Many people have the idea that Gryffindor is the noble, virtuous Hogwarts house and Slytherin is the evil, corrupt Hogwarts house. However, just by looking at the attributes that define both houses shows that Slytherin and Gryffindor are not so different.

Gryffindors are known for their courage, bravery, and determination. The characteristics that define Slytherins are pride, ambition, and cunning.

First let’s look at determination, ambition, and cunning. The two of these attributes that are associated with Slytherins, ambition and cunning, are valuable on their own. The Oxford English Dictionary defines cunning as, “Possessing knowledge or learning.” This “knowledge” is very important to Slytherins, who typically excel in school. Ambition compliments this because ambition is the desire to excel. However, these two personal qualities are not enough on their own. That’s where the Gryffindor quality of determination comes in. Determination is the resolve someone has to do a certain task. Without determination, Slytherin’s would not be able to fully express their qualities of cunning and ambition.

Now, let’s move on to courage, bravery, and pride. Gryffindors are known for their courage and bravery. However, when examining courage and bravery there is an important question to ask: what motivates a person to act courageous and brave? We need look no further than the Slytherin characteristic of pride. Pride is deep satisfaction with a person’s own achievements, and this satisfaction stems from the way a person wishes others to view them. For example, if someone wants other people to see them as intelligent, they will be proud of themselves when they achieve a high test score. Therefore, if Gryffindors did not care about what others thought about their achievements there would be no need for courage and bravery. People perform brave and courageous acts because society looks up to those who perform those acts. From this, we can say that courage and bravery are dependent on a person’s pride.

After examining each of these qualities that define Gryffindor and Slytherin, it is clear that one cannot fully reach its potential without the other. Slytherin is not inherently evil, and Gryffindor is not inherently good. The truth is, they complement each other and its time both sides realized this.