does slytherin deserve its reputation? - hpa debate

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐩𝐚!

I wasn’t going to participate in this debate but here I am with a last minute entry. Yes I am starting this on 30th April, yes I will finish it. Anyway, I saw a lot of entries debating for the for side, which is why I’m going to be debating for the against side, just to spice it up a bit! Therefore, for the purpose of this debate.. My opinion is

𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 - slytherin’s reputation is well deserved

Slytherin’s reputation is that of being an evil house which produces bad witches/wizards. As Hagrid says, "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.” This reputation is well deserved, and arguments as to why will be given throughout the debate.

The traits of Slytherin house are ambition, shrewdness, cunning, resourcefulness, pride, determination, self-preservation and leadership. These traits themselves lead to choices which disregard morals, as Slytherins will do anything to save themselves, even if others end up being collateral. We see an example of this in The Deathly Hallows before the battle of Hogwarts, when Pansy suggests giving Harry over to Voldemort. Would this choice have gotten Harry killed and the villain to win? Possibly. Was Pansy, a Slytherin student, willing to do it anyway to save herself? Yes she was, simply because of the Slytherin traits she possesses. To further reinforce this, all Slytherins were banned from ing in the battle. Why? Because they’re known to save themselves, which makes them a terrible ally to have.

The founder of Slytherin house was Salazar Slytherin, an evil blood prejudiced wizard who had the intention to kill a whole race of wizarding kind. Slytherin house embodies his ideals and traits. Salazar did not want students in his house who did not agree with his views or share his traits. Therefore, every Slytherin student had to live up to Salazar’s standards to some degree, meaning all Slytherins are like their founder in a way, another reason why Slytherin’s deserve their reputation.

As we’ve already established, Salazar did not allow mud-bloods into his house, which meant only those of pure-blood were sorted into Slytherin. As we’ve already established, Slytherins share Salazar’s views on being sorted into the house, which includes having elitist beliefs. Slytherins value pure blood, and like their founder, do not agree that mud-bloods should study magic. Slytherins go as far as to be cruel and discriminate against mud-blood students, an example being Draco Malfoy tormenting Hermione for being muggle born. Severus Snape also overlooks this kind of behaviour by students from Slytherin, despite punishing other houses for trivial misdemeanours, further encouraging this kind of behaviour.

To further reinforce this argument, Slytherins shun pure-blood families who sympathise with mud-bloods, an example being the Malfoys with the Weasleys. Lastly, Slytherin students tend to marry within the families of the sacred twenty-eight, who all share pure-blood, just to keep the pure-blooded lineage going. Some families even resort to inbreeding, simply to keep up their reputation.

It is no secret that many dark wizards belong to Slytherin house. From Salazar himself to the Gaunts, Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolores Umbridge, and many Death Eaters like the Averys, Blacks, Malfoys, Lestranges, Carrows, Rosiers, Mulciber, Crabbe and Goyle to name a few. All these people came from Slytherin house and pursued evil conquests whilst at Hogwarts or after graduation. This fits in well with the Slytherin reputation.

Now one might say that there are other “bad” wizards who came from different houses, but do not forget that a student could simply ask the hat not to be sorted into Slytherin house, as Harry does in his first year.

Which brings us to the next argument. Harry did not want to be sorted into Slytherin because of its reputation, favouring any other house instead. This shows how isolated Slytherin is from the other houses. Slytherin students do not want to engage with students from other houses as they do not fit with the exclusive standards that Slytherin students idolise. It would look bad from a Slytherin perspective to engage with students from other houses. Why? Because they have a reputation to uphold, which means that Slytherin students themselves value their bad reputation.

As mentioned before, Slytherin students were put away to the dungeons during the battle of Hogwarts, literally locked up, simply because the other houses did not like them and wanted them as their ally. Lastly, first-years like Harry are warned off from Slytherin house. As Hagrid told Harry that every wizard/witch in Slytherin goes bad, and Ron said he’d rather leave Hogwarts than be in Slytherin. Despite this, Slytherin students are still prideful of their house and do not try to change, further reinforcing how much they value their house and ideals, despite the reputation it has.

A lot of people like to mention Snape as an example of being a good wizard from Slytherin. Simply because he was on the good side of the war. However, all these people usually fail to mention how Snape spent years being a death eater (without being a double agent), and doing cruel things under Voldemort’s name. Additionally, even when he’s on Dumbledore’s side, he still allows Slytherins to bully muggle borns and reinforces their behaviour. Lastly, had it not been for Lily’s death, Snape would’ve continued to be cruel and follow Voldemort, as we see in his memories that he’s only changed sides for her.

Another figure people like to mention is Slughorn, who didn’t do anything evil per se, but like many Slytherins he still values status and powerful connections over character. We only see him inviting students with families who could benefit him into his Slug Club, showing how much he truly valued himself, his reputation and wellbeing.

Therefore, these two examples don’t disprove Slytherin’s bad reputation as many may say, but they reinforce the fact that every Slytherin comes with ethically questionable traits, even those who may seem good on the surface.

Reputation is built on consistent patterns, not on a few one offs. For Slytherin to have this reputation, it means that all the elitism, cruelty, discrimination and self-preserving actions are backed up by generations of consistent behaviour. The founder of Slytherin house and the dark wizards that come from Slytherin are all further evidence as to why Slytherin deserves its reputation. Furthermore, Slytherins consistently prioritise ambition and power, even at the expense of others, and value their reputation no matter how bad it’s seen by others. Therefore, Slytherin’s reputation is not unfair. It is deserved, and it will continue to be reinforced by the values the house holds and the choices its make.

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Thanks for reading my debate, it definitely wasn’t rushed because I now have an online lesson and 3 assignments to finish :skull: . Bye nerds!

#SlytherinReputation

Salazar Slytherin | Slytherin

Sacred Twenty-Eight