*Disclaimer: Despite the explosive post title, I actually like the whole idea of the houses as different personalities (and real people as fitting into them) a lot and don't think it's invalid. I just wanted to present a different पढ़ना of the houses and what they represent, which I think is equally valid. I also don't actually hate Slytherin and Ravenclaw as houses- so if आप are in one of those houses I apologise and hope आप can still see what I'm coming at here.*

People seem to be quite fixated on the idea of houses as personality types and get quite hung up over representation/bias for या against certain houses in the series. But what if they were never actually intended for readers to identify with, and their function in the series is actually something quite different?

In this पढ़ना of the series, Slytherin represents dark, selfish instincts. I've done a lot of thinking about it and when it comes down to it, the defining trait of Slytherin is caring the most about yourself/putting yourself first. While putting yourself first can sometimes be important, Slytherin shows us what happens when आप live only for personal gain. Being power hungry is also an important attribute of Slytherin, especially in this पढ़ना of the series. The overwhelming majority of Slytherins we meet perfectly embody this. They are willing to hurt others for their own benefit.

Hufflepuff represents the lighter side of humanity- goodness, compassion, empathy and innocence. Unaffected heroism and selflessness. The defining trait of Hufflepuff is caring the most about others/putting others first. J.K. Rowling once कहा "everyone should want to be a Hufflepuff"- and I know a lot of people wouldn't listen to her (plus I believe she was actually quoting something her daughter कहा to her) but I just think that quote really illustrates the purpose of Hufflepuff in the books. Hufflepuff represents the pinnacle of human goodness, an ideal that the average person strives towards.

I think what lead me to this theory was actually the realisation that Gryffindor is a lot harder to succinctly define, and that it shares most of its important personality characteristics with Slytherin and Hufflepuff. I also noticed that Gryffindor shares mainly negative traits with Slytherin, and mainly positive traits with Hufflepuff. Which is what lead me to the conclusion that Gryffindor represents the struggle between good and evil.

We see in the पुस्तकें that Gryffindors are equally capable of the self-centred, power hungry behaviour typically associated with Slytherin, and extraordinary feats of heroism and selflessness और in the vein of Hufflepuff. Just about every Gryffindor character struggles with the conflict between these two sides. We see them being tempted द्वारा the dark, and occasionally giving into it, but finding the strength to fight it and choose good. Some characters (eg. Percy, young Dumbledore) get swept away द्वारा the allure of power and glory and give into these Slytherin aspects of their personalities for a while, but eventually come around and manage to resist these temptations and emerge into the light once again. We also have an example of someone who completely gave into the dark- Peter Pettigrew.

There could have been और examples of that, I reckon. However, I think the abundance of positive character arcs in Gryffindor characters is meant to inspire the reader. To दिखाना us that we, too, can overcome. Because this struggle between dark and light is at the core of what it means to be human. And that's why the शीर्षक says "everyone is Gryffindor"- because, regardless of which house आप identify as, when आप read the series this way, Gryffindor represents all of us.

What about Ravenclaw, आप ask? I suspect they were just there as the obligatory fourth house because school houses typically number four. They don't really have a part in this morality struggle- but I like what Rowling did with them in that she made that degree of separation part of their character, as being removed from the concerns of the world is one of Ravenclaw's defining traits.