Gilderoy Lockhart: The Ultimate Sloth

Besides being an extremely slow animal, sloth is also one of the seven deadly sins. Characteristics of sloth-like behavior include laziness, carelessness, unwillingness to act, half-hearted effort, and giving up on tasks easily. The character that most exemplifies these qualities is Gilderoy Lockhart. In this article, I explore how Lockhart exemplifies all these qualities.

 

Laziness

 

 

Then I had to put a Memory Charm on them so they wouldn’t remember doing it” (Chamber of Secrets 298).

Lockhart wanted to be famous, but he was unwilling to work for it. Instead, he was lazy and tried to take credit for other people’s achievements.

 

Carelessness

 

 

Well, that can sometimes happen. But the point is, the bones are no longer broken” (Chamber of Secrets 173).

This moment, while amusing in the film, perfectly demonstrates how careless and inept Lockhart was.

 

Unwillingness to Act

 

 

‘You mean you’re running away?’ said Harry disbelievingly. ‘After all that stuff you did in your books —’” (Chamber of Secrets 297).

Lockhart had a big mouth, always bragging about his achievements, However, when the time came to prove himself and act, he attempted to run away.

 

Half-Hearted Effort

 

 

‘Well, I’ll ask you three to just nip the rest of them back into their cage.’ He swept past them and shut the door quickly behind him” (Chamber of Secrets 102).

Instead of trying his best to teach his students, he tried to take a shortcut with the pixies. Worse than that, he refused to clean up his mistakes and left his students to do it.

 

Becoming Easily Discouraged by Any Possible Difficulty

 

 

According to Pottermore, “If he was not first and best, he would rather not participate at all.” Rather than trying to prove others wrong, he stopped trying and took the easy way out.

 

We are all flawed and have elements we would like to change about ourselves; Lockhart took it to a whole other level. His lazy behavior proved to be his downfall.

What do you think of Gilderoy Lockhart? Do you think he has any redeeming qualities? Let us know in the comments!