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We both found it really interesting to think about the other side of this situation. Harry is so starved for attention, that his best friend for life is literally the first person he meets on the train for Hogwarts. Was this just because it was Ron or could it easily have been Neville, or Lee Jordan, or even Draco Malfoy? He trusts and admires Hagrid at face value, because he is the one that came to rescue him from the Dursleys.
Sometimes fate needs a little push, eh. But your points about Harry and Ron are striking. Harry and Ron are a lot alike and that draws them together but it could have gone a myriad of other ways. It could have been any family in the train station that helped the little orphan boy, not necessarily the opposite end of the spectrum like the Malfoy’s but any old normal non-snobbish Wizarding family. Speaking of fate, at some point we should talk about how magic works in this world. There are two ways magic can manifest, I suppose, in fantasy. It can be a general tool but without any sort of agency of its own. It doesn’t act on the world by itself and without a human aid and it doesn’t get regarded or elevated in religious terms (or ascribed to a godhead). Then there’s the other way in which magic does act on the world, it can break the fourth wall and cause X to happen because it needs X to happen. Obviously, there is no conversation in universe about gods but I do wonder if magic *acts* on this world (and yes, I’m taking JKR out of this equation. She’s the god here but she exists in our world and not within the characters world). Making sure the Weasley’s walked by at just that moment, making sure Ron ended up in Harry’s train car, making sure Hermione walked into Ron and Harry’s car just in time to have a conversation about magic that left a lasting impression on all three. Just another thing I’m thinking about.
We noticed that as well. How convenient it was for Harry to be abandoned essentially by the Dursleys, only to have the Weasleys show up immediately after. Coincidence? Fate? Or just storytelling. All of them are adequate answers. And to Jo’s point, I absolutely don’t think that Harry would have like Draco, much less have BFF’d him. The Malfoy’s are much too like the Dursleys for him, but the opposing side was a real rabbit hole of possibilities. Essentially, with different decisions, Harry could have ended up being the new Tom Riddle You-Know-Who. The similarities are there for a reason.
And speaking of You-Know-Who, a thought we had yesterday that I’ll throw out there (and it may be too early but keep this in the back of your mind while we read): Do you think Dumbledore did the opposite with Harry, hoping for a different outcome? We’ve already asked why he didn’t come to fetch him himself, could that have been a motivation?
[adrotate group="5"]Keeper of the Cheshire Cat’s smile, Baelfire’s sword, Snow’s backpack, Robin Hood’s bow, Ariel’s purse, Ariel’s smile, Henry’s heart, Belle’s shoe collection
Storytelling is always an acceptable answer. And yes, I say this as the girl who yells PLOT at people on this site when they question why A and E have X happen. But I do recognize that the author, in their god like way, needs stuff to advance so the heroes and characters often get (sometimes overly) convenient plot gifts.
JKR needs to get Harry on that train or his journey to self actualization and his own hero journey are literally stuck. So enter a wizarding family who will tell him to cross the barrier. JKR made it the Weasley’s because Harry needs some friends and needs a real family to replace his pseudo-family in the Dursley’s. Harry needs a friend who is a know it all book learner so insert a sort of Wunderkind in Miss Granger. (gosh, she reminds me of Wesley Crusher in this chapter. Know it all, overbearing, annoying, and sort of uppity…but humanized once you look past her rather haughty fast talking)
But in universe a lot of life altering (but not necessarily mythos altering) things happen in this chapter. Harry’s first friend; Harry’s first real taste of freedom; Harry’s first taste of family. Those things do not necessarily change the mythological structure of the Harry Potter Saga. He’s still Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, with or without Ron and he is still destined to “do a thing” with or without Hermione. The developments in this chapter are of a personal level and it’s as if the universe knew that Harry would need something besides his hero archetype so it placed in his way certain helpmates.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"I want to take a minute to discuss some food for thought, literally. This also happens to be the chapter that introduces use to the unique food of Harry Potter’s world. There’s the Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Cauldron Cakes, and Pumpkin Pasties. I’m sure many of use craved wanting to try these foods for ourselves, to the extant that the fans created homemade recipes. Many of which you can find on Mugglenet: http://www.mugglenet.com/fans-fun/rosmertas-recipes/
Of course official versions of these products would eventually come out, the first I recall being Bertie Bott’s. I still recall the first time I tried them, and it was quite the experience. Gross flavors and all. Many real life versions of these products would be produced for Universal Studio’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. As someone who has been there in person, I can tell you how amazing it was to try Butterbeer, as approved by Rowling herself. The Butterbeer is one of the biggest draws to the park, as it is a beverage every Harry Potter fan has always wanted to drink, and this is only place you can drink it authentically. Though you can find some pretty close copycat recipes on the web, if you look hard enough.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to convey is that Rowling was so thorough with her world building that even the food got us invested. It invited us into Harry’s Wizarding world, and gave us a closer look into the Wizarding culture. If any of you have your own experiences with Harry Potter food and beverages, feel free to share. Whether you tried any of the official products, or made some home made versions at home for a Harry Potter party.
