I, like many others, am obsessed with personality quizzes and tests. Alongside that I am a longtime Harry Potter fan. So, naturally I was drawn towards the Pottermore sorting quiz. I took the test, and I was sorted into Hufflepuff. Honestly, I was a little disappointed,. I had always thought myself to be a smart, creative, witty Ravenclaw. Along with that, Hufflepuffs are vast underrepresented in the Harry Potter novels. But, as I read on, I found that the qualities that define a Hufflepuff, loyalty, determination, hard-work, and fairness are all the qualities that I use to define myself. I knew that I was a Hufflepuff above all. It took me a long time to come around to thought. Admittedly, I might still be struggling with it.
But in looking up Hogwarts houses and what they stood for, I started to wonder, "Why is our Hogwarts House so important to us? Why do I identify so much with Ravenclaw when the test that the author herself has created tells me otherwise?"
This took me down quite the rabbit hole into a look into more famous foursomes. For example, did you know that each Hogwarts House corresponds to one of the Four Elements? Hufflepuffs Head of House is Pomona Sprout, the Herbology teacher and their animal is the Badger, so they represent Earth. Ravenclaw's got the Eagle, and their primary is blue, so they represent the air. Gryffindors are known for their passion and their colors are red and yellow, so they represent fire. Slytherins represent water, because of green lakes and sea serpents, or something like that?
Some of the most famous foursomes can easily be sorted into Hogwarts Houses: The Beatles, (Paul= Gryffindor, John= Slytherin, George= Ravenclaw, Ringo= Hufflepuff), the Plastics from Mean Girls (Regina= Slytherin, Cady= Ravenclaw, Karen= Hufflepuff, Gretchen= Gryffindor), the Ninja Turtles (Leonardo= Gryffindor, Raphael= Slytherin, Donatello= Ravenclaw, Michelangelo= Hufflepuff), the Presidents on Mt. Rushmore, (Roosevelt= Hufflepuff, Jefferson= Ravenclaw, Washington= Gryffindor, Lincoln= Slytherin.) The Scooby Doo gang, (Fred= Slytherin, Scooby and Shaggy= Hufflepuff, Velma= Ravenclaw, Daphne= Gryffindor).
So, obviously there's a common thread within these all, certain traits that make up for each character. This thread goes all the way back to ancient Greece and the four temperaments. You see, the Greeks believed that there were four basic personality types: the Choleric (cunning and ambitious, Slytherins), the Melancholic, (quiet and thoughtful, Ravenclaws), the Sanguine (optimistic and social, Hufflepuffs), and the Phlegmatic, (brave and bold leaders, Gryffindors). These traits have shaped characters throughout history, even though there may be no real evidence that these four temperaments are even real.
But the traits of these four temperaments are traits that we can see in ourselves, and it's why I identify as a Ravenclaw even though JK herself says that I should be a Hufflepuff. It's why George is my favorite Beatle. We see these qualities within ourselves and we identify with characters that show these characteristics. So, maybe your Hogwarts house is more important than you believe, because it says a lot more about you than you'd think. Try not to think of that next time you watch a movie with four lead characters.
