I think you need to define "good guy" more... Do you mean good person, a good man, or a hero...

I think he is a good person and heroic.... he does care about people ( when he tried to save one of the twins in the 7th book broom scene and he does try to redeem himself ever at great risk to his life... spying. He is flawed and a nasty person but that does not make him bad or evil.

 

He interprets things quite literally and is very stubborn/opinionated, so don't bother trying to correct him.

 

For as much as he's portrayed as an vindictive teacher who enjoys his students suffering, he's a good guy when the time comes. Probably one of the more tragic characters to be sure.

 

No. Snape has never been a good guy. In Dumble's side? arguably. But in general, I see him as a character that is purely driven by spite. He is betraying Voldie is not (IMHO) caused by the fact that his heart is redeemed into The Light, but rather that he tries, and fail, to protect his lost love. So no. He is not a good guy. He's not even in "The Light" side. No, he's in "Kill Voldie for revenge" side.

 

I would say that Snape is on the Light Side, though at the beginning it clearly is for selfish reasons, given that he only switched sides because Lily was in danger. But by DH, it does seem that he is genuinely converted, as evidenced when he reacts negatively to Phineas Nigellus using the slur "Mudblood" to describe Hermione.

But is he a good person? No, he is not, as clearly evidenced by his repeated bullying of Neville and Hermione.

 

I guess you have to decide just how many flaws you can have and still be considered "good." Personally, I think no.

 

Snape is an asshole. He did good things for primarily selfish reasons, and while he might not be a classic bad guy, he's certainly not a good one. He has his flaws and that makes him an interesting character. All the constant shit people shout about how his love for Lily redeems him is bullshit. He doesn't treat Harry with a lick of kindness or respect and doesn't give him the benefit of the doubt.

He sees James more than Lily except when it comes to literal life and death situations. If he were truly selfless like some people like to revise him he would've tried to see more Lily than James. Instead, he's a dick, and while he does save Harry, his last words are, "Look at me". Further proving his selfishness. Nothing of what he did to help Harry was for Harry. It was all for Lily, and Harry being her son was simply good luck for him.

 

I'd say no, considering that he was once a member of the Death Eaters and even received the mark, he most likely murdered and tortured many people without issue.
Him changing sides further shows his nature as he did so for selfish reasons and not out of regret for his actions.

 

The measure of a good tool versus a bad tool is whether it gets the job done.
Right?

(Are we getting all of these threads because it's summer?)

 

Probably so. If not, I too would really like to know why there's been a recent proliferation of threads like this one.

 

No. Man's a bitter cunt who could never rationalize his own failings and blamed everyone else for his problems. The fact that he took out his frustrations on a child only makes him even worse.

Now I never have to post in one of these threads again.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head. One can be amoral and still fall into a category of good and bad; it's your actions towards others which define your character. Snape's actions paint him as a villain.

 

I don't think he's a good guy. He's petty enough to let a DEAD man affect his behavior.

 

Even harry doesn't think Snape is a good guy, Just that he was brave. Which is true.

 

Nah. Snape wasn't a good guy. He bullied Harry, and everyone else that wasn't in his house. But he wasn't exactly bad either. In the end, he still let Harry let him see his memories, which also consequently let Harry know that he was supposed to die.

 

A "good" man can can act in a reprehensible manner just as someone "evil" can do good. Just because he ultimately fought for the heroic side at great personal cost doesn't necessarily make him a good person. Ever since his first appearance in the books he is portrayed as a selfish, caustic, vindictive man-child who enjoys tearing down others to make them as miserable as he is so that he's not the only one who has suffer. The only reason he fights against Voldemort is because Lily was killed, if not for that he would still be a loyal Death Eater. At the end he was a marginally better man than he used to be, but at his core he is still the kind of man who enjoys inflicting pain, no matter how petty it is. A person's actions define them and the majority of Snape's actions are not that of a good man.

 

Snape is an asshole, but he is not "evil".
He does have some issues though, if he was still hung up on Lily two decades or so after she died.

 

He fights for the good side. But as a person i wouldn't say he is a good.

He systematically bullies students for no more reason than his personal dislike.

In PoA we find out one of his students fears him so much that his Bogart chances into him. Which means he has instilled an almost fobic like fear in a student. That is extremely unhealthy behavior for a person to have.

And in my opinion his behavior towards his students makes the segregation of Slytherin only bigger and contributes to their bad reputation.

 

I think it probably depends what you mean by good or bad.

Good as in is he a 'good person' (in our every day sense). Then clearly not for all the reasons said. Not 'nice'[

Good as in was he on the side of the 'forces of good' so to speak in a war against a 'dark lord' then clearly yes.

Good as in did his actions save more lives and help end the reign of someone that can probably be considered 'evil' in most senses of the word? Did that good outweigh his being nasty and mean to a bunch of school children? Then also probably yes.

It doesnt make him a 'nice' person. Or less of an asshole. But it also doesnt change the fact that what he did took a lot of courage, cunning, and guts. I doubt voldie would have lost the war but for snape's actions. So he DID a lot of good. Far more than any 'bad' he did by being an ass or scaring children.

I think essentially if i was someone in the harry potter universe, you respect and even honor him for the deeds he did in helping to win the war. While perhaps not liking him as a person.

 

Is Snape a nice guy? no. Is he a good guy? Who knows. What makes someone 'good' or 'bad' anyway? What evil things does Snape actually do in the series? not much, I don't think, and even less is it something he's done on purpose.

And do you think Draco or the other slytherins think Snape is a bad guy? or mean? This sort of thing all comes down to the eye of the beholder.

I mean, seriously, is Sirius a good guy? Is Lupin?