Anyway, the point I’m trying to convey is that Rowling was so thorough with her world building that even the food got us invested.
Excellent point! Without proper, intriguing, and consistent world building, the reader isn’t going to care about the characters and the plot because none of it feels real enough.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"What do you think would have happened if the Malfoys met Harry at the platform instead of the Weasleys? What if Draco had sat in Harry’s compartment instead of Ron?&
I think Harry could have just as easily have become best friends with a boy like Dean Thomas or Seamus Finnigan, or perhaps even Neville Longbottom. The fact that Harry just happens to meet the Weasleys first, and in particular, Ron, is just down to luck (or rather, author’s intent). The fact that Harry finds companionship with Ron is probably down to both boys bonding over Ron being from a wizarding family and being able to explain everything magical to Harry, Harry buying Ron lots of magic frogs, Harry’s fame, and the shared new adventure of going off to school together; those are the things that help to solidify their friendship. It is also the fact that in Ron Harry finds someone who, much like him, who is a bit of an odd ball. Harry is used to being picked on and feeling less than noticed, much like Ron, who is the next-to-youngest boy in his family. Harry likes the feeling of simply being able to do something nice for someone else like buying him candy. Up until a month ago, Harry had also had to wear hand-me-downs and had never had any money, similar to Ron. Harry likes the feeling of having something to share with someone for the first time in his entire life. Ron, in turn, gains notoriety by being friends with Harry. Ron even gets to explain everything magical to the famous Harry Potter. They’re 11-years-old, so things like having a famous friend who happens to know next to noting about being a wizard makes Ron feel special, especially because he’s number 6 of 7 children in a rather remarkable wizarding family.
Would Harry have become friends with Draco Malfoy had Draco sat next to him on the train? No, because Draco reminded Harry of Dudley straight off the bat the first time they met in Diagon Alley. Draco is as big a bully as Dudley is. The fact that Harry spent his entire life being bullied by Dudley means that Harry would not be friends with a bully like Draco is. As Harry told Draco, he knows how to spot the wrong sort for himself; Draco put down Hagrid, muggles, and Ron in front of Harry. Also, Harry would’ve really disliked the Malfoys if he’d met them first; they’re just like the snobbish, elitist, and hateful Dursleys, only in reverse. The Malfoys hate non-magical people just as much as the Dursleys hate all magical people. They’re two extremes but they have a LOT in common: hate for the other. Harry, who is used to being hated and bullied by the Dursleys, has a heart for the underdog, which is partially why he’s drawn more towards people like Ron, Hagrid, and eventually Hermione. Harry would never have gravitated to the Malfoys, especially once he got to know them and what they did to oppose his own parents.
How do you think Harry’s sudden friendship with Ron colored his view on Slytherin? Do you think it affected his decision in the next chapter?
