Slytherins: Victims of the School?

[carsten]

Thinking about the poor reputation of students from Slytherin's house, I am tempted to put the blame on the school.

What do we know about them? Poor manners, bad moods, pale skin and improvable social co-operation. But is it their fault? No! While DD's pet students, the Gryffindors, live in a nice tower with a view over the premises, poor Slytherins have to vegetate in a dungeon. Of course they are pale! And muggle researchers have found out, that a lack of sunlight dampens the mood you are in. The suicide rate in dark Norwegian winter is much higher than in sunny Spain!

So it was and remains a wrong decision to put poor Slytherins in such circumstances. This falls into the area of responsibility of the school. So DD and his predecessors have their share of liability of all the dire straits caused by students from that house.

[Gower]

Yes, but Slytherin also have a poor reputation for nasty comments in the corridor and using dirty tactics in Quidditch matches. Sure, they're not all like that.

[Mint]

XD I agree with u Carsten! I always thought that as soon as students are placed into the Slytherin, other members of the houses would have this preconceived notion towards them, like they would expect them to be nasty, so slytherins eventually would become like that.

And I never thought of the dungeon....increase in darkness puts me in a bad mood <_<' (i hate winter because of that)

[Phaerie]

But don't some of the students like prechoose slytherin. Malfoy wanted to be in slytherin before he got there- and seeing as his father went to hogwarts he knew exactly what to expect.

I though the whole idea of sorting the students was to end up putting them with like minded students in an environment that suits them.

Plus i'm sure in CoS when ron and harry go to the slytherin common room it says that it was basically like the gryffindor common room, only based in the dungeons

[Lone_Buck]

I also thought they should've put every house in a seperate tower, but then you wouldn't wonder where the other houses are. I forgot where the hufflepuffs were, and i don't know if ravenclaws ever been mentioned, and to be fair, it would be quite cold in the gryfindor tower in the winter in england, unless there's some sort of charm on it.

[Marcus Baker]

Hey, this is an intresting comment. Maybe JKR was trying to overexaggerate the slyterens by these surroundings and characteristics. I mean, there is the sterotype that ALL slytherens are evil, wich we know is not true. Cunning and slyness is just another way to get past life, however these characteristics end up describing most of the criminals in the world. And who knows, maybe they like the dungeon, I mean, Salathazar Slytheren did pick the location of the commonroom. And I dont think anyone would dislike it, since the sorting hat does pick the best place for the students.

[Groo]

Thinking about the poor reputation of students from Slytherin's house, I am tempted to put the blame on the school.
What do we know about them? Poor manners, bad moods, pale skin and improvable social co-operation. But is it their fault? No! .

i dont agree with you. you are suggesting that purely keeping a house underground makes the Slytherins have poor manners, bad moods, pale skin and improvable social cooperation? does it have nothing to do with their characters? making harry sleep in a closet for 11 years didnt make him nasty.
personality traits cant be made so easily by just lack of sunlight especially since so many Slytherins have been shown to have them. some of them are good, like Snape and Phineas Nigellus despite having the Slytherin characteristics in them. i guess JKR didnt show too many Slytherins as good as she had a reputation to maintain

While DD's pet students, the Gryffindors, live in a nice tower with a view over the premises,.

though Gryffindor might be DD's favourite students, the Slytherin werent asked to move in the dungeons by him. the common rooms existed since years and there were Slytherins like Phineas Nigellus as headmasters and Salazar Slytherin as founder

poor Slytherins have to vegetate in a dungeon. Of course they are pale! And muggle researchers have found out, that a lack of sunlight dampens the mood you are in. The suicide rate in dark Norwegian winter is much higher than in sunny Spain! .

they arent left to vegetate in a dungeon. for all we know, it could be their choice. they arent prisoners left to rot in a cell, they get fresh air when they attend school, roam about at evenings, Hogsmeade trips etc

So it was and remains a wrong decision to put poor Slytherins in such circumstances. This falls into the area of responsibility of the school. .
So DD and his predecessors have their share of liability of all the dire straits caused by students from that house.

poor Slytherins? and it would be an easy way out to blame the school for keeping them away from sunlight as an excuse for the crimes they commit

[TDM]

i dont agree with you. you are suggesting that purely keeping a house underground makes the Slytherins have poor manners, bad moods, pale skin and improvable social cooperation? does it have nothing to do with their characters? making harry sleep in a closet for 11 years didnt make him nasty.

well said, Groo. sure, it may give them less of a tan, but like he says, they're not trapped down there. they could leave and go wander if the wished.

[Phinea Rogue]

I don't really see a problem in where they're staying, even a dungeon can be comfortable and they can spend plenty of time outdoors or somewhere else in the school. What is a problem, according to me, that they're almost always seen as evil and on the way to become evil. Considering what families they come from, more attention should be put on them, they should deal with these children more and show them that there's also another side they can choose.

Anyway, the way Dumbledore gave points to Griffs in book 1, at the very last day when Slytherin decoration was all over the Great Hall, was truly evil of him towards all the Slytherin children.

[pallas artemis]

And muggle researchers have found out, that a lack of sunlight dampens the mood you are in.

I strongly disagree with this whole theory I happen to live, not in a dungeon, but in a basement, which is my choice, and I am happiest when there. My friends also, when they come to hangout, prefer to be down there than anywhere else in the house.

The suicide rate in dark Norwegian winter is much higher than in sunny Spain!

Did you ever consider that maybe it is the bloody cold winter that makes them suicidal not the dark!!

[TDM]

I strongly disagree with this whole theory I happen to live, not in a dungeon, but in a basement, which is my choice, and I am happiest when there. My friends also, when they come to hangout, prefer to be down there than anywhere else in the house. [/quote]

another good point. most teenagers these days would love to live in the basement of their house. i would, but i'm stuck upstairs for the moment. but, i think this theory was kinda killed a bit. it was a good idea, though.

[carsten]

Sorry folks,

my little theory was all fun. So many people these days complain and point to responsibilities outside themselves, that I couldn't resist to mimick this line of thought in the Potter universe.

Did you ever consider that maybe it is the bloody cold winter that makes them suicidal not the dark!!

This is the only serious point. When people in Norway were exposed to bright light for 10-20m per day, the suicide rate dropped.

Sorry again for tricking you
Carsten

[TDM]

what's there to be sorry for? a theory is a theory. actually, it was a good one, but however, not a lot of ppl were on your side, cartsen. actually, i'd have to agree on the Norwegian thing.

[carsten]

what's there to be sorry for? a theory is a theory. actually, it was a good one, but however, not a lot of ppl were on your side, cartsen. actually, i'd have to agree on the Norwegian thing.

Well, my feeling is that some people got the joke and others didn't. Again my excuses for sending them off to the wrong direction.

Carsten

[TDM]

oh, you meant it to be a joke? okay, then i was one of those folk that didn't get it, i guess. oh well, it was actually a good theory, even if it was just a joke.