Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
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Am I the only person who didn't really like Snape?
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rachel ~ trans rights are human rights
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Mar 27, 2012 04:24PM
Before I start, let me just say that I liked him, but that was where it ended. While yes, I understand that he was tortured by the Marauders, he was desperately and irrevocably in love with Lily, even "after all that time". At the same time, I really can't justify how cruel he was to Harry. Yes, he looked exactly like his father, yadda yadda yadda, but that doesn't give people the right to make your school life hell, you know? I don't know. I just want to know what other people think about Snape, too, whether they love him or hate him.
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I have many friends who love Snape but I just don't see it. The only time I might have like/felt sorry for Snape was in the 7th book after we found out about him, other then that I'm bordering on indifference and hate. He's just a mean idiot who, like you said, made Harry's school life a living hell.
I didn't like him at first, like you said, he was too cruel to Harry. I like him now, but like him or not you gotta admit, Snape had guts. H was pretty brave.
He did good in the end, and regretted the chocies he made when he was a death eater, i guess the fact that he couldn't tolerate Harry was rather cruel but it also shows his jealous and rather stung human side, the fact that he still can't get over what happened between him and James.
Snape was a complex character and very interesting, but not likable to me--even by the end. I understood him better and felt some pity, but I'll never like him. It wasn't just Harry that Snape tormented. Don't forget that the thing Neville feared most was Snape because of Snapes vindictive cruelty toward him and Neville's mother wasn't Lily. He also brought Hermione to tears more than once. These are the ones we saw, but everyone other than Slytherins feared and loathed him.We also saw how hateful he was to everyone in the Order of the Phoenix, with no Death Eater spies around to see if he was nasty or not.
Possibly the most telling moment about Snape was not only that when James got the better of him after exams--and don't forget that Snape drew his wand first--and he called Lily a Mudblood, he did something worse. When told by Lily he had to choose his Dark-loving friends or her... he didn't choose her. After all, Snape, it is our choices in life that say more about us than our abilities.
Snape is often described as brave and I understand that the role he accepted was frought with dangers. But Snape was not so much brave as a person who felt he had nothing to live for with Lily gone and his real guilt over helping bring it about. I don't think Snape valued his own life much all the way to the end. He gets some credit for working against LV, but it was more the best hope for exacting his own personal revenge for Lily's death than out of a knowledge that following Voldemort's Dark path was wrong and should be fought for that reason.
I'll never be able to like or respect someone who abused kids, no matter the higher purpose or the trauma in his own background.
Agreed completely. I hate and despise Snape. He is nothing but an evil, abusive torturer of children, who did what little good he did out of a lack of any other choices.
rayful wrote: "Before I start, let me just say that I liked him, but that was where it ended. While yes, I understand that he was tortured by the Marauders, he was desperately and irrevocably in love with Lily, ..."I know what you mean. Yes, he plays an important role, and I didn't hate him anymore, but I didn't love him either.
he's okay, but a little creepy.
Snape wasn't a likeable character; JK made it that way on purpose. Perhaps the way he was treated as a child made him the way he was towards everybody. He didn't just dislike Harry, because of James, he hated Gryffindor because that is the house that introduced Lily and James to each other and that housed the rest of the marauders. I think a better person could have been the bigger man in that situation and not taken it out on the children. However i still feel he redeemed himself in the last book. Not just with his actions in that last book but with his memories revealing that although he had seemed like a total git most of the time, for a lot of the time his intentions were not so heinous as they first appeared.
Jeanie said, "Snape was a complex character and very interesting, but not likable to me--even by the end. I understood him better and felt some pity, but I'll never like him. It wasn't just Harry that Snape tormented. Don't forget that the thing Neville feared..."Yes! I completely agree with you.
No, you're not the only one... my God, I hate that man... Snape just... doesn’t care, he does what he’s told to do, all the while carrying within an unhealthy obsession with a dead woman, and hating the reminder of her husband. He’s a bitter man, a awful teacher (he bullies and belittles students on purpose) and he’s not the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ some people seem to think he is.
I thought he was emotionally immature.
