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conuly
A lot of people have commented disparagingly on the implied "ranking" of the various houses: Clearly, they say, Gryffindor is considered the best, followed by Ravenclaw, then Hufflepuff, then Slytherin, unless you happen to be in Slytherin, and what does being told you're not in the best house do to your precious self-esteem?
Except that this is the viewpoint of a bunch of kids who all ended up in Gryffindor. As I've said before, I'm firmly of the belief that children are sorted into the houses they want to be in. Now, I think this is what makes them who they grow up to be, unlike Dumbledore, who seems to think it just shows who they're going to grow up to be, but that's just a side-conversation.
How do we know that all the other houses have the same ranking system? We know that one kid, impressed at Hermione's knowledge of an advanced spell, was surprised she wasn't in Ravenclaw - clearly, to his mind, his house is best. Hufflepuff is a load of duffers? Maybe - or maybe that's just the view of all the people who aren't Hufflepuffs, and they view themselves differently, the people who support the school. Slytherin means you're gonna be evil? Do the Slytherins know that? Maybe that's a prejudice handed down by the other houses, but as far as they're concerned, they're just interested in 1. being smart and making connections and 2. preserving wizarding traditions, unlike those who'd give up everything they had in order to go with the new.
Maybe they even rank the other houses not just lower than their own houses, but lower than we'd expect. Maybe the Hufflepuffs think that Gryffindors are all irritable, impractical, and flashy - no use to anybody.
Why do we assume that because Harry and his friends, who are Gryffindors think that their house is the best, that means that every other student in the school agrees with the assessment?
Except that this is the viewpoint of a bunch of kids who all ended up in Gryffindor. As I've said before, I'm firmly of the belief that children are sorted into the houses they want to be in. Now, I think this is what makes them who they grow up to be, unlike Dumbledore, who seems to think it just shows who they're going to grow up to be, but that's just a side-conversation.
How do we know that all the other houses have the same ranking system? We know that one kid, impressed at Hermione's knowledge of an advanced spell, was surprised she wasn't in Ravenclaw - clearly, to his mind, his house is best. Hufflepuff is a load of duffers? Maybe - or maybe that's just the view of all the people who aren't Hufflepuffs, and they view themselves differently, the people who support the school. Slytherin means you're gonna be evil? Do the Slytherins know that? Maybe that's a prejudice handed down by the other houses, but as far as they're concerned, they're just interested in 1. being smart and making connections and 2. preserving wizarding traditions, unlike those who'd give up everything they had in order to go with the new.
Maybe they even rank the other houses not just lower than their own houses, but lower than we'd expect. Maybe the Hufflepuffs think that Gryffindors are all irritable, impractical, and flashy - no use to anybody.
Why do we assume that because Harry and his friends, who are Gryffindors think that their house is the best, that means that every other student in the school agrees with the assessment?
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:32 pm (UTC)I'm also of the mind thar Slytherin is not as bad as people would like to think. Sure, bad wizards come from there, but who says all of them are bad? There has to be good there, just like there has to be bad in Gryffindor. JMO, of course.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:35 pm (UTC)I rather like Slytherin, too, for the same reasons as you. Had I not been a Ravenclaw, I'd have ended up a Slytherin, I think.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:40 pm (UTC)i'm sure every other student doesn't. there are probably some who are at least curious what would've happened had they been sorted elsewhere; what's odd is that no one seems to actively wish, after teh first couple of weeks or so at most, to wish to be in a different house at all. for the most part, they've all bought into house loyalty; they cheer on their house in school events.
speaking of loyalty, for me, the hufflepuff thing seems wishy-washy. i wish we had more fleshed-out hufflepuffs to explain why loyalty is a virtue worthy of its own house, separate from gryffindor bravery. i mean, yes, ernie macmillan standing up for harry springs to mind, but what about the rest of ernie's personality? and clearly, luna's different kind of wisdom is not reflective of all ravenclaws (see cho; see padma). but booksmarts is enough of a separate concept that we can say someone is smart without implying them being brave, or someone is brave without implying them being smart to boot.
but when you say someone is loyal ... how loyal? loyal to their friends? loyal to a code of honor? will they do gryffindorically foolish yet brave things to fulfill their need to feel loyal?
as for the green and black, granted, based on my own biases, i tend to think of your generic slytherin as a young republican (and not the earnest alex-keaton-style one, either), so *snicker*
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:51 pm (UTC)Short and to the point :)
Date: 2005-10-06 10:51 pm (UTC)Because fandom is stupid.
Re: Short and to the point :)
Date: 2005-10-06 10:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:32 pm (UTC)I'm also of the mind thar Slytherin is not as bad as people would like to think. Sure, bad wizards come from there, but who says all of them are bad? There has to be good there, just like there has to be bad in Gryffindor. JMO, of course.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:35 pm (UTC)I rather like Slytherin, too, for the same reasons as you. Had I not been a Ravenclaw, I'd have ended up a Slytherin, I think.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:40 pm (UTC)i'm sure every other student doesn't. there are probably some who are at least curious what would've happened had they been sorted elsewhere; what's odd is that no one seems to actively wish, after teh first couple of weeks or so at most, to wish to be in a different house at all. for the most part, they've all bought into house loyalty; they cheer on their house in school events.
speaking of loyalty, for me, the hufflepuff thing seems wishy-washy. i wish we had more fleshed-out hufflepuffs to explain why loyalty is a virtue worthy of its own house, separate from gryffindor bravery. i mean, yes, ernie macmillan standing up for harry springs to mind, but what about the rest of ernie's personality? and clearly, luna's different kind of wisdom is not reflective of all ravenclaws (see cho; see padma). but booksmarts is enough of a separate concept that we can say someone is smart without implying them being brave, or someone is brave without implying them being smart to boot.
but when you say someone is loyal ... how loyal? loyal to their friends? loyal to a code of honor? will they do gryffindorically foolish yet brave things to fulfill their need to feel loyal?
as for the green and black, granted, based on my own biases, i tend to think of your generic slytherin as a young republican (and not the earnest alex-keaton-style one, either), so *snicker*
no subject
Date: 2005-10-06 10:51 pm (UTC)Short and to the point :)
Date: 2005-10-06 10:51 pm (UTC)Because fandom is stupid.
Re: Short and to the point :)
Date: 2005-10-06 10:58 pm (UTC)