You know, I've seen a headcanon before where someone argued that more or less everybody in Gryffindor is in there because they chose to be (because you "choose" to be brave or bold), and a number of Gryffindors easily represent other Houses.
Hermione could have been a Ravenclaw, this we know; she'd have fit right in with them. Harry though was also offered Slytherin (we literally know this from his Sorting Hat scene in book one) and CHOSE Gryffindor. Neville could have been a Hufflepuff and nobody would bat an eye. Even Ron shows shades of other Houses; he actually shows strategic skills on par with a Ravenclaw (the chess thing), for instance, and has the easygoing personality of a Hufflepuff to boot. But his whole familiy, notice, are Gryffindors - he'd be the strange one, the odd one out, if he hadn't been, wouldn't he?
They're in Gryffindor because they CHOSE to be.
Of course, there's something to deconstruct this, which is that members of the other Houses have shown bravery as well, but I think it's a matter of "which is your normal priority?" Or more key: what was your normal priority starting at age 11, since they're sorted as children.
Slytherins seem to prioritize ambition (or purebloodedness, depending on the era), while Gryffindor would say nuts to your career if it means doing "the right thing". (Harry CHOSE not to be an "evil" wizard - that was his perception of Slytherin House, remember? He was told every Dark Wizard ever had come from Slytherin, and actively asked the hat not to put him there after hearing that). Those who are "suited" for Slytherin are either buying into their parents' racist ideologies (or pretending to at least) or they're already ambitious to some extent. At age 11.
Ravenclaws priortize book-learning and cleverness and intellect, while a Gryffindor might say there are more important things than JUST knowledge. (Hermione is the nerdiest of nerds, and is uncomfortable with disorder and comfortable with plans, but when she sees an injustice, her passion can actually jump ahead of those sides of her - see for example, the way she clumsily created SPEW, without taking into account the complexity of the House Elves' situation or for that matter stopping to think about the acronym. That's her CHOICE to act against injustice though, she CHOOSES that path). Again, this is at age 11.
Hufflepuffs place an emphasis on hard work and (allegedly) tolerance, or at least, acceptance of "all the rest" implies the House values are more flexible...they're also the largest House by population, if I'm not mistaken. Their members show the widest variety of personalities, in my opinion, probably because outside of the "earnest and hardworking" types that are supposedly encouraged, they're basically just...people. Everybody who didn't fit in at the whopping age of 11, who didn't have a concrete love of intellect, or ambition, or bravery/boldness yet, who maybe didn't yet know who they were (again, this might be why they're the biggest House). When the chips are down though, many of them do prove to be decent folks, and to hear the Sorting Hat talk of it, Helga Hufflepuff would have approved of earnest, hardworking, good people like Neville (even though he's in Gryffindor, do you see why I say he could have as easily been in Hufflepuff?)
But Cedric Diggory was brave and honorable, and he was still a Hufflepuff. Others in Hufflepuff, particularly during the Triwizard Tournmanet arc, were cruel or judgmental, others have seemed nice. Plenty of them, by the seventh in-universe year, were brave enough to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. People change and shift and I think Hufflepuff has interesting potential because it DOESN'T place such heavy emphasis on a specific value or trait; instead of re-emphasizing that in the child for the next seven years, if you think about it, Hufflepuffs just...kind of grow up into all sorts of people. It's entirely possible many Hufflepuffs were in that House precisely because at the young age they were Sorted at, their answer to "what's your most important value" was "I don't know yet". Which at age 11, is not unreasonable.
But Gryffindors? Gryffindors were never that indecisive; they've been bold, brave, CHOSE that path, from age 11. Just like Ravenclaws chose theirs and Slytherins theirs.
Man, now I want to see a book from a Hufflepuff perspective. Exploring what it means to be "all the rest" and finding yourself, whatever that self is, much later while all the special snowflakes get attention for cleverness and bravery and ambition. Er, but I digress. Back to the original point:
Choice is a huge theme in the books. It's emphasized that Harry "chose" to take the path away from what he perceived as darkness, in contrast to Tom Riddle, who actively chose the opposite. I think the Houses, but Gryffindor in particular, are emblematic of that.
