Hufflepuff and the Deceiving Artist

An Interesting Quiz Indeed

This Hogwarts House Quiz is the first one that didn’t lead me to Gryffindor or Slytherin. Still, I’m glad they set the quiz up so that each question only had two options to choose from. This makes it hard for people to sway their answers in a certain direction. The questions seem random, but they are the sort of questions that get a feel for your personality. I genuinely had no idea which house my answers were leaning toward. It feels much more authentic than four options like ‘brave, calm, cunning, or intelligent.’ Could I have been swaying my own answers this whole time?

Hufflepuff Traits

Helga Hufflepuff took everyone who wasn’t sorted into Gryffindor, Slytherin, or Ravenclaw into her house. These were the wizards whose quality traits didn’t shine, or weren’t appreciated. Nowadays, Hufflepuffs are seen as having a strong sense of loyalty and justice. They believe in hard work and patience. Even so, many still believe the stereotype of them only being stoners with no drive, even in the muggle world. We all want Voldemort defeated because of his prejudice against wizards who aren’t pure blooded, but we’d still tease our friends for being sorted into Hufflepuff.

Art versus the Artist

Harry Potter is a terrific series about tearing down a tyrannical leader and erasing prejudice. It’s a shame the author would become the very villain she had her characters destroy. This is a common case of the art not reflecting the artist. Far too often, we as humans get so caught up in our love of various art forms that we put their creators on a pedestal. So many of our favorite celebrities, musicians, and influencers have shown traits of being some kind of secretly terrible person. The art is nothing more than a mask, and we, as observers, need to get used to looking under the mask before idolizing these creators. Ask questions and see how direct their answers are. If we cannot do this for ourselves, we need to listen to first-hand accounts from those around us. We’ll always indulge in the art at first, and that’s okay. We’ll feel guilty if it turns out the artist is hiding terrible secrets, but as long as we keep our minds and ears open, we can grow. Some artists are better at keeping the seams of their mask tighter than others, while some may turn out to be as wonderful as their artwork. The point isn’t to be perfect, but to be able to listen and learn.