I hated Snape so much at first but by the end of the series I didn't mind him. I like Snape and I think he's a great character but I can't get over how horrible he was to Harry. I understand his reasoning but he was so overly horrible. I know many people who absolutely love Snape but it just doesn't click for me. That being said, I wouldn't want him to change for the world. I think he's a great and necessary part of the series even though I'm not his biggest fan.
At the beginning I hated his guts but at the end I thought he was okay. I want to know what everyone thinks of Draco Malfoy. By the end he kind of seemed like a lost puppy that did what Voldemort told him.
From the very start, I knew he was going to play a major part in the series and in the end he helped Harry defeat Tom Riddle.
I really liked Snape, even in the begining when we didn't know whether or not he was good. There was just something about him, I knew there was a good reason he did what he did. True he was mean to Harry, but then Harry was no angel.Snape, oh how to explain this.... even though he did all those bad things, I felt that he really was a good person, he had simply his that part deep inside himself. Which considering he was a spy within LV group I can understand how that would make a person act the way he did.
When he was younger he did things he shouldn't have, but in his defense he was always made fun of. That can make a person wish they were stronger or had more power and thus they try to act mean and tough to protect themselves.
Back to what I was trying to say; He was truly a good person. He got a little lost but in the end he showed that he was brave and strong and that he truly had a good heart.
Sorry if I rambled, I do that a lot.
Zeara Black.
NO NO NO NO!! He doesn't deserve hate!! You guys are so cruel!! Harry forgave him, and so should you! If you hate him, then you have to hate Sirius, James, and Lupin because they made wrong choices, too! Just because he gave some detentions and was firm on students...I used to live in a place where teachers used to beat kids up! He's very selfless and he put his life in danger everyday for Harry's life.DO NOT INSULT SEVERUS SNAPE IN FRONT OF ME!! :'(
Zeara wrote: "I really liked Snape, even in the begining when we didn't know whether or not he was good. There was just something about him, I knew there was a good reason he did what he did. True he was mean to..."I disagree... As I see it, Snape only went back to the 'light' side because he learned Lily had been specifically targeted and, even pleading to Voldemort, her chances of surviving weren't 100% Does that make him a good person? No, not at all... rather selfish actually.
Brave? Hardly... I do agree with Harry when he called Snape a coward, but for other reasons than killing Dumbledore.
Strong? Well yes... it comes with the territory of being a spy.
A good heart? Doubtful...
Wynter wrote: "Zeara wrote: "I really liked Snape, even in the begining when we didn't know whether or not he was good. There was just something about him, I knew there was a good reason he did what he did. True ..."No, he was not always brave, and yes he did act cowardly sometimes. But it is BECAUSE he overcame his fear that he was brave. There is no bravery without fear. Not everyone can be a hero all the time, and in my mind it is those who at first are weak and then become strong and good later on that are the true heroes because they overcame so many hurdles.
Yes perhaps he was selfish, but aren't we all? Everyone does good things because it makes us feel good. Some people crave that and so they do good things all the time. In that light they are selfish. They help people only because it makes them feel good inside.
No one is selfless. I tend to side with the bad guys who actually have some good in them, rather than the so called good guys who have never had to overcome the hurdles that the "Bad guys" have.
Ascel wrote: "NO NO NO NO!! He doesn't deserve hate!! You guys are so cruel!! Harry forgave him, and so should you! If you hate him, then you have to hate Sirius, James, and Lupin because they made wrong choices..."I pity him rather than hate him, but I don't respect much about him. While the Marauders made bad choices in their teens--a time notorious for bad choices--their choices didn't end in other people's deaths, with the obvious exception of Wormtail who worked for Voldemort. Serious made a bad choice and set up Severus to possibly get killed by Lupin, but a good choice made earlier in his life--making friends with a decent guy like James who saved Snape's life--prevented the ultimate bad consequence of the bad choice. It's a separate debate, but I'm not all that impressed by Sirius overall either. It also seems clear that Snape would have been perfectly content to let Neville and his parents be killed; he only regretted informing LV of the prophecy when Lily became the target.
