Monday 1 July 2013

Pottermore & Harry Potter: Hogwarts Houses and The Sorting Hat

This is quite a polemic issue, specially on Pottermore, complaints of the fans about the sorting hat...
even though I disagree with most of them, big text beware.

I think it get mostly right, it's all about probabilities and pathways, the choices you make, some say some questions didn't make sense and totally unrelated such as dusk and dawn, I think it can relate more than you think, for example, I'm pretty sure dusk is more connected with Slytherin (the night coming, their common room is the darkest one) and Ravenclaw (how is the light in the common room is enough, the ceilling being full of stars, more neutral and calm) while Gryffindor and Hufflepuff is more connected with dawn, the more sunnier, one is lively and noisy and while the other is quiet and hard-working, both optimistic.


if you notice, even some houses are similar to each others, for example, many Gryffindor and Slytherin are similar and can coincide sometimes, both the 2 houses are very competitive, aggressive and many of the are arrogant and too much pride (pride can be a big flaw if has too much amount).
however there is differences, Slytherin are the more ambitious and vengeful, Gryffindor are more emotional and short-tempered.
Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are the quiet ones, the most serious ones, we have Hufflepuff who are hard-workers and very focused also loyal, Ravenclaw not only is clever but also very creative and strong individuality.

others interesting observations, the most individualistic houses would be Slytherin (selfishness) and Ravenclaw(mind of their own, individuality as whole) and best at team work would be Grynffindor and Hufflepuff.
the most inventive and creative houses is Ravenclaw and Gryffindor (some of them in Gryffindor are such Dean Thomas, Weasley twins, Dumbledore) but even so they are very different - Ravenclaw prefer to keep cool  while Gryffindor is reckless, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, they are too much opposite that is extremely hard to see any similarity (Hufflepuff are hard-workers, just and fight for what's right, while Slytherin go for what's more convenient to them and selfish).
also each student has some characteristics from other houses, examples:
Dumbledore has very Ravenclaw features such inventive, very introverted, he is in Gryffindor, even him has some Slytherin features such being manipulative.
another example, Snape has Ravenclaw charasteristics such being inventive and introverted (I think Snape would do better in Ravenclaw), but he has more Slytherin traits.
Slytherin and Gryffindor are the most agressive while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are the ones who usually keep more of their cool.
Hatstalls, as we know is when the Sorting Hat take more than 5 minutes to decide for the student which House to place, according to Pottermore Exclusive in Professor McGonagall, that her and Professor Flitwick had Hatstalls, Neville and Hermione had it close.

So the Sorting Hat is very complex, because thinking through in special the welcome messages (Gryffindor being the smallest, because we have seen so much of the Gryffindor for Harry being from this house, so we can tell much just by our own observations of the characters know most, so is unnecessary), we can see some of our own traits reside in different houses, is not just our capacities and personality, but also our values, virtues, flaws, convictions and attitude, so is wrong put it stereotypically, it is just more than the other, more at home.
If we notice, the questions, were more of symbolism, convictions and attitude, I think how long you take to answer influences too (if take long it means you're a thoughtful person), even the wand quiz influences I believe.

There is some arguments when they complain about the house they were sorted...
such "I know myself better than the sorting hat pottermore and JK Rowling", I do disagree, you have to be very self-conscious and self-aware (specially privately, looking not just your virtues but flaws, I say this because I am this way), for example, your flaws can be more of Slytherin and qualities be more of Ravenclaw or vice-versa, the possibilities is immense, is very easy for most people who don't look at themselves to just see their qualities and claim they belong to that X House, you can be pretty much those who are very oblivious of themselves, think is one way but is actually another or really don't know about themselves.
some say the quiz is triggered, why would be triggered? it works the same way as any quiz...it doesn't come the right questions...I disagree...I think it comes by packs (some questions are the same as the others and others are different) and turns, so there won't be cheating so people won't go to the house they like, but have a fair and square chance to be any of the four houses, so that's why is there is different questions.
Another argument is the Sorting Hat doesn't work as the real Sorting Hat, sure isn't, but is the closest you get to the Sorting Hat since Miss Rowling did the quiz herself, she knows the details about the Houses and the Sorting Hat more than us, she was the one who brought up, she knows through and through the Houses (flaws/virtues, strengths/weaknesses, negative/positive, balance/counterbalance, similarities, connections, etc), there is lots of details to take.
to make more simpler, Houses strongest points:
Slytherin - Ambition.
Gryffindor - Bravery.
Ravenclaw - Individuality.
Hufflepuff - Fairness.
You may wonder why I put Ravenclaw having Individuality and not Intelligence as his strongest point, intelligence is one of it's values but not it's strongest, because in the other houses there is also highly intelligent students so it doesn't give much distinction, being intelligence be one of Ravenclaw important values therefore gives the reputation that it gives, but it is it's individuality, that's what gives the most distinction from Ravenclaw.

Before Pottermore come, I wasn't never sure which house I belonged to but according to what I knew from the Sorting Hat...I was sure I wasn't Slytherin - I'm not ambitious, I don't care about victory or loss, I found defeat more rewarding than victory, because you learn more from defeat than victory, I like draws, it's funny, I'm kinda selfish but not the same way as Slytherin and bit sneaky, so yeah I have 1 or 2 traits -, Gryffindor,- hmmm, no idea, I'm only courageous when is necessary and it's worth it, I don't like noise, it's very lively (I like it and also don't), I'm kinda rebellious too, but Gryffindor would put me always exhausted (I'm very introverted), I didn't really liked much Gryffindor common room, the only thing I liked was the fireplace-, Hufflepuff, sure when it comes to being loyalty, yes I am, - fair (not much, many times I wasn't fair with people), I'm the opposite of hard-worker (I'm very lazy, but when is something I'm interested I get into it or when necessary or important) - , Ravenclaw, I really didn't know if I was clever enough, I think I'm intelligent but not sure if was enough, I do value a lot intelligence but is something else I value more, I'm curious, I do like to learn as long is new and different and interests me, I'm very thoughtful and meditative.
So Luna comes in, I quite related with her in many ways, I do also have the view when comes to existences that can't have solid evidences "(...)just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you" (she has good point), her quirkiness, straight-forward, creative, imaginative, absent-minded, weird, she has strange beiliefs (even mine is), she is very herself, so maybe I'm from Ravenclaw, I kinda liked Ravenclaw more because it's colour was blue(my favourite colour) and the emblem animal was an eagle (one of my favourite animal after the cat).
But I wanted to be in House where my weirdness and difference and my contrarian nature would be valued, my individuality, where I could be weird, have a quiet and calm environment, able to be in my own corner peacefully.
So Pottermore, I was very nervous, I was sorted to Ravenclaw, I read the welcome message, there I discovered the house I belong, one of my biggest values is being different, imagination, being you, in another words, intelligence and individuality was there, since then I understood the questions and my answers on my quiz of why was I sorted into Ravenclaw, I was all being a Ravenclaw through and through.
I'm proud to be Ravenclaw, not for the cleverness but for the individuality.

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