Ron and Hagrid are just a source of information about You-Know-Who. I don’t think Harry’s viewpoint was colored or slanted as a result. He simply learned the fact that the person who had killed his parents came from a certain house. While Hagrid and Ron dislike Slytherin and who comes from it, I don’t think Harry ever would’ve gravitated towards it once he knew the truth: the person responsible for killing his parents was a product of House Slytherin. The person responsible for taking away his family and leaving him an orphan could never in 100 years be the sort of person Harry would ever hope to copy or to associate with (this isn’t some story in which characters inexplicably and suddenly become besties with their abusers/tormentors). As soon as Harry learns that Slytherin is where bad wizards come from, there was no way Harry would’ve wanted to join that house. But Harry could’ve just as easily have learned that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went there from any other wizard besides Ron Weasely. Harry could’ve even learned that fact from Draco and Harry’s repulsion to Slytherin would’ve been just as strong. Ron just happened to be from a wizarding family and was therefore able to tell him loads of information. But, like I said, anyone could’ve told Harry those facts, and Harry would’ve drawn his own conclusions about Slytherin being a pit of vipers.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
As soon as Harry learns that Slytherin is where bad wizards come from, there was no way Harry would’ve wanted to join that house
This is a logical fallacy though. It’s an unsubstantiated “fact” in Harry’s mind. Not all bad wizards come from Slytherin. And not all wizards in Slytherin go bad. It’s our choices that define us (to quote Dumbledore). A boy from Gryffindor can just as easily chose to go dark side as a boy from Slytherin can chose to be a hero. So Harry doesn’t learn anything; he is told by people with a strong prejudice against Slytherin and that influences him. If Voldemort had been from Gryffindor, but Ron wanted to go to Gryffindor because it was where his parents and siblings had been, what would Harry think then? He’s using two examples (Draco and Voldemort) to color the whole house.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"This is a logical fallacy though. It’s an unsubstantiated “fact” in Harry’s mind. Not all bad wizards come from Slytherin. And not all wizards in Slytherin go bad. It’s our choices that define us (to quote Dumbledore). A boy from Gryffindor can just as easily chose to go dark side as a boy from Slytherin can chose to be a hero. So Harry doesn’t learn anything; he is told by people with a strong prejudice against Slytherin and that influences him.
No, it’s not, because I never said all bad wizards come from Slytherin nor that all graduates of that house go bad. You’ve misread what I wrote. I said it’s a fact that one particularly bad wizard who murdered Harry’s parents belonged to Slytherin. That’s a fact in the story, and one that Harry is aware of. That is not in dispute. My claim is that Harry could’ve learned that objective fact from anyone, even Draco Malfoy, and Harry would have most likely come to the same conclusion independently. I think Harry is capable of more independent thought than he’s been given credit for here. Yes, he’s underage, he’s inexperienced and unaware of how magic works. Yet, Harry IS fully aware of human nature having been afflicted by negative experiences for his entire life. The fact that a really really evil wizard who chose to harm people and killed his parents went to Slytherin is what really dissuaded Harry from wanting to be associated with it — not just the source of that new fact (i.e. Ron and Hagrid).
If Voldemort had been from Gryffindor, but Ron wanted to go to Gryffindor because it was where his parents and siblings had been, what would Harry think then? He’s using two examples (Draco and Voldemort) to color the whole house.
If Harry had found out that Voldemort had belonged to Gryffindor, I doubt Harry would’ve wanted to belong to it. You make Harry sound incapable of independent thought. It’s true that Ron wanting to go to Gryffindor and Albus Dumbledore being an alumnus of that may house may’ve influenced Harry. Yet, had Voldemort also belonged to that house, I highly doubt Harry would’ve wanted to associate with it also. Harry learned that Voldemort had killed his parents, and I think Harry, even at the tender age of 11, would’ve wanted to distance himself from that association altogether.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
No, it’s not, because I never said all bad wizards come from Slytherin nor that all graduates of that house go bad. You’ve misread what I wrote
No you….Harry. It’s bad thinking on Harry’s part–he’s being totally independent but it doesn’t mean that his logic is sound. Harry tends to color Slytherin’s with the same brush. I never said that Harry is incapable of independent thought. He is 100% capable of it. We’ll get to it next chapter but he has a ton of agency in this matter. But his choice is colored by what he’s heard from others who only give only a few very select examples of what Slytherins “are.”
The fact that a really really evil wizard who chose to harm people and killed his parents went to Slytherin is what really dissuaded Harry from wanting to be associated with it — not just the source of that new fact (i.e. Ron and Hagrid).
No, I totally agree that it doesn’t really matter who told him (though, it coming from his first two real friends ever certainly doesn’t hurt because you are more inclined to believe people you like than people who rub you the wrong way) but he uses this new found fact to color the whole. That’s part of human nature too. We see one bad example of something and the culture or group from which that person comes to be representative of the whole. For example: all Terrorists are Muslims therefore all Muslims are Terrorists. We live in America; we know how prevalent THAT philosophy is, thanks in no part to the news media and their reporting tactics because we, by and large, trust our news media to be objective and not have an agenda.
If Harry had found out that Voldemort had belonged to Gryffindor, I doubt Harry would’ve wanted to belong to it. You make Harry sound incapable of independent thought.
