Get Your Sorting Hat Out

[penfold_x]

lorataprose sent me a link to a fan's sorting of the Hunger Games characters into the Hogwarts houses. She didn't like a lot of the author's picks, and I definitely agreed (Gale as a Slytherin? The man who turned down his One True Love's offer to run off into the woods in order to fight a seemingly hopeless battle for justice? Just because you don't like a character doesn't mean s/he is a Slytherin). That said, I tried to do better myself, but found to be challenging. What do you think?

Gryffindor
Katniss: Sometimes I have difficulty 'getting' Katniss (we meet her when she already has a mild case of PTSD, which only gets worse as the books go on, so she's unreliable, even about herself), but I think she's predominantly Gryffindor. She's very brave and daring (most people in Twelve don't dare to go beyond the fence, but she does it routinely from a young age, and if we trust her POV, she's the only or one of an extremely small number of non-Career volunteers). She's independent (doesn't need anyone to sit by her at school, is able to take on being head of her house at a very young age). She wears her heart on her sleeve ("Everyone knows my secrets before I do") and can get passionate when she feels something is the 'right' thing to do (eg, keeping Peeta out of/alive during the 75th). She's driven by her emotions a lot of the time, to the point she takes risks that others might think foolish (the shot at the Gamemakers, the play with the berries, walking out into the square in Two to try to make peace). Her protective nature (eg, toward Rue) could be interpreted as a chivalrous streak. She's loyal to her friends, expects loyalty in return from them, and heaven help you if you break faith with her, even for a good reason (eg, Mrs. Everdeen). And, well, she's not evinced any love of learning and she isn't terribly cunning.

Gale: I think this is really clear. Gale is brave, to the point of recklessness sometimes. Gale keenly feels the injustice of their world and has always wanted to do something about it, and is only held back by the need to take care of his immediate family. Like Katniss, he's brave enough to hunt in the woods when most of Twelve won't walk out past the meadow. When Gale shouts during the planning of the assault on the Nut that he'd gladly give his life if he were a spy, Katniss says she has no doubt he's being honest. But Gale probably couldn't be a spy because, like Katniss, everyone knows exactly what he's thinking all the time.

Cinna: Idealism. A seemingly inborn sense of justice. Courage to take certain stands, even though he knows he will likely die for them. He's clever about it, so he may have some snake or claw in him (especially given his creativity, which speaks to both those houses), but I think, overall, given his ability to tap into and bring out a sense of nobility, he's predominantly Gryffindor.

Johanna: I'm less sure about this sort. A girl who wins her games by pretending to be a frightened weakling sounds Slytherin-ish, but her cunning seems to have left her by the time we meet her in Catching Fire, where she's pretty blunt and brutal with everyone (her interview in the movie, in particular, is classic Gryffindor). It's implied that she's lost all of her family, probably as the result of resisting Snow on some point of principle. In Mockingjay, she's relentless (and very brave) about pushing herself to try to get over fears. Though she's burnt out and battered when we meet her, I think there's a hero under the damage.

Ravenclaw
Wiress: Almost stereotypically Raveclaw--the absent-minded professor, so lost in her own thoughts that she sometimes trails off in the middle of her sentences. Loves learning and is extremely creative.

Beetee: Very much like Wiress, but you could make an argument that there's a lot of cunning in a teenager who created what must have been a meticulous and deliberate trap that killed six tributes simultaneously. However, Beetee also seems to be perfectly happy to be off stage; he's got a central role in much of the work of the rebellion, but never evidences any desire to be the one calling the shots or to move himself into a political position in the new government. He may have a streak of Slytherin in his make-up (it's definitely part of my headcanon for him), but he seems to be mostly driven by his intellect and curiosity.

Plutarch: For all they're about a revolution, there isn't a lot of political theory in Collins' books. Plutarch comes closer than any other character to seeming to have some sense of the abstract concepts beyond 'I'm rebelling because the Capitol is starving/working me to death.' He also seems to be very cerebral (especially in the movie presentation), and for all his understanding of human emotion, can appear to not care as much as he should, or not have so much of a sense of the human cost of the rebellion.

Annie: This is something of a WAG, since we don't get to know Annie very well, but when lorataprose and I were talking about this many moons ago, we both had the sense that she belonged in Ravenclaw. It could be the way she seems to live primarily in her head, coupled with her quiet demeanor. I get the impression that, for all she's a career, Annie's reaction to her districtmate's beheading was partly due to her being less ready than a more practically oriented career would be for the reality of violence.

Hufflepuff
Prim: Animal-loving healer. Gentle, friendly, desiring to help others. Practical (e.g., in the Catching Fire film, takes over from Mrs. Everdeen when her hands are shaking too much to get the morphling into the syringe).