As for Snape being OK because at least he didn't beat the students... as Madame Pomfrey pointed out, thoughts can leave deeper scars than anything else. Neville's fear of Snape points clearly to severe emotional abuse. Mocking, publicly humilliating, and poisoning pets isn't the mark of a good teacher. And don't get me started on his mind rape of Harry during Occlumensy lessons--which also resulted in injuring Harry physically many times and which Snape made no move to prevent.
I realize that Rowling also seems to take the view that Snape was brave and noble as evidenced by her having Harry name a son after him. However, I'm not sure how far over the line she realizes she sometimes wrote Snape's behavior . As someone who has to deal on a daily basis with the effects of emotional and physical abuse on the students I work with, no amount of excusing can justify it.
I think too many people forget just what Snape had to go through. Going through what he did does change people, and yes, many things he did was wrong, but then Harry, James, and many others all made bad choices as well. The end does not excuse the means, but I believe Snape in the end was a truly good person.
Wynter wrote: "As I see it, Snape only went back to the 'light' side because he learned Lily had been specifically targeted and, even pleading to Voldemort, her chances of surviving weren't 100% Does that make him a good person? No, not at all... rather selfish actually."I've heard this selfish tag before, but I haven't found someone who can explain it yet. Why would the fact that someone sacrifices all other ties he has in life for the safety of someone whom he hasn't had any contact with for years be considered selfish? He was in love with her, so I can see it being termed personal, I just don't see how it can be labelled selfish. Selfishness is preferring yourself over others.
If we call any act that someone does for someone else that they wouldn't necessarily do for a stranger "selfish", then you would have to say that Lily putting her own life in between Harry and Voldemort was selfish or that James was selfish when he gave his wife and son time to run by facing Voldemort unprepared. (Those examples actually have a greater claim to selfishness than Snape's action, because they were directly involved in each other's lives and so benefitted from each other's presence.)
Wynter wrote: "Brave? Hardly... I do agree with Harry when he called Snape a coward, but for other reasons than killing Dumbledore."
When Harry called Snape a coward, he was ignorant of all the facts. In the end, Harry thought so much of Snape's bravery, that he called him the bravest man he ever knew. He also named his own son after him.
No, my friend Tyler didn't like him either.
Snape was one of my favorite characters. He was courageous. He loved Lily Potter, he tried to save Harry from Professor Quirrell in the Sorcerors Stone, and he died in the Deathly Hallows.
Jeanie wrote: "Ascel wrote: "NO NO NO NO!! He doesn't deserve hate!! You guys are so cruel!! Harry forgave him, and so should you! If you hate him, then you have to hate Sirius, James, and Lupin because they made..."
Well put, Jeanie. I agree that the emotional abuse etc. was unacceptable and not the mark of a good teacher. Snape had serious issues he'd never truly dealt with, but that doesn't excuse his behavior toward others.
He may have acted bravely about some important things but when it came to his own personal life and dealing with and coping with his own abuse he was a coward.
If you ask me, characters like this are why JK Rowling's books have done well. There is depth and much to discuss even in a character who isn't a main character.
Well put, Jeanie. I agree that the emotional abuse etc. was unacceptable and not the mark of a good teacher. Snape had serious issues he'd never truly dealt with, but that doesn't excuse his behavior toward others.
He may have acted bravely about some important things but when it came to his own personal life and dealing with and coping with his own abuse he was a coward.
If you ask me, characters like this are why JK Rowling's books have done well. There is depth and much to discuss even in a character who isn't a main character.
I didn't like Snape until I understood who he was. He takes reading the whole series to realize this. After Harry sees Snape's memories in Deathly Hallows does it become clear that he never really hated Harry, he just had to pretend that he did. I know it looks bad, but in the end I think he's a strong, courageous person. He was by far one of my favorite characters of the books.
Zkw617 wrote: "Snape was one of my favorite characters. He was courageous. He loved Lily Potter, he tried to save Harry from Professor Quirrell in the Sorcerors Stone, and he died in the Deathly Hallows."Well said!
