In literature, colors are widely used as adjectives to describe things, but they also elicit emotions and represent different aspects of human life. Sometimes authors use colors to identify different characteristics within players of a novel or to foreshadow something that will happen. I17)n the Harry Potter book series, color plays a big role when differentiating the four houses at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. J. K. Rowling, author of this series, chooses certain colors to identify each house. Rowling demonstrates what Josef Albers describes as "what colors dominate in our work" and that "everyone has preference for certain colors and prejudices about others" (Interaction with Color, 17). Albers is saying that colors represent something and when used in a piece of work, they are important and convey meaning.
(photo courtesy of http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Hogwarts_Houses)
Two colors represent each house at the school: Gryffindor, scarlet and gold; Slytherin, green and silver; Ravenclaw, blue and bronze; and Hufflepuff, yellow and black. These colors correspond to different characteristics that each house values: courage, ambition, intelligence, and hard work. In an editorial done by Lindsey Skouras, the colors of Hogwarts are broken down and explained. The red or scarlet of Gryffindor represents both war and passion. It's energetic color correlates with how often the house is mentioned and talked about in the novel. Slytherin's green color is often portrayed as the negative connotation, the need for power, envy, and distrustful. The evil wizard, Voldemort, is often around the same colors as the Slytherin house and values similar aspects. The blue in Ravenclaw represent an obsessive, content, and concerned person, like Luna Lovegood. Luna is often living within her own mind, yet is content in the world and intelligent. Hufflepuff's yellow describes optimism and happiness, yet the house's other color is black. This is the pair where the colors are opposed, showing both friendship and fear within the house.
The colors of Harry Potter's world is easily memorable and the four houses represent negative and positive aspects of the characters in them.
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