Hogwarts is divided into four houses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff. The houses compete throughout the school year, by earning and losing points for various events, for the House Cup. Each house also has its own Quidditch team that competes for the Quidditch Cup. These two competitions breed rivalries between the houses, the greatest of which is that between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Houses at Hogwarts are the living and learning communities for their students. Each year, year level groups of every separate house share the same dormitory and classes. The dormitory and common room of a House are, barring rare exceptions, inaccessible to students belonging to other Houses.
In the early day of Hogwarts, the four founders handpicked students for their Houses. When the founders worried how students would be selected after their deaths, Godric Gryffindor took his hat off and they each added knowledge in it, allowing the Sorting Hat to choose the students by judging each student's qualities and placing them in the most appropriate house. The student's own choices may affect the decision: the clearest example is the Hat telling Harry that he would do well in Slytherin in the first book, but ultimately selecting Gryffindor after Harry asks it not to put him in Slytherin.
Gryffindor
Gryffindor values courage, daring, nerve and chivalry above all else. Its mascot is the lion, and its colours are scarlet and gold. According to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.
Though Gryffindor is commonly regarded as the 'good' house, not all Gryffindors are 'good'. Cormac McLaggen is the negative qualities of Gryffindor personified. He is bad-tempered, arrogant, and does not like it when he does not get his own way. He does not like the fact that Ron beat him at keeper tryouts, and does not admit defeat easily. Romilda Vane is another example. She is underhanded, and displays a deceptive and devious nature by trying unsuccessfully to ply Harry with love potion. On the Hogwarts Express she is somewhat condescending towards Neville and Luna Lovegood. However, both Cormac and Romilda certainly are bold, and show confidence, two very Gryffindor qualities, and were therefore sorted into the house. The legitimacy of Peter Pettigrew to join Gryffindor is, however, highly doubtful. He displays nothing but cowardice and obsequiousness throughout the series, and is the only known Gryffindor Death Eater.
The Gryffindor common room is located in one of the castle's highest towers, the entrance to which is located on the seventh floor in the east wing of the castle and is guarded by a painting of The Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress. She permits entry only after being given the correct password, except for in the sixth book, where she permitted entry to Harry after he told her that Dumbledore had died.
Hufflepuff
Hufflepuff, founded by Helga Hufflepuff, values hard work, loyalty, tolerance, and fair play above all else. The house mascot is the badger, and canary yellow and black are its colours. According to Rowling, Hufflepuff corresponds roughly to the element of earth. The Hufflepuff dormitories and common room are located somewhere in the basement (corresponding to earth), their entrance found through a still-life painting that is somewhere near the kitchens. You must give a password to the painting to enter. The Hufflepuff common room is filled with yellow hangings and fat armchairs and it has little underground tunnels leading to the dormitories, all of which have perfectly round doors, like barrel tops (very much like a badger sett).
Ravenclaw
Ravenclaw values intelligence, creativity, wit, and wisdom. "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure" is an oft-repeated Ravenclaw proverb.[HP5][HP7] The house mascot is an eagle, the house colours are blue and bronze (changed to blue and silver in the movies). According to Rowling, Ravenclaw corresponds roughly to the element of air.
The dormitories are located in Ravenclaw Tower on the west side of the school. The common room, which went undescribed in the series until the climax of Deathly Hallows, is round and filled with blue hangings and fat armchairs, has a domed ceiling painted with stars, and also features a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing her diadem. Harry also notes that, by day, the Ravenclaws 'would have a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains'. A logical riddle must be solved in order to gain entry, whereas the Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin common rooms only require a password.
Slytherin
Like Salazar Slytherin, its founder, Slytherin house values ambition, cunning, resourcefulness, and pure blood heritage. Most Slytherin students display a high level of Machiavellianism. The book also suggests that the hunger for power is a characteristic of Slytherins. The animal representing Slytherin is the serpent, and the house's colours are green and silver. According to Rowling, Slytherin corresponds roughly to the element of water. The Slytherin dormitories and common room are reached through a bare stone wall in the dungeons. The Slytherin common room is a long, low, dungeon-style room, located under the Hogwarts Lake, furnished with green lamps, and carved armchairs.
Harry developed a negative view of Slytherin and asked the Sorting Hat not to place him in that house because of its sinister reputation. Hagrid told him, "There isn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin." This seems to be an exaggeration on Hagrid's part, as at the time, he believed that Sirius Black, a Gryffindor, was a follower of Voldemort (ironically the true perpetrator of Black's crimes was Wormtail, another Gryffindor). Still, Slytherin House seems to have attracted more evil wizards than any other house, including Voldemort himself and almost all of his supporters. However, Slytherin itself is not evil; it is just that having ambition as a core quality results in a disproportionate amount of self-important, competitive students. There are some good Slytherins such as Horace Slughorn, Phineas Nigellus Black, Andromeda Tonks, Regulus Black, and Severus Snape (although his allegiances are unclear until the seventh book).
The Sorting Hat claims that blood purity is a factor in selecting Slytherins, although this is not mentioned until the fifth book. There is no reason to believe, however, that Muggle-born students are not sorted there, merely that pure-blooded students are more desirable to that house, as there are several examples of half-bloods in the house (Snape and Voldemort). In Deathly Hallows, a group of Snatchers claim that "not many Mudbloods" are sorted into Slytherin, which suggests that while Muggle-born Slytherins may be uncommon, they are not unknown.
When believing Harry to be dead and thinking that he has final victory in his grasp, Voldemort proclaims his intention to abolish the other three houses and force all Hogwarts students into Slytherin. This design is foiled by his defeat and death, after which Slytherin becomes more diluted in its blood purity, no longer the pureblood bastion it once was. Its dark reputation, however, does linger.
No comments:
Post a Comment