No I’m not. I am actually just asking a question. I’m not trying to take anything away from Harry in terms of his ability to think things through. But JKR set this up specifically, I feel, for this purpose. Harry is confronted with two families or people who align differently. Voldemort/Draco = Slytherin = bad. The Weasleys = Gryffindor = good. Therefore Slytherin = bad and Gryffindor = good, without thinking that maaaaaaybe there’s something in between. That maaaaaaybe there’s more to both houses than what Harry is seeing/hearing. That’s actually a HUGE theme of this first book as a whole, the idea that things aren’t what they seem. Even without going into the big reveal at the end who is really the Big Bad, Harry embodies that very idea. It’s being cast in very simplistic terms in Harry’s head, granted because of his traumatic past, but simplistic nonetheless.
The question I asked is two fold. Voldemort and the Weaselys end up in Gryffindor. Harry is now presented with a conundrum. The villain who killed his family (bad) and the family who just “adopted” and helped him (good) both belong to the same House. In other words, the house you belong to must not define the kid of person you are destined to become. He sees that a house can produce both. But, like I said, JKR set it up so that it seems black and white (or green and red) when the whole series–but specifically this matter–is anything but.
Independent thought doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of being wrong in your thought. If anything it means you have the capability to be wrong (or perhaps a better word here is narrow minded) more often.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"My original point was about what motivated 11-year-old Harry to distance himself from the house that produced his parents’ murderer. Let’s suppose that neither Ron nor Hagrid had told Harry which house Voldemort had been in. Suppose instead that Luna Lovegood had told Harry that Voldemort was a member of House Slytherin. I’m pretty sure preteen Harry wouldn’t have wanted to be sorted into it. It doesn’t really matter who told Harry what house Voldemort was in or even which house Voldemort had been in. What mattered was the objective fact of Harry wanted nothing to do with the person who made his life wretched the day he became an orphan.
According to Hagrid, “There’s not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one.”
Rowling, J.K. (2012-03-27). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (p. 80)
True, Harry does have that information from Hagrid that there has never been a wizard who went bad who wasn’t from Slytherin. However, as mentioned, Luna Lovegood could’ve just as easily have told Harry that bit of information. We’ll just have to take Hagrid’s word for it that no other Hogwarts house has ever produced a dark wizard. (There may have been a wizard who practiced the dark arts who graduated from a Hogwarts house other than Slytherin, but I don’t know of any).
Next, here is the thing that really makes Harry not want to be like Voldemort, and by extension, to be put into Slytherin. It’s what happens in Mr. Ollivander’s shop in chapter 5. Mr. Ollivander tries several wands on Harry, but but the wand that chooses Harry isn’t just any old wand.
“I remember every wand I’ve ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar.”
Harry swallowed.
“Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. . . . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.”
Harry shivered. He wasn’t sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much.
Rowling, J.K. (2012-03-27). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Harry Potter, Book 1) (p. 85). Pottermore Limited. Kindle Edition.
From the start, Harry wants nothing to do with the type of dark magic that gave Harry that scar and took his parents from him. That is all down to Harry and his freedom of thought. I propose that it’s the event that happened in the wand shop that really puts Harry off wanting to have anything else in common with Voldemort. He already shares more in having a twin wand and a scar than is comfortable. Harry already worries about what that actually means. That fear accounts for Harry’s overwhelming desire not to be put into Slytherin, as we’ll read in the chapter 7. Harry has no idea why the twin wand of Voldemort’s wand chose Harry. What is clear, however, is that Harry is not pleased by the thought of having the twin wand of Voldemort, nor does Harry want any further association with the kind of “terrible greatness” of which Mr. Ollivander speaks.
I think that Harry’s desire to be disassociated from Slytherin has more to do with Harry’s own unspoken fears about why that particular wand chose him than it does a bias against all Slytherins or Harry meeting Ron. Harry fears the words that Mr. Olivander spoke about Harry. “The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. . . . After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great.” Harry may not know much about magic yet, but he is clearheaded and discerning enough to know that he doesn’t want to be the sort of wizard that Voldemort turned out to be — the kind who does terrible, but great things.
The question I asked is two fold. Voldemort and the Weaselys end up in Gryffindor. Harry is now presented with a conundrum. The villain who killed his family (bad) and the family who just “adopted” and helped him (good) both belong to the same House. In other words, the house you belong to must not define the kid of person you are destined to become. He sees that a house can produce both. But, like I said, JKR set it up so that it seems black and white (or green and red) when the whole series–but specifically this matter–is anything but.
