My favorite fictional hero

Arguably, at the moment, is Severus Snape




First off, no, I do not identify personally with Snape completely. Let's get that out of the way. I don't have greasy black hair or a hooked nose, and besides, only in my dreams could I hope to have Alan Rickman's dulcet voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw6Swr-ME40

Old school analysis of Severus Snape:

Setting: Snape is Hogwart's School, and he has never left, because much of his formative experiences stem from there. He manifests himself completely as House Slytherin. In a closer analysis of House Slytherin, it's easy to see why Harry Potter could have done well there: ambition, greed, desire—in evolutionary sequences and in general biology, those traits can be very useful and successful. When ambition, greed, desire become megalomania, desire for power and control, and raw, unfiltered evil, then you get a Lord Voldermort.

Character: Snape creates a catharsis bubble. In earlier sequences through the series, we find that Snape was mercilessly harassed by the 'popular' Quidditch jocks at Hogwarts, especially James Potter. When we first meet Snape, we think that he is the Simon Cowell of the school: powerful, eminent, critical, obnoxious, controlling. When we see Snape through the eyes of the looking glass, and intriguingly enough, through Harry's eyes, we see a fragile, awkward, dorky, greasy, nebbish teen—and that's where the character catharsis comes from, since many adolescents feel exactly the same way.

Tensions: Snape prevents Harry Potter from becoming full of hubris. Here is a classic quote from the first book:

"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter," Snape said suddenly, his eyes glinting. "He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers ... The resemblance between you is uncanny." (PA14)

This quote particularly cuts into Harry's soul; after all, Snape is 'dissing' his dead daddy. The primary focus on phrases like "exceedingly arrogant' and 'cut above the rest' are probably meant to make Harry's lightning scar burn up with emotive rage. Then again, this quote fully demonstrates a different type of 'love' he has for Harry, Lily's son. If the woman you really loved had a son who could easily fall into the Dark Arts because the Death Eaters love control and mastery, and they revel in spells like the Cruxiatus or Avada Kedavra, then you;'d want to protect him from that path.

And ultimately, this tension in Snape, whether to be a kindly mentor like Dumbledore, or the Simon Cowell of the school, in my mind, is what keeps Harry Potter honest and level. Snape shaves off Harry Potter's innate celebrity ethos and tells him: Learn your chops, Potter. Don't be complacent and arrogant. Work for this. Work for your mom and dad's memory. Be the best you can be without letting it get to your head. (After all, Tom Marvolo Riddle, the future Lord Voldermort...ended up the opposite way).

There's not so much I want to say about the New School Dimensions other than I personally identify with the bullying aspects in the piece, the class-based structure since Snape does not seem as well off as other individuals, and the psychological dimensions, since Snape's Myers-Briggs is very similar to an INTJ personalty archetype.

Ultimately, I like Severus Snape because to me, he is the martyr and the earnest alazon-hero from the novel. He was protecting Harry from day one at Hogwart's, even if nobody or anybody would EVER acknowledge him for that. At least to me, that might be the very definition of heroism: not expecting a single ounce of recognition for one's valiant efforts.