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So... a couple of years ago in my high-school Spanish class I read a short story which told of a young man in Mexico, who had grown up living a perfectly normal, happy life; but later joined a group of rebels, just because he was young and he thought it would be cool. This led to him getting arrested and sentenced to death. The story revolves around his night in jail before his execution, where a friend comes in and promises to help him survive execution... but in the end, the firing squad discovers that he hasn't died, so the commanding officer orders him killed anyway. I feel like Snape could be in a similar situation to this young man in some ways, especially based on Whitehound's analysis in "But Snape is Just Nasty, Right?" Certainly it's canon that Snape joined the Death Eaters in part because he thought it would make him look cool and/or impress Lily.
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Short Story Comparison
The World of Severus Snape
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contemplativePowered by InsaneJournal
I think Snape is somewhat similar, but he never asked for or received any promise from Dumbledore to save his life in the end. Makes his sacrifice greater, of course.
Sorry, no insane account
There are some parallels there. I'm sure that Snape, as so many others, had little idea of Voldemort's true cruelty and insanity nor about the way he treated followers. Why would he? He certainly hadn't seen him in action before joining and by then it was too late. He was in over his head. As were others who wanted to protect their way of life: who had at best thought about fighting battles, installing a new government - not slaughtering random families. Unfortunately Voldemort isn't one for accepting a notice of resignation....
And few people remember that a majority of DE-members are inherited: Malfoy senior, Wilkes senior etc. were compatriots and followers of young Riddle - their sons had little chance, being indoctrinated from the start. And they gave their unfiltered views on to uninvolved classmates like Severus, possibly even were pressed to recruit....
Other circumstances are very different: Snape never had a normal, happy life! He didn't become part of a revoltution/terrorist organization to escape boredom and society's mundane expectations.
He had no connections in a world were they are paramount, no inheritance, no marriage-prospects to elevate him in society (hello, Lily! What a coincidence that you married a rich pureblood without disapproving relatives, controlling his own fortune, and you didn't even try to qualify for a profession of some kind), came from the despised House of the Dumbeldore-era... Severus had in his mind nothing to lose and everything to gain.
The other side had actively mistreated him, even tried to murder him. He knew about muggles (unlike Lucius who probably never met one before holding them at wandpoint in service of LV) and didn't have positive experiences with their world. He only had his prodigious magical talent and his high intelligence - none of which we saw being valued by an adult able to help or mentor him.
None but Voldi - who apparently showed considerable interest, had actual conversations with Snape, allowed him liberties other followers were envious about (Bella's seething resentment!), allowed him to be less subservient than other DE. Is it any wonder Sev went with him initially and enthusiastically?
Severus did know that Lily had no problems to fall in love with the biggest bully on the playground - no matter, what she had said before about despising exactly that behaviour. Potter could earnestly threaten top hex her (!) and still be fanciable as a wealthy pureblood. Why shouldn't she come around for Severus, if HE became powerful and respected? Just because it was a cause against Muggleborns, so long as she and her family were protected? Why would she care, as she certainly didn't in Potter's case.
Until book 7, that was for me the big mystery - why would he believe a muggleborn Lily could be impressed with his glory in the new DE-world order. Afterward it was sadly obvious why he thought so.
And then he lived with the reality of Voldemort and his slowly evolving goals and insanity. And was trapped, even before Lily was in danger. Like Regulus too. In some ways the firing squad might have been a kinder fate....
Re: Sorry, no insane account
I agree with the general message, but we actually don't know about these particular examples. We know there were a Lestrange and an Avery in the same gathering of students with Horace (just before Tom asked about Horcruxes). We don't know for certain they became DEs though in the following generation we have the Lestrange brothers and Avery Jr. Then we have the DEs who waited at the Hog's head during Tom's job interview - of these we have the names Dolohov, Nott, Mulciber and Rosier. Of these we don't know of any family for Dolohov, Nott had a son in Harry's year (interview-canon is that Not Sr was an elderly widower so perhaps he married late). Mulciber and Rosier had sons close to Severus' age. We know Rosier Jr was killed by Aurors so this was probably Evan Rosier who was killed by Moody. (The fate of Rosier Sr is unknown.) It isn't clear if the Mulciber who was described by Igor Karkaroff as one who specialized in Imperius was the father or the son. The fate of the other isn't known either.
Re: Sorry, no insane account
Obviously not all DEs mirror the next generation completely, nor have all DEs likely children to pass the servitude on. Children you don't have can't be handed into service. <= If they could, Bella would have found a way, I'm sure! After a few years in Voldi's service I in contrast would have definitely been fanatically devoted in matters of birth control ^_^
Given how few inner circle DEs we actually know by name (and likely there simply aren't many: JKR after all mostly shows a few dozen fighters on every side) there are a rather large number among those which come up again in later generations and are clearly relatives. So to me it seems that Voldemort does inherit a significant part of his followers: from contemporary to 70s-generation, as well from 70s to 90s-generation.
Theo: I try not to think about DH in general, so am not sure if he was mentioned due to reading it just once completely.... But my impression from the one in mention in OotP and JKR's interview (a clever loner with his own views who doesn't feel the need to join gangs) was that Theodore Nott certainly wasn't a junior DE. Didn't hang around Malfoy and co., no fights with Harry, no "die, mudbloods, die!"-cries or anything like that. I hoped he'd be ~one~ Slytherin with DE-ties who actually escaped the whole thing. Or did he too became ever so evil in DH? Because, you know, blood will out in Rowling's world.... *eyeroll*