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gmonkey42About Snape and choices and stuff
Reading this entry of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mysduende's got me thinking about why Snape is so many people's favorite character, contrary to JKR's expectations.
One important theme of the series is that there's no such thing as good or evil, there's just people and the choices they make. I think a large part of why we like Snape is because he had every opportunity to make the wrong choice but made the right one instead, even though he probably ended up worse off for it.*
I don't see such an emphasis on Harry being offered the evil choice but choosing good instead. Voldemort did suggest that Harry join him in the first book but after eleven-year-old Harry turned down the offer from the terrifying monster that everybody had been warning him about, every meeting between the two from then on involved Voldemort trying to kill Harry and Harry defending himself. "Fight for the Order or sit around waiting to die" isn't much of a choice.
At the end, Harry did make the choice to approach Voldemort and allow himself to be killed but did he see any real alternatives? He'd seen in Snape's memories that Dumbledore believed Harry had to die. If Harry had chosen the "easy" way and fled, Voldemort would have slaughtered the rest of the Order (since he still had two intact Horcruxes) and then Harry would have had no one left to help him. As far as Harry knew at that point, Voldemort was going to kill him sooner or later anyway.
In contrast, Snape took a great risk when he approached Dumbledore with the information that Voldemort had chosen the Potters. Snape stood to gain nothing from this; the best possible result would be that Lily would remain alive but still married to James and still not Snape's friend. We've heard more than once that Voldemort was winning at that point. After he began spying for Dumbledore, Snape devoted the rest of his life to working for the Order, even though he had numerous opportunities to go back to Voldemort. If Snape had really been working for Voldemort then Voldemort probably would have won. Even though Voldemort didn't know about Harry being a Horcrux, if they'd killed Harry there still would've been the other six Horcruxes (or five, if Snape had waited until after book 2 to come out openly on Voldemort's side). That's still a lot of Horcruxes.
I still like to think Lily wasn't Snape's entire motivation, that hearing about Lily being in danger just forced Snape to make up his mind. The bit in the Penseive where Snape tells Phinneas' portrait not to use the word "Mudblood" could be interpreted as a clue that Snape really had changed his beliefs since he was a student.
In conclusion: Snape is better than Harry. Times a million. The End.
*That reminds me: what's so awful about "for the greater good" (Grindlewald's slogan)? That mentality wasn't the problem, the problem was that Grindlewald wasn't counting Muggles as human. Something that hurts Muggles and helps Magic people obviously isn't for the greater good. Snape really did work for the greater good even though he as an individual ended up worse off.
ETA: haha, by a matter of minutes, logospilgrim beat me to it (SPOILERS). Great minds think alike :D
ETA #2: rexluscus has also written a great essay about Snape (with SPOILERS).
Reading this entry of
mysduende's got me thinking about why Snape is so many people's favorite character, contrary to JKR's expectations.One important theme of the series is that there's no such thing as good or evil, there's just people and the choices they make. I think a large part of why we like Snape is because he had every opportunity to make the wrong choice but made the right one instead, even though he probably ended up worse off for it.*
I don't see such an emphasis on Harry being offered the evil choice but choosing good instead. Voldemort did suggest that Harry join him in the first book but after eleven-year-old Harry turned down the offer from the terrifying monster that everybody had been warning him about, every meeting between the two from then on involved Voldemort trying to kill Harry and Harry defending himself. "Fight for the Order or sit around waiting to die" isn't much of a choice.
At the end, Harry did make the choice to approach Voldemort and allow himself to be killed but did he see any real alternatives? He'd seen in Snape's memories that Dumbledore believed Harry had to die. If Harry had chosen the "easy" way and fled, Voldemort would have slaughtered the rest of the Order (since he still had two intact Horcruxes) and then Harry would have had no one left to help him. As far as Harry knew at that point, Voldemort was going to kill him sooner or later anyway.
In contrast, Snape took a great risk when he approached Dumbledore with the information that Voldemort had chosen the Potters. Snape stood to gain nothing from this; the best possible result would be that Lily would remain alive but still married to James and still not Snape's friend. We've heard more than once that Voldemort was winning at that point. After he began spying for Dumbledore, Snape devoted the rest of his life to working for the Order, even though he had numerous opportunities to go back to Voldemort. If Snape had really been working for Voldemort then Voldemort probably would have won. Even though Voldemort didn't know about Harry being a Horcrux, if they'd killed Harry there still would've been the other six Horcruxes (or five, if Snape had waited until after book 2 to come out openly on Voldemort's side). That's still a lot of Horcruxes.
I still like to think Lily wasn't Snape's entire motivation, that hearing about Lily being in danger just forced Snape to make up his mind. The bit in the Penseive where Snape tells Phinneas' portrait not to use the word "Mudblood" could be interpreted as a clue that Snape really had changed his beliefs since he was a student.
In conclusion: Snape is better than Harry. Times a million. The End.
*That reminds me: what's so awful about "for the greater good" (Grindlewald's slogan)? That mentality wasn't the problem, the problem was that Grindlewald wasn't counting Muggles as human. Something that hurts Muggles and helps Magic people obviously isn't for the greater good. Snape really did work for the greater good even though he as an individual ended up worse off.
ETA: haha, by a matter of minutes, logospilgrim beat me to it (SPOILERS). Great minds think alike :D
ETA #2: rexluscus has also written a great essay about Snape (with SPOILERS).
