Harry Called Snape "The Bravest Man I Ever Knew"
Is my title too obvious? Apparently not for some readers. Someone posted a message on my Livejournal today about that line in the canon, but before I could respond, they deleted it.
Perhaps they realized their message contained erroneous information. However, since they did not choose to return to correct themselves, I think it's a good idea to do that, just in case they deleted for some other reason.
In This Post I wrote:
Quote from Me: This is the way I see it. Harry names a son after Snape and also praises him as The Bravest Man he Ever Knew. Ever. Harry of all people knew what Snape suffered as a child and as a teenager, knew all the sacrifices he made as a man, and watched him die a violent death. Harry pitied Snape.
If all of that is true for Harry, then it can be true for us.
If Harry isn't accused of "Snape Worship," than neither should we. Therefore, why is it wrong to basically quote the books and talk about Snape's story the way it really is?
To which this person responded:
No Harry didn't say that. Here's the quote:
“Albus Severus,” Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, “you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
He could have been talking about Dumbledore just as much as Snape. I'm not arguing, just pointing out the quote.
Ahem . . . Thank you for your interpretation, but I don't think I have it wrong. The final line is "One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
Snape was a Slytherin, not Dumbledore. Albus Severus is worried about being sorted into Slytherin, which is why Harry talks about his name in the first place. In other words, ASP has a right to choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but he shouldn't dismiss Slytherin House as bad since the boy is the namesake of not one, but two, Headmasters, one of whom is a Slytherin. Only one.
Hermione states in Book One that she wants to be in Gryffindor just like Dumbledore. And with all the Phoenix and Gryffindor Sword imagery, it's pretty clear that he is a Gryffindor like Harry. He owned the house in Godric's Hollow, too!
I'm certainly no grammar expert (perhaps they will chime in and help me, please) but with the syntax the way it is, I don't really see how anyone can interpret it any except that Snape was the Bravest Man.
And to me it's just a matter of wonderful irony. Out of all the brave people in the books, the bravest was in Slytherin, not Gryffindor. No offense to my Gryffindor friends at all ~ I'm just quoting canon here. Harry honors his father and Sirius, and Lily of course, but Harry gets the last word about Snape, in my opinion.
Perhaps they realized their message contained erroneous information. However, since they did not choose to return to correct themselves, I think it's a good idea to do that, just in case they deleted for some other reason.
In This Post I wrote:
Quote from Me: This is the way I see it. Harry names a son after Snape and also praises him as The Bravest Man he Ever Knew. Ever. Harry of all people knew what Snape suffered as a child and as a teenager, knew all the sacrifices he made as a man, and watched him die a violent death. Harry pitied Snape.
If all of that is true for Harry, then it can be true for us.
If Harry isn't accused of "Snape Worship," than neither should we. Therefore, why is it wrong to basically quote the books and talk about Snape's story the way it really is?
To which this person responded:
No Harry didn't say that. Here's the quote:
“Albus Severus,” Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to Rose, who was now on the train, “you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew.”
He could have been talking about Dumbledore just as much as Snape. I'm not arguing, just pointing out the quote.
Ahem . . . Thank you for your interpretation, but I don't think I have it wrong. The final line is "One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."
Snape was a Slytherin, not Dumbledore. Albus Severus is worried about being sorted into Slytherin, which is why Harry talks about his name in the first place. In other words, ASP has a right to choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but he shouldn't dismiss Slytherin House as bad since the boy is the namesake of not one, but two, Headmasters, one of whom is a Slytherin. Only one.
Hermione states in Book One that she wants to be in Gryffindor just like Dumbledore. And with all the Phoenix and Gryffindor Sword imagery, it's pretty clear that he is a Gryffindor like Harry. He owned the house in Godric's Hollow, too!
I'm certainly no grammar expert (perhaps they will chime in and help me, please) but with the syntax the way it is, I don't really see how anyone can interpret it any except that Snape was the Bravest Man.
And to me it's just a matter of wonderful irony. Out of all the brave people in the books, the bravest was in Slytherin, not Gryffindor. No offense to my Gryffindor friends at all ~ I'm just quoting canon here. Harry honors his father and Sirius, and Lily of course, but Harry gets the last word about Snape, in my opinion.