move.
Really, I'm not a big Gryffindor fan either, I'm a Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw fan, but I still don't think it's right for a teacher to abuse their power or mistreat their students. Of course, I had a teacher bully me when I was in school, so I tend to be more touchy about this sort of thing.
I think Snape bullied Neville because if Voldemort had picked him instead of Harry, then Lily would have still been alive.
James!!!!!!!!!!!!! He was fun!!!!!! He was amesome!!!!!! He was James!!!!!!!!
I agree with what Hina said...
James never turned to the dark side like Snape did. Even though Snape came back to the good side, he still caused James's and Lily's deaths.James was a bully when he was younger, but when he grew up he was a caring father and a devoted husband. Let's not forget that when Voldemort came to the Potters' door, James, without a second thought, rushed to save his wife and son without a regard for his own personal safety! He sacrificed himself while Snape was off somewhere confused about his loyalties and wanting to be with Lily.
Bit like apples and oranges. The two men were in pretty different situations...
Snape did come around and tried to fix his wrongs and managed to redeem himself mostly, and he also risked his life every day after Voldemort rose again, but for a pretty long period after he left school, he was in the service of Voldemort and probably would have continued doing his bidding if Lily hadn't come into the picture.
James never went through a dark time like that. Unlike Snape, he clearly wasn't susceptible to the dark side. He always remained a relatively good guy. Bullies are mean, yes, but he stopped being one, I assume, when he grew up. He never went bad. This is why I think James was a better man, looking at both men's lives.
Ruby wrote: "James never turned to the dark side like Snape did. Even though Snape came back to the good side, he still caused James's and Lily's deaths.James was a bully when he was younger, but when he grew ..."
I agree! James was a bully in school, but he became a better man. Snape was bullied in school, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a bully to others. Snape didn't become a better man; he became a worse one. His potential good life went downhill as he joined the Deatheaters and Lord Voldemort. Yes, he came back in the end, but he was a horrible man in the middle.
Of course, that's my opinion. It really depends of how you like at it: are you judging by the ends of their lives, or their whole lives?
Ali Mac wrote: "I agree! James was a bully in school, but he became a better man. Snape was bullied in school, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a bully to others..."That's exactly right! Let's just think about this for a moment: Snape, a grown man, bullied and picked favorites among students for probably as long as he taught at Hogwarts. He was horrible to Harry simply because he reminded him of James! Isn't that kind of immature? A grown man shouldn't put his grudges on kids just for being born!
Yes, Snape had a hard childhood and the girl he loved never married him, but that's still no excuse for being an immature adult! He was especially mean to students just because they were in Gryffindor, he caused the deaths of Lily and James, and then he bullied their son. The students all hated him, but nothing was done about it. I still say James was a better man, from what we can gather from this apple and oranges problem.
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I still don't think Lily would've married Snape. Even if he didn't call Lily a 'mudblood' then he still called others of her kind the same thing. He was a bully, and he never matured. The part where 'he would've cut off his ties with the Death Eaters'. Lily is definitely a no-nonsense woman.