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Harry Potter Meme: Day 5
Aug. 21st, 2011 11:53 pmThis is a couple hours late. Shhh.
Favourite male character and why.
I'm not into going and searching for a picture and fighting with formatting so please look to my icon for further information.
Oh Snape, this complex, sadistic, emotionally wrecked, fascinating, confusing, divisive, fucked up man. I love characters who embody these things. And love him or hate, Snape is a well-crafted character and nothing wins my literary heart like a well-crafted character (with or without the complex wrecked fucked up-ness, but I do admit that's a bonus).
True story: when I was little, I hated Snape. I only had the first four books to work with for the longest and every time I went to re-read them I would always think Snape, you dickbag.
But, you know, in little kid terms. Like jerk. Or meany. Or whatever.
And he is a bit of a dickbag (or more than a bit) but that's what makes him GREAT.
Maybe I'm not explaining sufficiently why being a dickbag, or any other kind of dick, is a great thing but hear me out. His dickery makes sense. He's not a hero, but he is heroic, and he's not evil despite doing evil things. He's not a sadistic teacher for the sake of the story needing a sadistic teacher, and all of his Freudian excuses don't excuse the fact that he really and truly is not a good person but not being a good person doesn't make him a bad one either.
I didn't start feeling this way until Snape's Worst Memory in book five which gave me great pause.
I had a moment of I'msympathizingwithSnapewhatishappeningtomylife.
The fact that readers were completely divided on the subject of Snape's loyalty after book six (and I do mean divided--Borders gave out bookmarks listing both sides of the argument, as I recall) should speak for Snape's complexity.
And if you know me, there isn't anything I love more in fictional characters than complexity.
Favourite male character and why.
I'm not into going and searching for a picture and fighting with formatting so please look to my icon for further information.
Oh Snape, this complex, sadistic, emotionally wrecked, fascinating, confusing, divisive, fucked up man. I love characters who embody these things. And love him or hate, Snape is a well-crafted character and nothing wins my literary heart like a well-crafted character (with or without the complex wrecked fucked up-ness, but I do admit that's a bonus).
True story: when I was little, I hated Snape. I only had the first four books to work with for the longest and every time I went to re-read them I would always think Snape, you dickbag.
But, you know, in little kid terms. Like jerk. Or meany. Or whatever.
And he is a bit of a dickbag (or more than a bit) but that's what makes him GREAT.
Maybe I'm not explaining sufficiently why being a dickbag, or any other kind of dick, is a great thing but hear me out. His dickery makes sense. He's not a hero, but he is heroic, and he's not evil despite doing evil things. He's not a sadistic teacher for the sake of the story needing a sadistic teacher, and all of his Freudian excuses don't excuse the fact that he really and truly is not a good person but not being a good person doesn't make him a bad one either.
I didn't start feeling this way until Snape's Worst Memory in book five which gave me great pause.
I had a moment of I'msympathizingwithSnapewhatishappeningtomylife.
The fact that readers were completely divided on the subject of Snape's loyalty after book six (and I do mean divided--Borders gave out bookmarks listing both sides of the argument, as I recall) should speak for Snape's complexity.
And if you know me, there isn't anything I love more in fictional characters than complexity.