I understand where you were coming from, but I still don’t think Harry would’ve wanted to be a member of Gryffindor had Voldemort been associated with it. Harry fears being somehow connected with Voldemort after the wand incident. It might be that Harry would’ve seen the more nuanced view, but I still think the personal losses Harry suffered at Voldemort’s hands, combined with Harry’s fears about having the twin wand to Voldemort’s own wand, would’ve been enough to put him off and make him want to join say ANY house Voldemort had been part of.
Voldemort/Draco = Slytherin = bad. The Weasleys = Gryffindor = good. Therefore Slytherin = bad and Gryffindor = good, without thinking that maaaaaaybe there’s something in between. That maaaaaaybe there’s more to both houses than what Harry is seeing/hearing. That’s actually a HUGE theme of this first book as a whole, the idea that things aren’t what they seem..
I agree here. Both Professor Snape and Albus Dumbledore are prime examples of layered, complex characters who’re both more than they appear. They also just happen to be members of House Slytherin and House Gryffindor, respectively. Harry isn’t yet knowledgeable enough about Snape and Dumbledore to know their pasts. However, my point wasn’t to do with Harry failing to see that there are shades of gray and that each house can produce good wizards.
Independent thought doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of being wrong in your thought. If anything it means you have the capability to be wrong (or perhaps a better word here is narrow minded) more often.
I don’t think Harry is just being narrow-minded. It’s true he doesn’t know enough yet about Hogwarts’ houses to know that there was there could be a handful of good wizards from Slytherin. Yet, he’s also smart enough to conclude that he doesn’t want to be in that house because that is where Voldemort went. For Harry, his not wanting to be sorted into that house has less to do with unfounded prejudice against all Slytherins than it has to do with not wanting to be put in the same house where as a particularly dark wizard who killed his parents.
"That’s how you know you’ve really got a home. When you leave it, there’s this feeling that you can’t shake. You just miss it." Neal Cassidy
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Chapter 7: The Sorting Hat
Not Slytherin, eh?” said the small voice. “Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that—no? Well, if you’re sure—better be GRYFFINDOR!”
Summary
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and the other first years arrive at Hogwarts and are led into a small antechamber while they await the “Sorting Ceremony.” There is a lot of fear and trepidation about what this ceremony entails and Harry is scared that he’ll fail and be set home. The test, as it turns out, is quite simple. One of the many magical objects housed in Hogwarts is a very old, and slightly ugly, hat that when prompted opens a “mouth,” sings, and then proceeds to put each new student into one of the four houses at Hogwarts. Each house has its own symbol, set of colors, and overwhelming trait. Gryffindor is for the brave; Ravenclaw for the smart, Hufflepuff for the kind and Slytherin for the ambitious. As the list grows smaller and Harry draws closer to putting on the hat, he begins to seriously fear being put into the Slytherin house having learned previously that Voldemort was in that house and that his new “enemy,” Draco Malfoy, went into Slytherin before the Sorting Hat even touched his blonde head. When it comes time for Harry to don the cap, he engages in a silent battle of wills in which Harry begs the Hat not to put him in Slytherin, even though the Hat thinks that Harry would do very well inside the Snake House. With Harry’s mind made up that he cannot go to Slytherin, the Sorting Hat chooses Gryffindor instead, and Harry joins his new family. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also enter Gryffindor House. After a brief (and utterly mad) four word introduction from Professor Dumbledore, who is at his charming, twinkling, merry Old Wizard self, a huge meal is served and we begin to meet Harry’s new schoolmates. We also meet another professor at Hogwarts, though at a distance. Severus Snape is the Potions Master but, according to Percy Weasley, it’s the Dark Arts that Snape fancies. While watching a conversation between Snape and Professor Quirrell, Harry feels a sharp pain near his scar but ignores it. Harry and his new family are taken to the Common Rooms, located in a tower, and sent to bed. That night Harry dreams of himself wearing Professor Quirrell’s turban, with it telling him to go to Slytherin because it’s his destiny, before he hears a high cruel laugh and sees a flash of green light. When he wakes the next morning, Harry remembers nothing of this dream.