I love Snape after reading the last part.i cried after reading his memories.His love for Lily is never ending.The reason as to why he always looks Harry in his eyes while talking is heart breaking.He was a courageous man who should be respected.The fact that he was always protecting Harry shows how much he loved and cared for Lily.
rayful wrote: "Before I start, let me just say that I liked him, but that was where it ended. While yes, I understand that he was tortured by the Marauders, he was desperately and irrevocably in love with Lily, ..."When he turned out to be a "good guy" i was so annoyed i put the book down for a week (considering i waited in line for it when it came out, this was a big deal) hes a whiney jerk, and good or bad side, i will never like him. But hes a great antagonist, what would the books be without him really.
My husband doesn't like him either, despite all the redeeming qualities. He said he grew up with a nasty person like that, which makes him irredeemable (if there is such a word).
I LOVE SNAPE!!! He is my favorite character in the entire book! Everyone hated Snape all through books 1-6 (unless you are a Slytherin). But everyone I know, changed their feelings about Snape after book 7. I hated him until book 7. But now I love him!
Durring the first books I didn't like snape because he was mean and in the end even though it was kinda sweet how for one he was noce to harry and that he loved harry's mom I still wasnt a huge fan of him and I find it kinda silly how so many people are now like Snape is awesome and stuff... he was still mean to Harry and all the other Gryiffendore's for no reason.
Snape was a troubled man, and certainly not the kind of man that you would seek out for a night on the town. He suffered abuse as a child. He made a bad choice when he was 11--don't forget that he willed himself into Slytherin much as Harry willed himself into Gryffindor. His skill brought him much success, but never the greatness of someone who was only talented in a ridiculous game. He had a childhood crush which grew into an unrequited love. These things embittered him, to the point where he made another bad choice at sixteen.
To condemn someone because of choosing bad friends as a teenager--swearing that they can never be redeemed from that--is truly hardhearted.
Snape was a brilliant potionsmaster, but a terrible teacher. Although, most of the teachers at Hogwarts are terrible teachers of one stripe or another, except Minerva.
Harry was a reminder to Snape of every bad decision he had ever made. He had everything that Snape wanted handed to him on a silver platter, and Snape could punish Harry for that pain.
Snape was a bully because that was how he learned to interact with the world around him. He was bullied at every turn, by his father, by his classmates, by his friends, by his Dark Lord, and even to some extent by Dumbledore.
When you say you don't like Snape, is it because you haven't grown beyond Harry's opinion of him in the first six and a half books? Ron blames Snape for everything that goes against them in the books.
Is it because the character is poorly written and childish? I think Snape is one of the most fully developed characters in the books. He is certainly more three-dimensional than Sirius, who is so easily taunted to his death.
I think a more critical reading of the character might explain why some people "like" him. He is certainly interesting, and while I wouldn't invite him to tea, I would listen to his advice.
I liked Snape after I read the
. My opinion of Snape is better than when I read the
because I think Snape was acting a bit arrogant. (but now I know Snape was acting) :)
Ok, Julia, I totally agree:), Eric, way to long an answer.Sorry:(
Jeanie wrote: "Snape was a complex character and very interesting, but not likable to me--even by the end. I understood him better and felt some pity, but I'll never like him. It wasn't just Harry that Snape to..."Ahhhh, yes, I really enjoyed reading this because it's pretty much exactly how I feel.
well i relly didn't like him ntill the end of the seventh when you find why dumbldore trusted him as much as he did
I was never keen on him. I thought that he was on the Order's side, but I didn't think he was likeable- and as has been said before, he wasn't meant to be a likeable character- he was meant to be disliked. But there were reasons behind him. I think that he didn't really like any of the students. Yes, he fawned over his own House, but I don't really think he liked any of them, not even Draco (especially when it came to HBP)I think that he hurt. I think his life hurt him, and the only thing he ever liked was Lily. And when Lily was killed, what else was left for him? He protected Harry because he was Lily's son, but he hated Harry because he was James's son. I felt sorry for him. He was drawn into the Dark Arts and Lily began to dislike him for it, meaning he lost the only thing that meant anything to him
Eric wrote: "[Harry] had everything that Snape wanted handed to him on a silver platter, and Snape could punish Harry for that pain. ."
