JKR writes that after he pushed Harry out of his mind after the shield charm "Snape was shaking slightly, very white in the face." I'd say he was very surprised indeed, and quite justifiably horrified. And since we know that Snape had been using a pensieve from the very first lesson, it stands to reason that he was using the pensieve for more than strictly security reasons.
I agree, Snape doesn't seem to have normal survival instincts, especially for a Slytherin. it sometimes seems as if he has an unconscious death wish, or at least a strong dislike of himself.
While I understand your point, you have to acknowledge that the first book and to progressively less an extent, the next three books are fairly simple in scope. Voldemort has not yet risen, the ministry has not yet denied his existence, so the situations themselves were simpler and less complex.
There is a lot of children's fiction that is very adult. of course, childrens books is a loose description, since the books we're really talking about with Harry Potter are young adult books. On my book shelf at this moment, I have the Abhorsen trilogy, the Eugenides books, and three of Robin McKinley's early books, The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, and The Outlaws of Sherwood. The Abhorsen books deal with what death means, what it means to know things no one else knows, what it means to rule a country, what it means to be deceived and to fail, and what it means to be terrified out of one's wits. The world is fully formed, with political debates about refugees, bribery, diplomatic missions, wars in countries unrelated to those featured in the story, queens that have affairs, and girls who have to make sure no one thinks they're doing anything unacceptable. The Eugenides books are entirely about the political intrigue set in a nearly magicless Ancient Greek alternate universe. It's about obsessive love, secrets, despair, what it means to be a hero, pride, and it has no true bad guy, just normal people on different sides. Robin McKinley, aside from having some of the most beautiful prose of the fantasy genre, also writes children's books that touch on love, loss, willful blindness, the importance of a legend separate from truth and stubbornness. There are other children's books of similar depth. Lloyd Alexander wrote some of the best, as does Dianna Wynne Jones. I never ever discount children's books. As I said, they're often far deeper and more thought provoking than adult fantasy. Much of this seems to be a recent trend, however.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2008-09-03 04:49 am (UTC)I agree, Snape doesn't seem to have normal survival instincts, especially for a Slytherin. it sometimes seems as if he has an unconscious death wish, or at least a strong dislike of himself.
While I understand your point, you have to acknowledge that the first book and to progressively less an extent, the next three books are fairly simple in scope. Voldemort has not yet risen, the ministry has not yet denied his existence, so the situations themselves were simpler and less complex.
There is a lot of children's fiction that is very adult. of course, childrens books is a loose description, since the books we're really talking about with Harry Potter are young adult books. On my book shelf at this moment, I have the Abhorsen trilogy, the Eugenides books, and three of Robin McKinley's early books, The Hero and the Crown, The Blue Sword, and The Outlaws of Sherwood. The Abhorsen books deal with what death means, what it means to know things no one else knows, what it means to rule a country, what it means to be deceived and to fail, and what it means to be terrified out of one's wits. The world is fully formed, with political debates about refugees, bribery, diplomatic missions, wars in countries unrelated to those featured in the story, queens that have affairs, and girls who have to make sure no one thinks they're doing anything unacceptable. The Eugenides books are entirely about the political intrigue set in a nearly magicless Ancient Greek alternate universe. It's about obsessive love, secrets, despair, what it means to be a hero, pride, and it has no true bad guy, just normal people on different sides. Robin McKinley, aside from having some of the most beautiful prose of the fantasy genre, also writes children's books that touch on love, loss, willful blindness, the importance of a legend separate from truth and stubbornness. There are other children's books of similar depth. Lloyd Alexander wrote some of the best, as does Dianna Wynne Jones. I never ever discount children's books. As I said, they're often far deeper and more thought provoking than adult fantasy. Much of this seems to be a recent trend, however.