Analysis
Divergent
In 2011, Veronica Roth published her first novel in a brand new post-apocalyptic series called “Divergent.” I won’t give away the whole plot but a rough synopsis will suffice for what I am trying to illustrate. In her book, Roth sets up a world that is divided into factions. The members of these factions choose which faction they belong to on their sixteenth birthday in an elaborate ceremony. Often times, the teenager chooses to stay in the faction they were born into; but many times they choose to go with one that aligns more closely with their personality. These factions are based on certain key characteristics: abnegation, amity, dauntless, candor, and erudite and each faction takes their name from these traits. Within the society are individuals who are labeled “Divergent” meaning that they closely align with one or more faction to the point where the scientific tests run to determine where they would be happiest are inconclusive. The main heroine (and a startlingly high number of others as the novels progress) is Divergent. The main thrust of the series is really identity and that no one is one trait or the other. Everyone can be humble, peaceful, courageous, honest and smart. Humans cannot be reduced to a simple checklist.
Why am I bringing this up? Because upon re-reading I find that I am bothered by the Hogwarts sorting system. On the one hand careful and playful competition between students breeds better students because you are determined to “win” (in this case, the House Cup and bragging rights over all other houses). It is a team effort and requires all students to be on their best behavior, to be studious enough, and to be crafty enough to stay out of trouble (or at least not get caught). The system is not meant to foster hostility and my issues lies elsewhere, namely that at the tender age of 11 it is expected that a young child is self actualized enough to be placed inside a house with one or two defining characteristics, as if that student (and to be frank all students) are simply one thing or the other. Humans are not static. They grow; they evolve; they devolve even. You are not who you were at the age of 11. I’m not even who I was at the age of 25!
The Hogwarts schools are divided much like Roth’s factions. Or in colloquial terms, we might say that they are divided by cliché stereotypes. You have the nerds (Ravenclaw), the teacher’s pets (Hufflepuff), the jocks (Gryffindor), and the bad influences/losers/people you do not take home to momma (Slytherin). Many of us have discussed which house we would be sorted into should we attend Hogwarts. The conversation is often couched with “I’d hope” or “I’d think” because no matter how old we get or how well we know ourselves, we understand that, to quote Wordsworth, we “are large. And we contain multitudes.” The fact is that no one is simply brave, kind, smart, or ambitious and that is it. We are divergent. Let’s take one student as a case study, both in the real world and in the Harry Potter world.
I’ll use myself as an example for the real world. I often think that I’d be placed into Ravenclaw. I’ve always been bookish, academic, and smart. I’ve always enjoyed studying, school, and performing well in an academic setting. However, I am also ruthlessly ambitious to the point where I simply must be “the best” in the class and my own self worth is measured by how well others are doing comparatively. But, but the same token, I am kind to my friends; I’m a good listener, and I have an easy report with people I know well. I’m not necessarily brave (I won’t walk into a lion’s den on a dare) but I have uprooted my life several times and that takes a certain kind of courage. So where do I place? And at the age of 11, does a magical hat really know me so well—when I do not know myself at all at the age of 28, let alone 11—to place me in a house that is defined by character traits? Keep this in mind for the next analysis section because it’s very important for Harry.
Let’s look at a Hogwarts student. Take, for instance, Dumbledore and think about him on a broad scale from the beginning of the series to the end, without giving any spoilers about what he does or why he does it. We know he was in Gryffindor, meaning the hat must have thought him brave—and of course he was; he faced Voldemort several times and according to his chocolate frog, he faced Grindelwald, a thoroughly bad wizard back in the 1940s. Dumbledore is also the cleverest wizard of his age, and indeed perhaps one of the cleverest wizards in any age, a trait that Ravenclaw claims. Dumbledore, especially here in book one, is a sparkling, effervescent, kind old man who clearly cares for his students (his eyes sparkle when he thinks of the trouble the Weasley twins will get into) and he takes care of those he loves, like Hagrid whom Dumbledore kept on staff after Hagrid’s expulsion. However, we will learn, much later in the series, that Dumbledore is a very ambitious and cunning man—almost myopically so.
The hat’s magic is never really explained, and that’s honestly part of its charm. We don’t know if it sees the future, if it’s able to look into the deep recesses of your subconscious and flesh out who you are, at your core. Or is it that each student engages with the hat in the same way that Harry does? Does each student tell the hat where he or she doesn’t want to go and the hat realizes what the wearer is really asking? I somehow doubt this last one; I think Harry was one of the first students to ever stumble upon “talking back” to the Hat—it wouldn’t be the first time Harry was an exception to the rule.
