Social Correlates of Hogwarts Houses

[nitalynx]

No: HPFGUIDX 174970

Lupinlore wrote:

<snip>
> I'd like
> to explore the idea of whether the houses line up with social groups.
<snip><super-snip>

Nita:

Oh, I like this idea! And I think you drew the parallels the way JKR
herself would :) But I'd like to do some independent exploration based
exclusively on the criteria declared by the Sorting Hat. Let's see...

-Gryffindors-

"You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;"
"By Gryffindor, the bravest were
Prized far beyond the rest;"
"Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name,""
"While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor,"
 
So, it's bravery, daring, nerve, chivalry and boldness.

I agree that these people are great to have around in dangerous
situations, but I don't think they make good leaders in general.
Firstly because they would tend to get restless and irritable during a
long peacetime, and secondly because rushing headlong into danger
sometimes results in bad consequences for everyone involved.

Thus, we get the archetypally perfect soldiers and firefighters, but
also brawling football fans, street racers and crusaders of all sorts.

Non-HP fictional example: the Spartans in 300.


-Hufflepuffs-

"You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;"
"For Hufflepuff, hard workers were
Most worthy of admission;"
"Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same.""
"Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,"

Ideally, a 'Puff is just, loyal, patient, true and hard-working (wow,
isn't that an impressive set?), but the founder of the house valued
equal treatment, so they also accept the kids who don't match anyone's
demands.

I'd say these are the people who get most of the work done in any
given society, simply because they go ahead and do it, instead of
waiting for something more heroic, intellectually stimulating or
rewarding to come up. So, yes, various kinds of hard work, but the
more glamorous varieties are usually taken by the other three types.

That means clerks, paediatricians, caretakers, teachers, factory
workers, lower-level administrators, farmers, stay-at-home mothers,
and so on, and so forth, I suppose.

Non-HP fictional example: hobbits, I guess - or at least Sam :)
(btw, I think this personality type is rather underappreciated in fiction)


-Ravenclaws-

"Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;"
"For Ravenclaw, the cleverest
Would always be the best;"
"Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest.""
"And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw"

So, a steady mind, wit, learning, cleverness, intelligence - all
things brain-related.

Hmm, why artists? Of course, all sorts of intellectual snobs, these
days also known as geeks and nerds, fit very nicely in here. And many
of them would very much like the world to go away and leave them alone
with their pet theories / experiments / creations / objects of research :)

Thus, we get scientists, highly specialized experts (not necessarily
good or useful ones), conspiracy theorists, critics, and a whole lot
of folks who know they're working below their intellectual capacity
and rant about daily frustrations in various blogs ;)

Non-HP fictional example: any genius detective, any mad scientist.


And, finally...

-Slytherins-

"Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends."
"And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition."
"Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest.""
"For instance, Slytherin
Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,"

Well. Cunning, using any means to achieve one's ends, ambition and
blood purity (though, evidently, half-bloods are OK?).

Minus the ancestry bit, these are the right qualities for a leader:
the military strategist type (see Sun Tzu's "Art of War"), the power
behind the throne type, or the modern clever manager type. They are
also the qualities that drive progress the most, IMO. Developing and
implementing new ideas requires the efforts of very motivated
individuals. I'm not one of them, but I do appreciate their contribution.

So, what keeps a Slyth from being completely OFH and against the rest
of us? It seems that in Potterverse this mysterious power lies in
family ties (the Malfoys), True Love (Snape) or the "old boy network"
(Slughorn). Note how two of those are supported by valuing blood
purity. None of them applied to Tom Riddle, hence the birth of LV.

Once we have our society populated by the required number of heroes,
workers and thinkers, the Slytherin types are the ones who can get all
these people to work together and actually achieve something, be it
survival or victory. The trick is to get them to care about that :)

Non-HP fictional example: the Corleones in "The Godfather" (strong
family ties here), practically all central characters in "Pirates of
the Caribbean" (there's love and friendship, and there's plain old
OFHness, but everybody's doing it, so nobody seems to mind)



Nita, who also recommends this essay:
http://community.livejournal.com/lightning_war/491.html