Brutus: There isn't a lot to work with in canon, but I think there are two types of kids who go into a career program: reckless daredevils (Clove) and true believers (Cato). If Enobaria is the daredevil of the 75th pairing, Brutus is the true-believing workhorse. Brutus isn't flamboyant (especially in the movie presentation). He's there to do the job that needs doing.

Mags: We don't get an awful lot about Mags in canon, so I may be overly influenced by fanon here, but I get the sense she's very community-oriented (she volunteers for Annie, probably thinking that it's worth sacrificing herself for someone who still has her whole life ahead of her) and practical (she does what she can in the arena to help out, plugging away steadily at what she can do instead of getting frustrated/emotional).

Peeta: I'm not 100% sold on any house for Peeta. As a sixteen year old, he decided that he loved a girl he almost never spoke to so much he was willing to die for her. I'm not sure if that's anything other than crazy, but maybe it's Hufflepuff? He's also warm, friendly, and likable. He seems to have a good sense of what works with a group. He's comfortable being the supporting player; he doesn't seem to have any desire to be the star.

Slytherin
Haymitch: It takes a lot of skill to be as impaired as Haymitch is (no doubt he's a genuine alcoholic) and still plot a revolution. He's great at determining what arena strategies are best for Katniss and Peeta, and even talks Seneca Crane into bending the rules to allow for a dual-victor scenario. Haymitch is more loyal to the plan/system then to individuals, but he does know how to strike alliances to protect himself and those he's taken on as his.

Finnick: A 14-year-old Career tribute? Ambitious. Certainly thought he was destined for greatness. More than his clever, showy arena strategy (where the others didn't realize 'he was the one to beat until it was too late'), I think his successful career as a spy points to Finnick as a snake. He's the anti-Katniss, able to conceal his true motives and use his beguiling charm to get Capitol citizens to reveal to him the dirtiest of laundry.

Rue: "Where's Peeta?" "Oh, he's down by the river..." Rue is one clever girl, using her size and her abilities well to her advantage in the arena. But her biggest triumph is making her alliance with Katniss, which might well have saved her (she could probably guess that Katniss would think of her as a substitute Prim and have a great deal of difficulty killing her, if it came down to it). She makes it oblivious to Katniss that she'd be a valuable teammate (with the trackerjackers and the leaves), and is cunning enough to neglect to mention to Katniss the one fact that might have caused her to pull away from Rue to go be with Peeta (who's down by the river alright, bleeding to death). And, if you take the movies for canon, during training, she stole a favorite knife from the biggest threat in the tribute pool, just to watch what he'd do (and enjoy how it played out).

Comments

[lorata.livejournal.com]

I would just like to say that the reason I sent that link is because I was mouth-frothing over EFFIE IN HUFFLEPUFF.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Duly noted

*hides under something*

[lorata.livejournal.com]

hahahaha I just want the other commenters to see this and join in my rage pls

[lorata.livejournal.com]

As a sixteen year old, he decided that he loved a girl he almost never spoke to so much he was willing to die for her. I'm not sure if that's anything other than crazy, but maybe it's Hufflepuff?

I can't decide whether this makes me laugh my head off or feel insulted. XD

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

A little from column A...

Seriously, I'm thinking it's a kind of intense, almost pathological loyalty? There's a 'shadow' to every positive house characteristic. Maybe this is one form of that?

[lorata.livejournal.com]

In my head I think Peeta is too much of a manipulative liar to be in Hufflepuff (THIS IS NOT A BAD THING DO NOT COME AFTER ME SLYTHERINS, IF HE HAD NOT DONE THEY WOULD ALL BE DEAD), look at how he dealt with the Capitol and everything. But yeah, his loving~~~ a girl he's probably never spoken to in his life is pretty dumb for a snake.

also he and Snape both stalked their bb crushes from the bushes like total weirdo creepers, although SNAPE ACTUALLY TALKED TO HIS AND MADE FRIENDS WITH HER, PEETA

I dunno, like we were saying it's hard to place him because we don't see a lot of him. We get Katniss' POV where she mostly misunderstands him, and then he's ........ hijacked. So.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

(THIS IS NOT A BAD THING DO NOT COME AFTER ME SLYTHERINS, IF HE HAD NOT DONE THEY WOULD ALL BE DEAD)

Hey, I got no issues here. That's a Slytherin compliment.

[lorata.livejournal.com]

omg all these comments are me COME ON LIVEJOURNAL

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Fight me, timezones!

[lorata.livejournal.com]

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

i'm saving this for next time I want to quit and join the circus.

[xanify.livejournal.com]

I feel like Johanna is definitely Gryffindor - I didn't really think she pretended to be weak so much as she discovered late in the game that she was strong.

Yes on Rue, omg. And Katniss never puts it together, either, which is also amazing in an entirely different direction.

