Comments | fictualities: Vital question of the day: which Hogwarts Houses would Tolkien's characters sort into?

fictualities

Vital question of the day: which Hogwarts Houses would Tolkien's characters sort into?

Feb 12, 2007 09:21

Okay, I know this is an eternal fannish question, but unfinishedch80 brought it up when we were talking and now I'm curious: if the Lord of the Rings characters went to Hogwarts, which Houses would they be sorted into ( Read more... )

hp, meta, tolkien

Comments 40

altariel February 12 2007, 15:38:30 UTC

Pure, sterling Ravenclaw, unfortunate enough to live in Gryffindor times.

You make my crush happen all over again.

Gryffindor's finest hour.

And here.

altariel February 12 2007, 15:39:29 UTC

Oh now, see, I've just read the bits I quoted next to each other and there's more proof that they're made for each other.

fictualities February 12 2007, 16:23:09 UTC

Heee, I do see your point. I think Gryffindor and Ravenclaw are each in their way the idealistic Houses, while Slytherin and Hufflepuff are each in their way relentlessly oriented towards people and the pragmatic problems of ruling them. I can see how the right kind of Gryffindor and the right kind of Ravenclaw would be a marriage of true minds, admitting no damn impediments whatsoever, thank you very much.

kaleidoskope February 12 2007, 17:32:14 UTC

Hi, another person who sorted Frodo into Slytherin. ♥

Thread 9

dichroic February 12 2007, 15:45:24 UTC

For some reason I have trouble seeing Galadriel in any House. Perhaps she could hang out with Fleur at Beauxbatons instead.

fictualities February 12 2007, 16:27:41 UTC

Hmmm, interesting point! Maybe Galadriel is someone who has become independent by long experience, after her initial impulses had been tempered and corrected by events. If she has a House temperament, she's learned to respect the virtues of the others.

As for Fleur, hmmm . . . I think she's turned out to be a Hufflepuff: her love for her sister, her love for and loyalty to for Bill. She can certainly seem a little silly, but I think Rowling is at least shooting for something deeper (whether Rowling succeeded is another matter).

sistermagpie February 12 2007, 15:53:18 UTC

Why is this question always so fun? I filled out the poll without looking at your answers first.

I had a hard time with Pippin but ultimately put him in Gryffindor because I could totally picture him in Harry's year. When I Sort I tend to go by instinct about the way Rowling Sorts more than my own thoughts on whether they're courageous or loyal. Pippin was a bit too much of a showman for Hufflepuff for me. And I couldn't imagine Gollum in anything but Slytherin.

I put Aragorn and Gandalf both in Gryffindor, though I did consider Slytherin for Gandalf. Ultimately, though, he was Dumbledore so he was Gryffindor for me. And Aragorn was the Gryffindor who liked to think of himself a badass and pretend to be Slytherin.

I had a hard time with Denethor too. I eventually went with a dark Gryffindor, who'd rather perish dramatically than save himself. As dramatic as Slytherins are, this didn't seem like the kind of situation that would make them set themselves on fire.

fictualities February 12 2007, 16:33:14 UTC

The question is addictive, isn't it? Kind of like the fandom equivalent of Cheetos.

One reason why it's addictive is that it's tricky, and a lot of the characters are hard to place. I can definitely buy into your answers here -- the point about Pippin being a showman is really good, and the self-dramatizing nature of Denethor's suicide is a very telling point. One reason why he loves Boromir so much is that he's in love with those Gryffindor values that Boromir represents. You might even say that Denethor falls because he's a Gryffindor trying to do a Slytherin job -- he'd be happier DOING something, and when his impulses act are frustrated by a situation in which it's necessary to wait and plan, he makes bad decisions. Hmmm, very interesting character.

elderberrywine February 12 2007, 16:10:57 UTC

Didn't answer poll, since I'm not terribly good at the houses, but your classifications seem spot on, and especially Gandalf! Which probably is why it was he, and not Radaghast the Brown, sent to assist Middle Earth.

And I love dichoric's suggestion that Galadrial would opt out and go hang out with Fleur. She so would.

*vanishes into LJ limbo once again*

fictualities February 12 2007, 16:35:36 UTC

Which probably is why it was he, and not Radaghast the Brown, sent to assist Middle Earth.

Hee, good point. I know I'm going out on a limb by calling Ganadalf a Slytherin, but for some tasks merely being good (and brave, and smart) is not enough -- necessary but not sufficient, I think. Possibly he'd be sorted into another house, but he's at least got a Slytherin edge to him.

*waves at you in your LJ limbo*

(The comment has been removed)

fictualities February 12 2007, 17:04:47 UTC

Gandalf would be deadly as the Dark Lord, and all too well he knows it.

Yes, I think so -- he'd be dangerous because he's really, really good at figuring out what makes people tick. He exercises this talent, usually, to position people: to help put them in situations where their abilities will do good. But then he leaves them free to choose whether or not they will act. Think of how dangerous he would be without that built-in fail-safe.

Actually, I think Merry is Gryffindor with a dash of Ravenclaw.Yes yes, I think this is a really good point. Merry is the one who settles down to write those books on herb lore and so on. But he's interesting -- during the Quest he has moments (at Lorien especially) when he says he wouldn't have had the heart to leave the Shire if he'd known how bad the outside world was. I don't think Merry's bravery is in question, here: he'd have made the same choice to stick with Frodo all over again. But he's overwhelmed by newness in a way that Frodo isn't. The Ravenclaw streak is there, but it needs ( ... )