How Sorting works (was...Slytherins are Bad)

[julie]

No: HPFGUIDX 183425


> 
> Alla:
>  But Ravenclaws are sorted for intellect, are they not? Have no book
> with me and I believe it can be intepreted as high academical
> achievement. And I found out that the saying that talent is 99% work
> and only 1% of gift has a lot of truth in it.
> 
> Magpie:
> I've always thought it sorted more on values. Hermione, for 
instance, 
> has perfect grades, but she values other things more. Her intellect 
> is mostly only important for the kind of changes she wants to make 
in 
> the world--her fighting for others, which is more about bravery.
> 
> But as a better example, there's Neville. Neville seems quite timid 
> when he first comes to Hogwarts. His courage "grade" would be low. 
> But he probably values bravery, and like many people, he eventually 
> becomes what he admires. The fact that he's scared a lot at 11 
> doesn't keep him from being a Gryffindor. Peter, too, must have 
> valued bravery, even if he eventually failed at being brave. (I 
tend 
> to think of Lockhart as a Gryffindor too.)
> 

Julie:
This is exactly how I see the Sorting too. It also helps tie
in with the implication that where the child desires to be
sorted (or not sorted--"Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin!") is a 
critical component in the Sorting Hat's decision-making
process. I've generally thought of the four houses in the
sense of what the child/person most wants out of life:

Gryffindor: to be admired
Hufflepuff: To belong
Ravenclaw: To be right
Slytherin: to win

As you say, Magpie, this explains Neville, Hermione, and
Peter all being in Gryffindor, Snape being in Slytherin
(as his strongest asset in the end was courage rather than
ambition), Percy being in Gryffindor, etc, etc. It's still
not perfect (why wasn't Remus in Hufflepuff for instance,
when there wasn't anyone else in the books who would do
so much--or so little--to avoid being on the outside looking
in). But it works better than the children having certain
inborn traits like loyalty, or courage, or ambition, or
intellect (which, IMO, all come in so many forms it's hard
to call them set personality traits, like shyness or 
recklessness might be).

Julie, who likes most to be right, and recognizes that this
is an equally good and bad thing, as are all desires depending
on how we pursue and express them.