I had hoped

[Maybo]

I can't stop staring at Shane. The flash of anger has faded and now he's hanging his head. I knew he was kind of a wild kid in middle school, but I had hoped now that after joining the football team, he kept his nose clean. But maybe Tim is right. Maybe he is a bully.

Source: The Inmate by Freida McFadden

Why is “had hoped” used instead of “hoped”?

 

[emsr2d2]

Before he joined the football team, the writer hoped that joining the football team would make him behave better. He has now joined the football team, so "hoped" becomes "had hoped" to make it clear that they're talking about how they felt before he joined the team.

 

[EngLearner]

Does "had hoped" also indicate that the speaker is expressing disappointment, i.e., that their hopes didn't come true? If the opposite is the case, as in this text:

I can't stop staring at Shane. He's doing much better now. I knew he was kind of a wild kid in middle school, but I hoped that after joining the football team, he kept his nose clean. And I was right. Tim, his coach, has been telling me great things about him. He says Shane is going to make it big one day if he keeps up his pace.

Should the simple past "I hoped" or the past perfect "I had hoped" be used?

 

[emsr2d2]

The use of "but" is more likely to be followed by the fact that that hope wasn't fulfilled but that's not necessarily the case.
The oddest thing about the sentence is the use of "he kept his nose clean" (and the inclusion of "now"). I would expect to see "I had hoped that, after joining the football team, he would keep his nose clean".

 

[jutfrank]

Does "had hoped" also indicate that the speaker is expressing disappointment, i.e., that their hopes didn't come true?

Often, yes.