I'm sorry, you seem to have read a different book than I did. Harry was orphaned at 1 year-old in an attempt on his life. He spent the next decade being abused by his guardians. He arrived at Hogwarts with zero friends. His first interaction with Snape was getting chewed out and embarrassed in front of his peers for having the unmitigated gall to take notes in class. He quickly makes friends using the sly strategy of not being an asshole. So far I see nothing handed to Harry on a silver platter.
i really raelly like Snape
he never was mean to harry p, he was actually on his side all along
i just kinda dislike him for killing albus dumbledore, but it was all planned
he never was mean to harry p, he was actually on his side all along
i just kinda dislike him for killing albus dumbledore, but it was all planned
snape is the most interesting character..
I dislike Snape thoroughly as a person, and while I do find him a moderately interesting character, I think that people who think of him as some sort of misunderstood genius or even the anti-hero of the HP books are seriously deluded. Most of Snape's personality is the result of his own terrible choices. The only truly bad things that happened to him are that he was bullied as a child, and that he didn't get the girl he wanted. So?!! A lot of people (fictional and otherwise) face a lot worse, and don't turn into raging assholes as a result. Sure, Snape's love for Lily gives him an extra dimension, but it's pretty much the only reason he ever did anything positive in his life. Apart from that, has he ever done anything that benefited anyone except himself? Well, maybe his talents benefited the Death Eaters, but that's hardly to his credit. His default personality is nasty and cruel, and he is a horrible person to pretty much everyone he meets. His treatment of Harry may be handwaved by claiming that he hated the fact that Harry looked so much like his father, so Snape never gave him a chance (even so - hating an 11-year-old boy just because he happens to look like his parent, doesn't exactly speak in Snape's favour). But what about his other students? What reason did he have for being to unbearably cruel to Neville? What reason did he have for constantly making the lives of all non-Slytherin students miserable? Umbridge did something similar (only a little more extreme), and no one tries to justify her actions, or claims that she was a terrible person and educator because she happened to be bullied as a kid or disappointed in love.
I did not like Professor Snape, and I don't honestly think he was SUPPOSED to be loved the way the fandom loves him. I believe that J.K. was trying to show us that even people who are absolutely terrible most of the time still have that small shred of something that makes them human.But it doesn't undo the poor treatment, the horrible attitude/outlook on life. And the way he refused to give up on the thought of him and Lily actually seemed creepy to me.
Erfa wrote: "Snape is one of my all-time favourite characters. He was a very very brave man, acting like he was Voldy's man and living with the constant danger of Voldemort finding out the truth. He lived with ..."amen to that!!
Mary wrote: "NO you arent. I HATED HIM to the end. He was a crook and i dont care if he was working for the good he didnt have to be so cruel. Harrys dad was a turd to though."He did have to be cruel, though, because Voldemort might have gotten suspicious about Snape, so there was a reason behind the cruelty.
Carly wrote: "Mary wrote: "NO you arent. I HATED HIM to the end. He was a crook and i dont care if he was working for the good he didnt have to be so cruel. Harrys dad was a turd to though."He did have to be c..."
That's nonsense. At the beginning of Philospher's/Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort had been gone for 10 years, and pretty much no one thought he would ever be back. Do you really mean to say that Snape spent a decade being cruel to his students on the off-chance that his dead boss may not be dead after all, and even if he was alive, may be interested in how Snape ran his Potions classes?!!
are you kidding me? a bunch of people didn't like/hated snape!
Mary is right. Snape hated Harry because he was James's son. In case you don't remember, James was a jerk to Snape while they were at school (James was not a jerk unless he was around Snape). He did think that Voldemort was gone, so he came over to the good side. Harry was still the son of James, though. So the whole time, Snape had a perfectly good reason to hate Harry.
Mary wrote: "Here is my point: If Snape loved Lily so much (even after she wouldn't talk to him anymore) his love for her should have drowned out all of the hate for James and making him treat Harry about average."I don't think we can expect for people's feelings (and maybe Snape's feelings in particular) to be so logical and balanced.
It might have been different if Harry had looked more like Lily than James, but the fact is that Harry reminded Snape of James, not Lily.
