13 October 2009
Severus Snape Saga: Do Motives Define the Action?
In my first paper, I compared Severus Snape to other classic heroes throughout mythology, history, and literature. Severus Snape definitely possesses some characteristics of a hero, but many Harry Potter fans have issues calling Snape, a character we have learned to hate, a hero. He is painted as such a monstrous person throughout the first six novels, that fans cannot let go of the grudges they hold against him. There is no reason that there cannot be more than one hero in the series, because many would say that Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore are all heroes in the series. So why would Snape not be a hero in the series? In this paper, I will be exploring whether or not the motives behind Snape’s actions make what he does in the end any less heroic and whether or not fans can let go of how evil Snape is to Harry throughout the series.
There are many questions we have to ask ourselves when we try to determine whether or not Snape is a hero. “Would James and Lily be alive now if not for him? Would Harry be dead now if not for him? Did he ever care about Harry, or only Lily?” (Caffrey). It seems like the answers to these questions contradict one another. I would argue that James and Lily would be alive if Severus had not told Voldemort the prophecy that he overheard. However, I would also say that the only reason Harry survived throughout the seventh novel was because of all the help he had from Snape. So can we as fans forgive Snape for essentially killing James and Lily, because he saved Harry? This is one of those questions that make Snape such a controversial character because there is no right answer.
Throughout the series, we do not learn very much about Snape until the end. However, right from the first book we learn to hate Snape. He mistreats Harry, singles him out, and blatantly goes out of his way to punish Harry. How could we as readers like such a character? “J.K.R. said it plainly herself shortly after DH [Deathly Hallows] was released---‘Snape is vindictive. He’s cruel. He’s not a big man’ [JKR-MTV].” (Schoen 106). In the sixth book, we get a little peek into Snape’s past that helps the readers sympathize with Snape. When Harry is getting Occlumency lessons, he sneaks into the pensive and sees a memory of Snape when he was attending Hogwarts. James and his friends are hanging Snape upside down in the schoolyard and yelling names at him. This is the first time in the series where we actually start to feel sympathetic toward Snape as a character. The next time we learn anything about Snape is the very end of the seventh book, where we learn Snape’s entire story.
We learn that everything he did throughout the series he did to protect and help Harry, because he had loved Lily Evans his entire life. The reason behind the actions to save Harry was because he loved Lily, not necessarily because he liked or felt the need to protect Harry. Another reason that is revealed is that Snape feels responsible for the deaths of the Potter’s and this is another reason he protects Harry. Snape does not necessarily want to help Harry and he struggles with what he has to do throughout the series, but he does so because of the guilt he feels over his actions. However, Snape did have the option of walking away from the responsibility of watching over Harry entirely. “It would have been easy for Snape to walk away from that responsibility. Harry isn’t his son and only reminds Snape of everything he has missed out on in life since James married Lily, but Snape is tough and heroically takes a much harder path and stays at Hogwarts” (Schoen 106). Therefore, we know as readers that Snape took the difficult route in life in order to help Lily Evan’s son defeat the Dark Lord.
Do the motivations behind Snape’s actions make what he does any less heroic? Snape agreed to kill Dumbledore in the sixth book, so that Malfoy would not have to do it. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so that Harry could succeed in defeating the Dark Lord. Does the fact that he truly did not want to do these things change the fact that these acts were heroic? However, you could also argue that his main motive was his love for Lily Evans or his guilt over his role in her death. This brings about the question to be a true hero; do a person’s actions have to be altruistic? “According to Freud, the unconscious is the source of our motivations… However, we are often driven to deny or resist becoming conscious of these motives, and they are often available to us only in disguised form” (Postill 4). According to Freud, Snape’s motivations are unconscious.
I would like to come to the conclusion that Snape is a hero in the series even if his motives or mindset is not in the right place. I think that Snape and Harry’s motives are very similar, because they both in a way are motivated by love. Snape’s motives are questionable, but in the end he did what was necessary to defeat Voldemort and help Harry do it. An interesting article I read made a distinction between Severus and Snape. Whenever J.K Rowling calls him Severus, she is referring to him as an ally and whenever she uses the name Snape, she is referring to him as a foe. I think this is a very interesting conclusion with which I completely agree. After all this speculation, throughout two papers, I am going to take a side and say that Snape is a hero, that deserves to be celebrated in the end.
http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=121381&page=55
http://www.mugglespace.com/
Works Cited
Caffrey, Kristian. "Severus Vs. Snape." MuggleNet.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
Postill, David. "Sigmund Freud." Sigmund Freud. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
Spartz, Emerson, and Ben Schoen. Harry Potter Should Have Died. Berkeley: Ulysses Press, 2009. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment