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Lissy Longbottom · 01-02-2009, 05:46 PM

Oh geez, this whole thread is one big sociology debate

Quite honestly, I think that there is no real way to say whether or not Snape's upbringing, or his own actions, made him the way he was. In my opinion (and this is JUST my opinion) nature vs. nuture is really combined--we aren't ONE way because we were born that way, but we aren't another way just because we were raised like that. I truly believe it is a mixture of both.

We could go on and on about nature vs. nuture, but here is my two cents: I always believed Snape was a good guy. Why, I'm not exactly sure

I honestly never really had an opinion on Snape until the fifth book, or thats the first time I REMEMBER having an opinion on him, and I honestly felt really bad for him and the way the Marauders picked on him. This is just my own personal belief, but I feel that there is just no excuse for anyone to poke fun at someone just for the heck of it. Just because the Marauders were more popular and more accepted at school than he was didn't give them the right to harass him and embarrass him in front of everyone. That, I think, definitely affected his character in his adult life and made him rather bitter. You have to think of it in his shoes--if someone continuously made fun of you for seven straight years, wouldn't you be a little mad at the world as well? Obviously you could say that no, you wouldn't, but that just helps some people to understand him a bit more.

But I am also not saying that how he treated the students was right. Students are supposed to trust their teachers, not fear them. They're supposed to be mentors who guide them into making smart life choices with their careers, but we never see Snape helping anyone (except maybe the occassional Slytherin) or influencing anyone's lives at all. I think it was a bit of abuse of power--now that SNAPE was a teacher, he had the opportunity to control people in a way that he couldn't when he was at school. He probably felt a bit like the Marauders and felt a bit of pride in that and the way that he had the upper hand over other people.

I personally think that he wasn't a truly bad guy and had a bit of goodness in his heart, because he DID do little things throughout the whole series that showed he has some kind of mortal conscious. Even if it was for the wrong side--like the case with Malfoy--he DID think of others occassionally. Back to the Malfoy example, I feel that Snape knew that Malfoy would get in loads of trouble on all different angles if he followed through on Voldemort's plan to have him kill Dumbledore, so Snape took the burden rather than let Malfoy suffer through it.

I also agree that the fact that Harry was Lily's son helped him a bit in Snape's eyes. Snape still hated Harry, yes, because there were times when even Harry was at fault with Snape and probably just made his hatred for him even worse, but if he hadn't been Lily's son he'd probably have been dead by the first book, since Snape wouldn't have bothered to save him from Quirrel during that Quidditch match

01-02-2009, 05:46 PM	#15 (permalink)
Lissy Longbottom Magical Menagerie Mod Madame Malkins Mod SS 100 Triumphant NLFC Mod Basilisk Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Middle Earth (GMT-6) Posts: 48,743 Hogwarts RPG Name: Alex Greingoth Fifth Year x9 Ministry RPG Name: Gabriela Schultz Accidents & Catastrophes	Haaaaave you met Ted? \|\| Elle Woods \| \| Go Go White Sox! \|\| Potterwatch Enthusiast Oh geez, this whole thread is one big sociology debate Quite honestly, I think that there is no real way to say whether or not Snape's upbringing, or his own actions, made him the way he was. In my opinion (and this is JUST my opinion) nature vs. nuture is really combined--we aren't ONE way because we were born that way, but we aren't another way just because we were raised like that. I truly believe it is a mixture of both. We could go on and on about nature vs. nuture, but here is my two cents: I always believed Snape was a good guy. Why, I'm not exactly sure I honestly never really had an opinion on Snape until the fifth book, or thats the first time I REMEMBER having an opinion on him, and I honestly felt really bad for him and the way the Marauders picked on him. This is just my own personal belief, but I feel that there is just no excuse for anyone to poke fun at someone just for the heck of it. Just because the Marauders were more popular and more accepted at school than he was didn't give them the right to harass him and embarrass him in front of everyone. That, I think, definitely affected his character in his adult life and made him rather bitter. You have to think of it in his shoes--if someone continuously made fun of you for seven straight years, wouldn't you be a little mad at the world as well? Obviously you could say that no, you wouldn't, but that just helps some people to understand him a bit more. But I am also not saying that how he treated the students was right. Students are supposed to trust their teachers, not fear them. They're supposed to be mentors who guide them into making smart life choices with their careers, but we never see Snape helping anyone (except maybe the occassional Slytherin) or influencing anyone's lives at all. I think it was a bit of abuse of power--now that SNAPE was a teacher, he had the opportunity to control people in a way that he couldn't when he was at school. He probably felt a bit like the Marauders and felt a bit of pride in that and the way that he had the upper hand over other people. I personally think that he wasn't a truly bad guy and had a bit of goodness in his heart, because he DID do little things throughout the whole series that showed he has some kind of mortal conscious. Even if it was for the wrong side--like the case with Malfoy--he DID think of others occassionally. Back to the Malfoy example, I feel that Snape knew that Malfoy would get in loads of trouble on all different angles if he followed through on Voldemort's plan to have him kill Dumbledore, so Snape took the burden rather than let Malfoy suffer through it. I also agree that the fact that Harry was Lily's son helped him a bit in Snape's eyes. Snape still hated Harry, yes, because there were times when even Harry was at fault with Snape and probably just made his hatred for him even worse, but if he hadn't been Lily's son he'd probably have been dead by the first book, since Snape wouldn't have bothered to save him from Quirrel during that Quidditch match __________________ This is my family. It's little and broken, but still good.