A character who I found interesting throughout the novel was Severus Snape. Now, the amount of integrity Snape processed was rather unclear for the majority of the story, and as time progressed it really did not get much better. As the plot went on I would continue to ask myself what were Snape’s true intentions. I wondered why he hated Harry so much, and where his loyalties lied. It wasn’t until the very end until his true intentions were revealed.
If you were to judge Snape on only what you can see, you would suspect him to definitely be a terrible person. Snape is greasy, depressing, and you would never catch him smiling. He always gives Harry a hard time, whether it be at Hogwarts or when they interact in general. Due to Snape killing Dumbledore in a previous novel, you would assume he is evil and loyal to Voldemort. At the beginning of the Deathly Hallows, Snape casts a spell blasting off the ear of George Weasley. It is easy at this point to assume that Snape is completely evil and has no good intentions in regards to Harry’s fate.
Although there are many small events that teach us about Snape’s character traits, the things we learn are very subtle. It is not until near the very end until we see Snape’s true character emerge. Harry, with the aid of a magical device called a “Pensieve”, is able to witness Snape’s true memories. We learn that Snape only treats Harry poorly because he reminds him of Harry’s dad, who he was jealous of for winning Harry’s mom. We learn Snape loves Harry, and that a lot of his actions were for his own good. Even his murder of Dumbledore was preplanned and justified to save Harry in the end.
Snape’s last boost of moral integrity comes when he sacrifices himself for the defeat of Voldemort. Snape, alone in the woods, selflessly betrays Voldemort without hoping for any sort of recognition. Nobody expected, Snape to be such a brave, honorable, man. This event was completely unexpected and finally confirms Snape’s loyalties and...