Comments on: The Sorting Hat

By: Birdie

Birdie — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:35:06 +0000

I can’t help but wonder what McGonagall is thinking when she sees Harry again for the first time since he was a baby. She obviously cares about the boy, otherwise she wouldn’t have spent so much of her time checking up on his new Privet Drive family. She also knew both his parents and since his mother was such a talented witch, you know her Head of House would’ve taken notice. She must’ve been hoping as hard as she could to have him in her house. I’d imagine she smirked at Snape for weeks after the Sorting!

By: Aija

Aija — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:40:28 +0000

Given the relative sizes of the Wizarding and Muggle populations, the birth rate in the UK, and the amount of children sent abroad for education (taking into account the lack of variety in schools within Britain), Hogwarts should average 40968 students at any given time. Obviously, given that the majority of students there during Harry’s first year would have been born during wartime, this has been diminished, but the few years below Harry should have an above-average level of students, due to the post-war high spirits, as seen in the post-WWII “baby boom”.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:31:00 +0000

Also, a thought on the number of students vs. the number of teachers debate…

Isn’t it entirely possible that there’s more than one professor for each subject, but they’re just never mentioned? If Harry’s never been taught by any of them, and we see everything from his perspective, it would make sense that they wouldn’t show up. After all, there are other characters, ones that would seem more likely to get at least a passing mention (such as the two unnamed Gryffindor girls in his year that Hermione actually lives with for six years but never speaks about).

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:17:52 +0000

@Sara I’ve just written an essay on prejudice in Harry Potter and part of that included the dislike of anyone in Slytherin house. There is prejudice but Harry’s isn’t just based on the two encounters with Malfoy that you mention. The first time he hears about Slytherin house is when Malfoy mentions it in Madam Malkins. However, he then has Hagrid tell him that there wasn’t a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin and that you-know-who (the man who is responsible for Harry being an orphan) was one. I think that it’s Hagrid’s words that stick with Harry rather than Malfoy’s actions.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:37:06 +0000

Honestly, I’ve always had a bit of a problem with Harry’s immediate dislike of Draco. From meeting him in the robe shop to the incident on the train… I don’t know. Obviously, Draco DOES turn out to be an insolent little shit, but I kind of wonder what things would have been like if Harry hadn’t made a snap judgement that he was too much like Dudley.

To me, Harry’s first time meeting him in the robe shop just reads like a little kid trying to impress another little kid. They’ve both been fairly sheltered growing up (albeit in two entirely different ways) and are probably both kind of unsure of how to act in social situations. I would venture to guess that Draco is just going by what he sees his parents doing when they meet new people, and Harry, who’s never really had a chance to make a friend, doesn’t really know how to react to him.

If you look at the entire thing from Draco’s perspective, really, Harry kind of comes off as rude and unresponsive, since Draco obviously doesn’t know what’s going on in Harry’s head. Even Draco insulting Hagrid kind of turns into an slightly awkward kid trying to make conversation. He finally gets more than just a one word answer or a grunt out of Harry, so he tries to keep the topic going.

When they meet again on the train, Draco again attempts to make friends with Harry, but makes the mistake of insulting Ron, again something he’s probably just copying from his father, and things take a turn for the even worse.

Sorry about the misplaced rant about Draco Malfoy. Haha It just kind of frustrates me that Harry does kind of seem to be basing his judgement of Slytherin house as a whole on two brief and awkward encounters with another eleven year old boy.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:52:34 +0000

Liy and Nathaniel, both fair points! I suppose he is told that the house you go in says something about your personality, and Draco’s secure belief that he’ll be in Slytherin combined with his rather obnoxious personality does give Harry a fairly strong reason to tie the two together and assume Slytherins are probably unpleasant. I think I’ve always got hung up on that line (the one I quoted above) which makes it seem like he’s basing his opinion on looks and hear-say; I’ve never thought to put that line in the context of everything else he’s experienced so far.

By: Nathaniel Shafer

Nathaniel Shafer — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:10:33 +0000

Harry dislikes Slytherin because he dislikes Draco. Remember, before Harry had heard anything about the houses at Hogwarts, he meets Draco inside Madam Malkin’s. Draco immediately makes a poor impression on Harry as Draco reminds him of Dudley.

After this poor first impression, and complaining that it would be a crime if he isn’t allowed on the Quidditch team—Harry doesn’t know what that is yet—Draco mentions that he *knows* he’ll be in Slytherin. Draco compounds this poor first impression by then mocking Hagrid.

The comments by Hagrid and Ron only confirm what Harry already believes about Slytherin. So, I’d say his gut instinct was spot on, in this instance.

By: Livy

Livy — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 21:52:40 +0000

I’ve always seen Harry’s aversion to Slytherin in this chapter not so much as a snap judgment of the whole House or an instinctive dislike of the qualities they may (or may not) possess, but as a deep conflict in Harry’s own nature. He carries a piece of Voldemort’s soul, and thus has a certain potential to go down a dark path, something he worries a lot about both in this chapter and through Chamber of Secrets. I think his almost irrational fear about getting placed in Slytherin demonstrates that on some subconscious level he is aware of the presence of that fragment of soul within him and fears its influence. Harry’s dream at the end of the chapter also speaks to this idea: I’ve always assumedthe voice of the dream-turban was really the voice of that little piece of Voldemort, whispering in Harry’s ear and trying to lead him astray. You’ll notice that the pain as it tightens around his head is reminiscent of the pain in his scar. So Harry’s fear is not so much a prejudice against Slytherin so much as a fear of something inside Harry himself.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:04:17 +0000

I disagree with the whole gut instincts thing. At this time, Harry has heard from Hagrid and Ron that they’re evil and/or not to be trusted. Then he looks at their table, and his thoughts are (not verbatim): “Maybe it was everything he’d heard about them, but they looked like a nasty lot.” This has always bothered me – he makes that judgement before he’s got to know any of them, and that doesn’t seem like good gut instincts to me so much as being easily influenced by other people’s prejudice. OK, in the end it turns out that his assessment was largely correct, but that doesn’t excuse his snap judgement at this point in the story. He basically writes off 25% of the school, because they look prety nasty – something about that just seems wrong to me. He’s only 11 (and already dislikes Malfoy for legitimate reasons) so I think that excuses his behaviour to an extent, but I don’t see this as his famous gut instinct at work.

By: May

May — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 06:56:08 +0000

It IS impossible for Hogwarts: A History to have neglected to expound on the Sorting ceremony, seeing as how it has formed part of the school’s tradition for centuries now. I also doubt that Hermione might have only failed to comb the whole book thoroughly for details. It just doesn’t seem like her. The whole mishap could have been a writing inconsistency.

One thing I’ve noticed: Arthur Weasley reprimands Ginny in CoS, telling her to “never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can’t see where it keeps its brains”. I wonder what he would have made out of the Sorting Hat…

Another thing I’ve noticed: Sally-Anne Perks was never mentioned again during their practical OWL tests in Book 5, was she? Her name was skipped over. Was there any mention on the books as to what happened to her? I might have missed out on something…

Great observation on The Boy Who Lived, John! Harry trusting his gut instincts to avoid Slytherins, indeed. I remember Lupin’s words on PotterWatch in DH: about how Harry’s gut instincts are nearly always right. Quite a nice warning for us, readers, about the true nature of Slytherins.