As a Slytherin, I have often found myself underwhelmed or disappointed with the representation of my house throughout the novels. Merlin is long gone, don’t get me started on the Great Snape Debate, Slughorn is spineless, and Malfoy has always been the character I hated to love. Upon rereading the series, I had a startling epiphany – perhaps I had been looking for the representation I so desperately sought in all the wrong places. There is one character who continuously embodies ambition, cunning, resourcefulness, and everything the Slytherin house stands for: Dobby.
No one can deny that our favorite house elf is ambitious in his fight for freedom and equality. He is constantly demanding a level of respect that no other of his kind would dare …show more content…
He states it best that “Dobby hears things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors” (Goblet of Fire 491). Whatever needs done, he readily jumps to the challenge, using his teleportation abilities and eavesdropping skills, be it on a Malfoy or a Crouch, to reach whatever his goal may be.
Luckily for Dobby, he is as resourceful as he is cunning, using his daily punishments to hide his insubordination while he tries to convince Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. While he doesn’t have the opportunities of the trio or other characters, Dobby will use whatever he can to propel himself further, be it his connections with Harry, Dumbledore’s kindness, or a slimy thrown aside sock. When he sees his chance, he takes it even if others would balk at the risk and declare that it is not worth it. Dobby is able to think on his feet and adapt to the situation …show more content…
Even though a tradition is by definition something that is consistently passed down from generation to generation, they are by their very nature a concept that is open to interpretation and that varies from culture to culture, group to group, person to person. While Dobby strives to abandon the house elf traditions that keep him enslaved, he manages to preserve some of the more positive values of his kind, particularly hard work. When Dumbledore offers him vacation days, Dobby confides in Harry that he likes the work, he enjoys being useful, and being around his friends. It can be argued that Dobby is trying to shrug off the traditions of old to create his
No one can deny that our favorite house elf is ambitious in his fight for freedom and equality. He is constantly demanding a level of respect that no other of his kind would dare …show more content…
He states it best that “Dobby hears things, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors” (Goblet of Fire 491). Whatever needs done, he readily jumps to the challenge, using his teleportation abilities and eavesdropping skills, be it on a Malfoy or a Crouch, to reach whatever his goal may be.
Luckily for Dobby, he is as resourceful as he is cunning, using his daily punishments to hide his insubordination while he tries to convince Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. While he doesn’t have the opportunities of the trio or other characters, Dobby will use whatever he can to propel himself further, be it his connections with Harry, Dumbledore’s kindness, or a slimy thrown aside sock. When he sees his chance, he takes it even if others would balk at the risk and declare that it is not worth it. Dobby is able to think on his feet and adapt to the situation …show more content…
Even though a tradition is by definition something that is consistently passed down from generation to generation, they are by their very nature a concept that is open to interpretation and that varies from culture to culture, group to group, person to person. While Dobby strives to abandon the house elf traditions that keep him enslaved, he manages to preserve some of the more positive values of his kind, particularly hard work. When Dumbledore offers him vacation days, Dobby confides in Harry that he likes the work, he enjoys being useful, and being around his friends. It can be argued that Dobby is trying to shrug off the traditions of old to create his