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The Slytherin Dungeons

Slytherin... Evil or not?


Annarose Malfoy

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Guest Romulus Antonius

I don't believe slytherins are evil. Anyone can be evil even if you are a ravenclaw, hufflepuff, gryffindor, squib, or whatever. It isn't the place that is technically evil it is the person. We as people decide which way to go. So, no i dont believe we are evil.

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I think that one's moral compass shouldn't be controlled by what stereotype their House has been given. Just because one is a Gryffindor doesn't mean they are a courageous warrior, and just because one is a Slytherin doesn't mean that they will go around spurting curses everywhere. That being said, I think that Slytherin would be the place to be to learn such curses... if one had that inclination.

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I think that one's moral compass shouldn't be controlled by what stereotype their House has been given. Just because one is a Gryffindor doesn't mean they are a courageous warrior, and just because one is a Slytherin doesn't mean that they will go around spurting curses everywhere. That being said, I think that Slytherin would be the place to be to learn such curses... if one had that inclination.

Exactly. Look at Wormtail! He basically ran away.

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You guys are awesome. I clicked on this topic ready to fiercely defend my position "Slytherins are no more evil than any other house" and we already are on the same page.

 

I think perhaps JKR tends to portray Slytherin characters as more evil than the rest (Draco, Pansy) because she wants to give the reader a glimpse of the prejudice that exists in the wizarding world she created. She shows that prejudice comes from ALL sides - purebloods hating muggle-borns, Gryffindors hating Slytherins, etc. - and not just from, say, Voldemort's side.

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I saw this on Tumblr the other day, and I think it very accurately describes what a Slytherin is:

 

"Slytherins have a more cynical view on the world, and believe that there is darkness in the hearts of all, some are just unwilling to accept it. They think anyone who doesn’t realize this is naive or perhaps even stupid, and because of this they can easily clash with Gryffindors or laugh at Hufflepuffs. This said, Slytherins are absolutely in no way evil, some are actually very good. They simply have a drive that carries their life, and if you get in their way you better watch out. Slytherins have an almost bloodthirsty craving for success, and if they don’t think they can achieve this then they can easily fall into a darker place of self-loathing and take this out on others. Love and accomplishment are the two things that mean the most to them, and they do not understand that the need for the latter can drive away the former, and when the feeling of pride fades or they fail at something, their possible lack of something dear and close to them can hit, and when it hits it hits hard. Slytherins are very emotional, however unlike Gryffindors they very rarely show it. Instead they bottle it up, using it in other ways, some of which may be artistic. Slytherins can very easily connect to art or music. Slytherins usually pick one subject they feel for and stick with it, rather than focusing on them all. This can be an issue academically, and some Slytherins may even drop out of school, but despite this their ambition will drive them to doing something they love, or they will have a downward spiral into depression. Lawyers, doctors and artists are often Slytherins."

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I saw this on Tumblr the other day, and I think it very accurately describes what a Slytherin is:

 

"Slytherins have a more cynical view on the world, and believe that there is darkness in the hearts of all, some are just unwilling to accept it. They think anyone who doesn’t realize this is naive or perhaps even stupid, and because of this they can easily clash with Gryffindors or laugh at Hufflepuffs. This said, Slytherins are absolutely in no way evil, some are actually very good. They simply have a drive that carries their life, and if you get in their way you better watch out. Slytherins have an almost bloodthirsty craving for success, and if they don’t think they can achieve this then they can easily fall into a darker place of self-loathing and take this out on others. Love and accomplishment are the two things that mean the most to them, and they do not understand that the need for the latter can drive away the former, and when the feeling of pride fades or they fail at something, their possible lack of something dear and close to them can hit, and when it hits it hits hard. Slytherins are very emotional, however unlike Gryffindors they very rarely show it. Instead they bottle it up, using it in other ways, some of which may be artistic. Slytherins can very easily connect to art or music. Slytherins usually pick one subject they feel for and stick with it, rather than focusing on them all. This can be an issue academically, and some Slytherins may even drop out of school, but despite this their ambition will drive them to doing something they love, or they will have a downward spiral into depression. Lawyers, doctors and artists are often Slytherins."

 

 

I must agree with a lot of this statement here - good find! :clapping:

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We are not evil we are just ambitious people who have strong beliefs. We dont let things stand in the way of what we want to achieve or what we believe in. Unlike many other houses we have very strong traits which have decided we belong in this house. Although we are cunning its not bad it just means we have strong personalities that maybe sometimes are misunderstood by others.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I don't think a house can be good or evil. It is solely up to the individuals to choose right or wrong.

There have been a few brave and good Slytherins. The bad ones are just so bad that they shadow the rest, creating this sad stereotype.

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Had another discussion on this topic in #ravenclaw earlier today.

Slytherin is definitely not evil. Ambitious? Yes. Clever? Cunning? Yes. Though, sometimes not consciously.

 

All depends on your goals whether you're evil. Not how you get there.

 

Perfectly Said... Perfect.

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I don't think that Slytherins are evil. Far from it. I think we are misunderstood and that we hold different ideals to rest of Hogwarts (and the world for that matter). We hold things like determination and ambition sacred, whereas the majority of society believes that these things should be used more sparingly than we do. Of course some Slytherins will always go down the dark path, but there isn't a single house that can't say that. It just that the evil Slytherins have more determination, so they will go farther and cling to their darkness to a bigger extreme.

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I've always thought that since everyone expects us Snakes to turn evil more than in any other house more of us do than any other house. It's like a psychological thing, if you are always told you're going to fail you are more likely to.

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Going off of Prof. Xavier Dalen's comments, I think it's the combination of our ambition and drive and the fact that we're willing to crawl out of whatever hardship we find ourselves in to achieve even GREATER things... I was discussing this with Brighid Katz (a Hufflepuff) and she remarked that one of her friends elsewhere said in analyzing Hogwarts houses that Slytherin struck her as a house that highly values self-preservation and that most people in general don't seem to like self-preservation as a trait, after all it's a trait cockroaches, pigeons and rats and other pests have in common -- thriving in what normal people consider crazy situations. I think it's a fitting description for Slytherin.

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  • 6 years later...

We're not evil we may have a more cynical view of the world but we are not evil. We just know what can and can not happen out in the world. For my ambition I want to become an NCIS Agent and I am working very hard to get there. If you have to step over someone that thinks you can't do what ever you are working towards your dream and got in the way. then you would do it. That's not evil that is just working your way through the path to your dream. 

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