Deserved?

Okay, I don't want this to get into an heated argument, cuz I riled up an entire website on this same question, but how many of you feel that---
1. Snape overeacted in his anger at finding Harry viewing his thought with his father in book5.
2. Harry deserved Snape's wrath.
I'll wait for some opinions on this before I comment.

Yup. Snape is definitely an over-reactor. He is venting the anger he should have vented at James Potter years ago. Unless . . . Snape is using the situation to get the Malfoys to trust him and protect his double agent cover.

I think that Snape had a very good reason to be angry but he didn't have any right to put his hands on Harry. And come to that he also is still just a self loathing little boy inside. His inability to let go of the past and forgive and forget is clear evidence of that. The character has severe self esteem and self worth issues he desperately needs to address.

Yes but what if Snape is protecting his double-agent thoughts from Harry? That's the reason that Dumbledore was afraid to train Harry himself. He was afraid Harry would find out about the Prophecy.

Snape's a teacher, he could easily have deducted as many points as he liked from Harry and given him a "lifetime's" worth of detention if all he wanted to do was protect the orders business. Moreover his reaction was not one of a calm professional, but more like the emotional and terrified reaction of a cornered and wounded beast. That kind of reaction indicates lack of self confidence and lack of love and belief in one's self. You must posess self confidence and strength to protect a secret. These are weaknesess. Weakness will only invite further intrusion. And why did Harry not therefore attempt to see into Snape's secret thought's again you might ask? Because Harry's the Hero and as the hero of the story he knew to do so would inflict even more unnesecarry pain hurt on Snape. Harry might hate Snape, but not enough to again, cause him to suffer the kind of anguish and hurt that Snape obviously felt when he discovered Harry in his pensieve bowl.

Snape is nothing more than a moral and emotional weakling.

I'll buy that in spades! You are right on. Snape, no matter how much Dumbledore trusts him does have a serious weakness where Harry Potter is concerned. That weakness could be the downfall of the Order. If you think of the mind as a fabric, Snapes reaction wouldn't be just a wrinkle, it would be a rip that could enlarge with time.

I totally disagree. Snape had EVERY right to shake Harry like a rag doll. Can anyone fathom why? I'll tell you.

Okay, first of all, we all know that Snape and Harry don't get along.
But Snape gets the upper-hand because he's a teacher and Harry's a student.
When he had to leave the room, Snape specificly told Harry not to fiddle with anything, or something like that. Harry didn't listen. The stupid boy went over to the pensive and went into Snape's personal memories! I'd be incensed! Hopping mad!
Harry happens to stumble across Snape's worst, most humiliating memory that he can remember. In it, James makes a complete fool out of Snape in front of many students, one of them, Lily (there's some speculation that Snape liked her, so that would make the experience that much worse).

After this experience, Harry is feeling ashamed of his father's performance, but Snape dosn't know that. All he knows is that James was a monster who was bullying to the point of cruelness. He obviously sees a lot of James in Harry, and thinks that Harry sided with his father in the memory. Harry talked up to Snape in the 3rd book ("shut-up about my Dad!") and Snape probably still remembers that. He sees so much James in Harry, perhaps he sometimes forgets that Harry is not James, a mistake that Sirius seemed to make though for different reasons.

So, Snape walks back into his office, and finds that Harry, of all people, is peering into his most humiliating memory. He is outraged (for good reason). He grabs Harry, pushes him across the room and roars at him in his anger.

I don't think that Harry deserved it so to speak, but knowing Harry from Snape's viepoint, yes I can see why Snape became so angry and I don't blame him at all for his show of anger.

And yes, there are probably a mllion people who disagree with me, but that's my standpoint anyway. ;)

Outstanding! I like the comparison you draw between Snape and Sirius. For different reasons they both want to see James in Harry.

That is a great defense of Snape's actions. I think Harry would agree with you.

They got off to a bad start right at the beginning when Harry thought Snape was making his scar burn instead of Quirrell. I don't know what would ever make the two of them friends. Maybe fighting side by side would give each of them more respect for each other.

However, Snape being the adult, should really try to adjust his attitude toward Harry.

Yeah, I think that Snape probably should've cooled his heels before blowing up at Snape, but I kinda think Harry deserved it. I mean, how many times have we (people in general) blown up at somebody for silly trivial things?... Or is it just ME who gets upset easy? Uh oh.

No. We all get upset over non-issues. But the guy in charge is supposed to lead by example. Snape is in charge, not Harry. If Snape was better grounded, he would have been able to look at his own behavior objectively and do a mental slap-up-the-side-of-the-head and say, "Wake up Snape and smell the coffee. This kid isn't James. He didn't do anything to you." But Snape, being Snape, can't see his own behavior for what it is--a flaw. Pity. Clearly wizardy isn't everything.