Blog Post #3 Response: Severus Snape: Good or Evil?

                Severus Snape is perhaps the most complex character in all of the Harry Potter novels. It seems as if he goes from good guy to bad guy at least a few times in every book. By the end of the Deathly Hallows, we find out that he ends up being a good guy after all, or so it appears. It is hard to argue that Snape’s actions are courageous and somewhat heroic, but does that make him a good guy?

                Ever since my first reading of Harry Potter I have struggled with the idea of calling Snape a “good” character. After all, he did all of his heroic acts for Lilly, not out of kindness or because he knew it was the right thing. On the contrary, Snape has always been a genuinely evil person, from his interest in the Dark Arts to his eventual joining of the Death Eaters. Even though he risked his life for Lilly’s son, he still couldn’t find the decency in himself to let go of an old grudge and treat her son with any respect at all. Instead he made a point to make Harry’s life miserable whenever he saw him, which I wouldn’t imagine would make Lilly very happy.

                Overall, I think Snape was very loyal to Lilly and his love for her was real, but I also don’t think that is enough to overshadow his past. Snape may have been loyal to Lilly, but he was also a loyal Death Eater for years and would have continued to follow Voldemort had he not murdered Lilly and for that reason it is hard for me to categorize Snape and a genuinely good character.