Millions of Americans decide that they want to pledge a Greek house during college, but why? What drives millions of 18-19 year old’s to all determine that joining a large social organization is the right thing for them? The desire to belong to a social group has been ever present in our society. From the beginning of the stone ages, humans banded together in communities to better the odds of survival. Today, people still join Greek organizations, join clubs, and congregate in groups for various reasons to feel like they belong in a group. In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, it is no different. When the students first travel to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding, they are placed into different houses. These houses are where the students live, who they compete for, and who they also become the closest friends with. I believe that the houses of Hogwarts are no different than the social fraternities that college students join today because of the students desire to fit in and the need to have allegiance to a certain group.
The desire to fit in to society is one that humans will never escape. In “Harry Potter”, most of the students have an idea of what house they want to join when they put on the Sorting Hat. Ron Weasley is worried that he will not be placed in Gryffindor, since the entirety of his family was in Gryffindor, and Harry was nervous not to be placed into Slytherin. Before the students had stepped a foot into the castle, they were already developing ideas about their social group and which they wanted to join. “Harry gripped the edge of the stool and thought, not Slytherin, not Slytherin” (Rowling 121). Harry had only recently learned of the wizarding world, yet there was a certain group he knew he did not want to be a part of. The Greek system is no different, with many students entering Indiana University hearing rumors about this fraternity or that sorority, and then determining based off of that rumor they did not want to be in that organization.
The second similarity between Greek organizations and the houses of Hogwarts is the desire to feel allegiance to a certain group. On Indiana’s University’s campus, the need for allegiance is quite evident through the Little 500 race. All of the fans are wearing their organizations gear cheering their heart out. This is seen very clearly at Hogwarts with the wizarding sport of Quidditch. Each house fields a team for Quidditch and the team with the best record wins the Quidditch Cup. When there is a match, all of the students from every grade go to support the Quidditch team. “By eleven o’clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch” (184). The allegiance for one’s house drives the competitive desire to win for everyone in the house, which is no different than IU students during Little 500.
Great post, Dominic! I completely agree with your argument, and would like to take it a step further. Not only do I think the average person has an inherent desire to “fit in” and be a part of something bigger than themselves, I also think that this desire is what drove the popularity of Harry Potter in the first place. Much like when I first came to Indiana University and decided I wanted to be a part of a social fraternity, when I was growing up and Harry Potter first came out, I wanted more than anything to be accepted by my peers and be a part of something bigger than myself. In college, this is fairly easy- at this point, most people realize that joining an organization of like-minded individuals working toward goals that interest you usually leads to making friends with said individuals, which in turn makes people feel that they belong. However, as a kid it is a bit more difficult to feel accepted than getting sorted into or choosing a house; most people need to make friends on their own accord while growing up, and even then these friends aren’t strengthened by their mutual feelings of attachment to the organization of which they belong to. Harry Potter houses provide young adult readers exactly what they want out of social relationships- the feeling of being a part of a cause bigger than themselves, and the ability to make friends easily within this group because they are all like you. To some Harry Potter readers, I’m sure the desire to attend Hogwarts is as much to learn magic as it is to feel accepted.
ReplyDeleteI think your point is interesting, but I would argue that it works far better in an out of book context than it does inside of the text. Fraternities and sororities do not adequately fit the Hogwarts houses within the book, because they are joined by choice. Hogwarts students are sorted into houses upon arriving at Hogwarts, and do not have the choice to opt out of it. They don’t join them for fun or prestige that theoretically comes with them, nor from the wish to “fit in with a group” as you claim here.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if we’re talking outside of the books, you could argue that people who are part of the Harry Potter fandom who claim a Hogwarts house and take it on as part of their identity are going the things you argue here. Fandom is participatory culture, and those who engage with it are doing so with the intention of findings groups in which they belong and can happily engage with one another. In this sense, it is far more like fraternities and sororities—a culture which is engaged with by choice, for a sense of entertainment, and to help one feel that they have found a group with which they can engage.
Dom, I believe that your comparison between the house system in the Harry Potter series and Greek life on campus highlights an important feature of the novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I also believe that the main advantages of the house system in both circumstances revolve around one’s desire to fit into society and feel allegiance to a certain group, as you synthesized in your argument. However, I also believe that the house system remains effective for another reason: the human desire to build relationships and companionships with others. In my opinion, humans inherently exist as social beings, and our relationships with other humans serve as the basis of our happiness in life. Although college students and the attendees of Hogwarts can have friendships outside of their respective houses, the housing system ultimately allows for a deeper, more mutual understanding of each other. The friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione is a prime example of this in the novel. One quote that highlights this elite degree of friendship reads, “But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up ling each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them” (Rowling 178). This quote ultimately reveals the intimate nature of the protagonists’ friendship, which would have been nearly impossible without their placement in Gryffindor.
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