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Johanna, yeah, I kind of like the "she wasn't totally faking, she was actually really scared" characterization a la deathmallow, it seems like the sort of thing the Capitol would do, to take that and twist it into "oh wasn't she so clever!"

And Katniss never puts it together, either, which is also amazing in an entirely different direction.
Katniss really is oblivious sometimes, huh. Can be kind of annoying in your POV character.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

IDK, I guess I'm in the minority, but I could easily see the Johanna we meet in CF pulling off the fake-weakling thing. It's one of the best strategies I can think of for someone as diminutive as Jo. I like the idea that she was clever about it, rather than almost breaking down and just happening to get lucky. (But I'll also admit I don't put a lot of thought into her characterization because she's not in my list o' favorites)

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Oh I could kind of see it either way, or a hybrid where she really was scared and then realized she could play that into an advantage.

I find Johanna really interesting actually, I just don't know how to write her at all.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me neither? And, er, Eibhlin blames Jo for Wiress' death, so that doesn't help.

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

ah, yeah whooops. that would make things tricky.

(the more I write Wiress the sadder I am about her having basically a psychotic break and then dying, grrrrrrrrrrr)

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

For the record, I feel the same as you in that I could imagine the Johanna we meet as capable of pulling off the fake-weakling thing! Ultimately, I think I tend to prefer to think of it as something of a hybrid thing like Kawuli, really, to try and capture what I like best of both ideas? ^^; Where she was actually scared at first at the reaping, but rather than trying to subsequently act tough and make up for it, she decided to purposely keep acting as weak and frightened as possible.

(and then because I picture that she had adopted this strategy independent of her mentor, the Seven mentors were also sort of thrown for a loop when she switched gears)

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

(That would make sense, especially as it seems Johanna doesn't have a lot of respect for them)

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

(...Your Own Kind didn't get to show Reinhold as a mentor, but I feel like Kayta and Reinhold could never quite grasp the potential team aspects of mentoring and this fractiousness didn't do any favors to their tributes or set a helpful example for the Victors after them)

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

I don't know HP all that well (/hides) so I'll just be over here nodding and going "hmmm, interesting" except to say I have no clue how you would even go about sorting Effie given that she may in fact be a Capitol cyborg.

(or....well if anyone else is reading Bitch Planet, like the pink hologram woman)(and you should probably read Bitch Planet because holy numbnuts it's awesome)(/end tangent)

[xanify.livejournal.com]

I CAN SEND YOU ALL THE EBOOKS AND MOVIES IF YOU WANT

not that i am a militant HP fan at all, of course

[kawuli.livejournal.com]

Haha I have read them! When I started my MSc one of my lab mates found out I hadn't and yelled at me and then loaned me all the books. I just haven't ever been in the fandom or what have you and I only read them the once so I don't know all the ins and outs.

Have not watched all the movies, though, I should add those to the download queue while I am in the land of fast Internet.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

+1 I think the movies should be required viewing ;)

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

Kind of the same boat as Kawuli, not having much HP knowledge, but I definitely feel like Gale would be in the same house as Katniss. (I mean, I feel like, in general, Katniss and Gale are more similar and Peeta's more different)

You give some good examples about Rue and Plutarch and such! It's interesting.

[lorata.livejournal.com]

The Rue thing sticks in my craw all the time with like 80% of fandom's portrayal of her. There's a really popular fic by a really popular author that I won't name names on that has her be this absolutely naive, clueless innocent who also presents as being maybe 8 years old, not 12 CHILD DEVELOPMENT THIS IS A THING PEOPLE but anyway and I'm like .... DID WE CONSUME THE SAME MEDIA OR DID WE NOT?!

The girl saved Katniss, thereby putting Katniss in her debt and ensuring her own protection. She flat-out lied about Peeta's safety, clearly hoping he bled out before it became a problem. She obviously cared for Katniss but that girl was playing to win, man. "Don't count me out just yet" indeed.

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

Well, there's certainly all sorts of variant portrayals of all sorts of characters in this fandom, that's for sure. (or maybe I am/have been mostly involved in much smaller fandoms)

Definitely agree with you about her playing to win. She went a lot farther than the average 12 year old in the Games, that's for sure! She knew what skills she had and how to use them.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Kind of the same boat as Kawuli, not having much HP knowledge, but I definitely feel like Gale would be in the same house as Katniss. (I mean, I feel like, in general, Katniss and Gale are more similar and Peeta's more different)

Yes! I think that's the set up SC is going for--a young man who shares her background/interests v. the mysterious merchant kid. In fact, I think Katniss actually comments on this in the epilogue to MJ, when she says that in part she chose Peeta because she and Gale were too alike, burning with their anger, or something?

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I agree! And I think you're also right about Katniss something like that (but I just have read/looked over MJ the least out of all of them XD;)