The struggle of man versus animal is one that we have noted down in history as age long. We are constantly battling against our animalistic instincts in order to be classified as civilized human beings. Those who give in to their urges and instincts are often deemed as lesser humans. This is all clearly seen in the use of werewolves within Harry Potter’s world.. Continue reading
We have all heard the stories surrounding big foot, the loch Ness monster or the Jersey Devil and the people who chase after them. While they are all mostly myths thee are still a select few who believe in these magical creatures. Those people are called Cryptozoologists. Cryptozoology is the pseudoscience in proving that entities such as Loch Ness and big foot actually do exist. In Peter Dendle’s “Cryptozoology and the Paranormal in Harry Potter – Truth and Belief at the Borders of Census,” these myths, the creatures and paranormal in the Wizarding World, are discussed. Continue reading
My reading journal for this week centers on the idea of “magic” that could theoretically be performed by non-magic users as well, and uses the chapter, “Magic for Daily Use and Profit: Mandrakes, Charms, Bezoars, and Love Potions in the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds.”
Can You Be Racist to a Goblin? Yes, Yes You Can.
In The Harry Potter series, there are a multitude of other races that live alongside humans. While there are, of course, humans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, in this case I’m referring to species that have the sentience of humans (or something that’s quite close) while quite literally not being human. Continue reading
Still Using Magic.
Birgit Wiedl article “Magic for Daily Use and Profit” is the first chapter in Harry Potter and History. Wiedl discusses how magic formed among the cultures of the world before Rowling wrote the beloved story of the boy who lived. The majority of her article illustrates the magic element such as potions, charms, and astrology were used for people to make profit before Snape teaches at Hogwarts. Wield’s research reveals the influence that magic had on our culture, but what if the concept of magic is still influencing us. It is common to shop organically or green today or how politicians exaggerated facts. We may not be under a spell or have to harvest mandrakes, but the magical charm may be hidden under these strategies. Continue reading
My second reading journal focuses heavily on witch hunts and how that factored into Harry Potter being a taboo book for some people. I used Birgit Wiedl’s “Why the Statue of Secrecy? Real Historical Oppression of Witches and Wizards.”
Reading Journal 1
One of the elements necessary for a book to be deemed fantasy literature is a secondary world. However, for a book to be considered good fantasy literature that secondary world must be relatable in the struggles the characters are presented with. The secondary world of the Harry Potter series presents us with a vast and complex world that suffers from injustice, intolerance, and violence much like our own. The struggle between good and evil is present and we see a villain that looks remarkably like one from our own world. But just how similar is Voldemort to Hitler? Within the chapter “Was Voldemort a Nazi? Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism” Nancy Reagin explores this idea and shows that the biggest similarity did not fall in the Hitler-Voldemort comparison, but in the ideas propagated by their supporters. Continue reading
Journal #1: Marx, Magic, and Muggles
Throughout the golden trios adventures in the wizarding world, they are subjected to the whims of the Ministry of Magic. Although in the first few books the Ministry was seen as a beneficial governmental organization, in the final books it is easy to see how ugly the Ministry can get, and that’s before it’s taken over by Voldemort in the final book. I believe that the Ministry holds a great deal of power in the British Wizarding world because it has its hands (or wands) in so many things.
Susan Hall’s chapter titled, “Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter’s World,” talks about the social class in the wizarding world. Throughout the Harry Potter books, you see the constant division in social classes between the characters. One of the best examples is looking at the Malfoy family.
Talking about Hogwarts leads to the question of which house one belongs in. Hard core fans know their houses and its traits like the back of their hand. Chantel Lavoie discusses in her article, “Safe as Houses Sorting and School Houses at Hogwarts” the role of the houses in the Harry Potter series. Lavoie discusses that due to the mood of the series, Rowling is supporting that Gryffindor and Slytherin are the two best houses out of the four. Lavoie claims this due to the amount of knowledge that the reader acquires from the series about the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses and the little understanding there is given for Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Continue reading