HARRY POTTER AND THE SLYTHERIN HOUSE: A LESSON IN CHOICE AND PARALLELS

           Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a novel that defined a generation of literature and paved the way for children readers to experience imagination in a way they never thought possible. Published almost a decade ago, J.K Rowling's novel started a literary revolution and changed the game for children's books. Sorcerer's Stone invites readers into a magical world filled with impossibilities and follows a child on his journey to his own destiny. Rowling packs the novel with surprises and excitement for readers, but when read critically, she has also planted an incredible amount of important ideas and symbolism. In an exciting act of defiance, Harry begs to not be placed in the seemingly evil house of Slytherin. For young readers, Harry's insistence is thrilling, as he seems to already be beating the "bad guys" when he gets placed in the esteemed house of Gryffindor. By having the Slytherins be Harry's antagonists whilst at Hogwarts, Rowling plays well into the children's genre by giving young readers the excitement of a great opposition. But, underneath layers of symbolism, she has placed a great and important parallel that will eventually play into her incredibly important theme of choice that is overarching across the entire seven-novel series. This parallel plays as a mirror to the parallels between Harry and Lord Voldemort.

            In this initial scene, Rowling takes special care to zoom in on the moment between Harry and the Sorting Hat as he decides he does not wish to be placed in Slytherin. This house, according to Hagrid, is no good and full of evil students. It also was the house Lord Voldemort was placed in when he attended Hogwarts. Slytherin becomes the target for young readers—it is easy to hate and pose as a parallel to the house of our hero. Gryffindor is a direct parallel to Slytherin, which is symbolized in nearly every detail. But first, it is important to see the Slytherin house as it is intended on the surface of the text. The students of the Slytherin house remain the antagonists of the great trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione—as well as their fellow Gryffindors—throughout the entire novel and the rest of the series. The idea itself, one of petty school rivalries, plays well into the children's genre of literature because it is of the upmost satisfaction for children to see the bullies of the story lose. It is also touching for young readers to experience the hurt of their heroes through such trivial rivals.

            Rowling makes these altercations easy to see for her young readers. Harry's unfair treatment from the head of the Slytherin house, quidditch tournaments and the competition for the house cup play into the rivalry between the houses. It also makes it impossible for readers to like the opposing house. On the surface, the tension between Slytherin and Gryffindor is rather juvenile, but it is also extremely real. This great opposition to the heroes of the story is also representative of real life, especially for young children. It is not uncommon for children to have faced bullies before. Nor is it uncommon that they have wished for a great victory over their tyrants. Rowling provides children with the fantasy, as well as the satisfaction, of seeing great bullies beat in the best of ways. The students of the Slytherin house are written as worthy opponents to the Gryffindors for the ultimate satisfaction when they lose the house cup in an epically public display of bias from the great headmaster at the end of Harry's first year. Rowling writes her antagonists as a reflection of real life so when the heroes of Gryffindor do win, it is of the utmost pleasure to young readers who certainly have wished the same for themselves once or twice.

            Admittedly, it is enjoyable to see the Slytherin house fall even for adult readers. It is hard to root for the bullies—but it is also incredibly important to understand the important parallel that Slytherin plays and what Harry's choices mean for his character development. Upon further examination of the qualities of each house, Gryffindor and Slytherin stand on opposite ends of the spectrum. Where Gryffindors are brazen and brave, Slytherins are sly and cunning. The bannered Gryffindor lion is large and abrasive, while the Slytherin serpent is thin and subtle. Rowling even places this parallel symbolically with the colors of each house. Red, the color of Gryffindor, sits exactly opposite green, the color of Slytherin, on the color wheel. Rowling has gone through great lengths to place the two houses on opposite sides in many categories. Although there are enough similarities to get Harry placed in either house, it is the dominating qualities that make the choice even for Harry himself.

            These symbolic and physical parallels play an important role to Rowling's themes of the novel as well as Harry's character. Slytherin was the house of Lord Voldemort, Harry's truest enemy and the evil antagonist of the novel and the rest of the series. Again, Rowling plays with physical and symbolic differences in her parallels. Physically, Voldemort and Harry are parallels in that they were placed in opposing houses. But, symbolically, they are parallels in character and the idea of Harry's belief in his choice of his own destiny beyond their similarities. The house of Slytherin is not only Harry's great opposition but also the symbolic manifestation of the parallel to his character.

            The house of Slytherin also plays as an important reminder of Harry's choice in the beginnings of his journey as a wizard. Not only was his boldness to not choose Slytherin the defining factor that placed him in Gryffindor it is also crucial for his character development. Harry's belief in choosing one's own destiny is evident from the start if his meeting with the Sorting Hat is read critically. Harry wanted nothing more than to not be a Slytherin, and because it was his choice, he was not. Also, on the surface, the house poses as a picture of the possibility of Harry's character. Because he is famous, he would have been loved by his fellow Slytherins and most likely would have wound up as wretched in character as the rest of them. If Harry did not choose against Slytherin, he would have been a completely different character, and this parallel is symbolic of that. It also emphasizes the importance of choice, as Harry Potter would not have grown up to be the same boy if he had not taken matters in his own hands and chosen another path for himself sitting beneath the Sorting Hat.

            By analyzing these crucial parallels, symbolic and not, the importance of the opposition of the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses proves to be incredibly important. Young readers get to enjoy the victory of their deserving heroes while watching not unimaginable bullies lose terribly. Rowling has created the perfect enemy for early readers—one that is just mean enough to hate but not impossible to see in their own lives. She has also crafted a complex web of symbolism between the two houses and how it affects the important themes of the novel. By creating a parallel to Harry, the Gryffindor, she provides a window to what could be if he were Harry, the Slytherin. In doing this she solidifies her strong theme of choice and destiny in the novel and has also placed an important wedge between Harry and Lord Voldemort in terms of character. The genius level of symbolic weaving has created an important contrast and parallel for the greatest hero literature has received in quite some time and, in an extremely complicated way, proves that it is the choices we make that define us, as they have Harry Potter himself.