My point is this: from a storytelling perspective, I understand why JKR has the house system. It helps in establishing everyday conflicts, like the ones between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. It also helps in sporting events. It gives the audience an “everyman” enemy to root against before a cosmic enemy might enter the picture. However, from a psychological perspective, I’m not sure that the Sorting Hat is doing anyone a favor because of how limiting it is. It’s boxing up individuals as one thing instead of looking at the whole picture. The Hat doesn’t actually help students, does it?
Well. Except Harry.
Choice. The Problem Is Choice.
Harry Potter, under no circumstances, and in no uncertain terms, wants to be in Slytherin House. Apparently this goes against what the Hat wants, because Harry could be great in that house. But by sheer force of will and conviction, Harry pushes the Hat into putting him in Gryffindor, a house that Harry has heard nothing bad about and the house that his first friend, Ron, is hoping to get in to.
Harry has always been the exception to the rule. We learned this from the very first chapter where, for some reason, Voldemort is unable to kill the little boy. In a family of slothish and obnoxious Muggles, he was the active and kind Wizard. He stands out, from his broken glasses to his lightening bolt scar. And here in this chapter, once again, we have Harry becoming what appears to be the exception to the rule.
We don’t know if other students get to have a one-on-one chit chat with the hat. My guess is that they could if they wanted, but evidence points to Harry being alone in this tête-à-tête because some students don’t even get the hat on their head or aren’t wearing it for long. Or maybe a better way to put it is that while Harry is thinking, “please don’t put me in X” all the other students are thinking “please put me in X!” Ron walks up hoping to be put in Gryffindor. Draco walks up knowing he’s going to Slytherin.
The first thing we hear from the hat illustrates the point I was making the first section about how students are more than just one or two characteristics.
“Hmm,” said a small voice in his ear. “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes—and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting. So where shall I put you?”
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.There are two things that are very interesting about Harry’s choice. First, by choosing to not go where the Hat would apparently send him, Harry is declaring his own independent agency. This moment is all about that agency and the fact that Harry is finally starting to exhibit his own. The Dursley’s have literally been keeping him locked up and have made him an utter passive figure in their lives. They ignore him, they pretend he’s not there, to the point where he’s very silent for the first three chapters, as we discussed previously. This moment is about Harry having to decide who he is, something no 11 year old is ever really asked to do in such life altering ways. The world is more complex than “evil” and “good”—and to relegate those two terms to School Houses is way too simplistic—but Harry is choosing to fight whatever the Hat sees in him that would be a good match for the ambitious and cunning lot. Had he gone to Slytherin, it would have been a different saga. Far more grey, certainly. I don’t think Harry would ever have gone Dark Side or joined Team Voldemort, but Harry’s ambitions and cunning (for we cannot deny that he has both in spades, as the Hat points out) would have been far more present.
Secondly, Harry’s choice isn’t based on fact but on fear and more to the point uneducated fear. Thus far, all he has heard about Slytherin is that Voldemort was in it and that Draco wants to be in it (and later is placed there). It’s a house of ill repute! Well, for 11 year olds at least. But this is a bit of logical fallacy on Harry’s part. There is no way to say that every witch or wizard who went Dark Side was in Slytherin just like there is certainly no proof that every witch or wizard who was in Slytherin was bad. Like Dumbledore will say at a later date, “it’s our choices that show us what we are truly are.”
Everyone has a choice. A Gryffindor has just as much potential for the Dark Side as a Slytherin and a Slytherin has just as much chance to be a hero as a Gryffindor.
Potential Foreshadowing
1. Snape has a fondness for the Dark Arts
2. Harry’s scar hurting and Harry’s dream (wow, those hit you hard, eh?)
3. A reminder to stay out of the Forbidden Forest and not go near the third floor corridor.
Conversation Questions
1. Do you think the Hogwarts Sorting System is fair? Should it be replaced?
2. Is the Hat ever wrong?
3. Is Harry’s fear of Slytherin justified?
4. Congrats! You are now the Sorting Hat. Pick ONE character from OUAT and place them into a Hogwarts house, justifying your reasons and weighing if it’s a true fit.
5. As a very minor question, why on earth did the Hat take so long with Seamus Finnegan?
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"
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