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Date: 2016-06-15 05:47 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2016-06-15 09:14 am (UTC)From:(My first DW comment is about Harry Potter. I am such a nerd pfft)
Date: 2016-07-25 04:30 pm (UTC)From:Hermione could have been a Ravenclaw, this we know; she'd have fit right in with them. Harry though was also offered Slytherin (we literally know this from his Sorting Hat scene in book one) and CHOSE Gryffindor. Neville could have been a Hufflepuff and nobody would bat an eye. Even Ron shows shades of other Houses; he actually shows strategic skills on par with a Ravenclaw (the chess thing), for instance, and has the easygoing personality of a Hufflepuff to boot. But his whole familiy, notice, are Gryffindors - he'd be the strange one, the odd one out, if he hadn't been, wouldn't he?
They're in Gryffindor because they CHOSE to be.
Of course, there's something to deconstruct this, which is that members of the other Houses have shown bravery as well, but I think it's a matter of "which is your normal priority?" Or more key: what was your normal priority starting at age 11, since they're sorted as children.
Slytherins seem to prioritize ambition (or purebloodedness, depending on the era), while Gryffindor would say nuts to your career if it means doing "the right thing". (Harry CHOSE not to be an "evil" wizard - that was his perception of Slytherin House, remember? He was told every Dark Wizard ever had come from Slytherin, and actively asked the hat not to put him there after hearing that). Those who are "suited" for Slytherin are either buying into their parents' racist ideologies (or pretending to at least) or they're already ambitious to some extent. At age 11.
Ravenclaws priortize book-learning and cleverness and intellect, while a Gryffindor might say there are more important things than JUST knowledge. (Hermione is the nerdiest of nerds, and is uncomfortable with disorder and comfortable with plans, but when she sees an injustice, her passion can actually jump ahead of those sides of her - see for example, the way she clumsily created SPEW, without taking into account the complexity of the House Elves' situation or for that matter stopping to think about the acronym. That's her CHOICE to act against injustice though, she CHOOSES that path). Again, this is at age 11.
Hufflepuffs place an emphasis on hard work and (allegedly) tolerance, or at least, acceptance of "all the rest" implies the House values are more flexible...they're also the largest House by population, if I'm not mistaken. Their members show the widest variety of personalities, in my opinion, probably because outside of the "earnest and hardworking" types that are supposedly encouraged, they're basically just...people. Everybody who didn't fit in at the whopping age of 11, who didn't have a concrete love of intellect, or ambition, or bravery/boldness yet, who maybe didn't yet know who they were (again, this might be why they're the biggest House). When the chips are down though, many of them do prove to be decent folks, and to hear the Sorting Hat talk of it, Helga Hufflepuff would have approved of earnest, hardworking, good people like Neville (even though he's in Gryffindor, do you see why I say he could have as easily been in Hufflepuff?)
But Cedric Diggory was brave and honorable, and he was still a Hufflepuff. Others in Hufflepuff, particularly during the Triwizard Tournmanet arc, were cruel or judgmental, others have seemed nice. Plenty of them, by the seventh in-universe year, were brave enough to participate in the Battle of Hogwarts. People change and shift and I think Hufflepuff has interesting potential because it DOESN'T place such heavy emphasis on a specific value or trait; instead of re-emphasizing that in the child for the next seven years, if you think about it, Hufflepuffs just...kind of grow up into all sorts of people. It's entirely possible many Hufflepuffs were in that House precisely because at the young age they were Sorted at, their answer to "what's your most important value" was "I don't know yet". Which at age 11, is not unreasonable.
But Gryffindors? Gryffindors were never that indecisive; they've been bold, brave, CHOSE that path, from age 11. Just like Ravenclaws chose theirs and Slytherins theirs.
Man, now I want to see a book from a Hufflepuff perspective. Exploring what it means to be "all the rest" and finding yourself, whatever that self is, much later while all the special snowflakes get attention for cleverness and bravery and ambition. Er, but I digress. Back to the original point:
Choice is a huge theme in the books. It's emphasized that Harry "chose" to take the path away from what he perceived as darkness, in contrast to Tom Riddle, who actively chose the opposite. I think the Houses, but Gryffindor in particular, are emblematic of that.
Re: (My first DW comment is about Harry Potter. I am such a nerd pfft)
Date: 2016-07-26 05:53 pm (UTC)From:Re: (My first DW comment is about Harry Potter. I am such a nerd pfft)
Date: 2016-07-28 05:43 am (UTC)From:Re: (My first DW comment is about Harry Potter. I am such a nerd pfft)
Date: 2016-07-30 06:02 am (UTC)From: