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.

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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.

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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 →

For my journal, I used Nancy Reagin’s, “Was Voldemort a Nazi? Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism.” In my writing, I compared whether or not Voldemort was a good representation of a Nazi. Continue reading →

My reading journal is on “Marx, Magic, and Muggles: Class Conflict in Harry Potter’s World.” I use it to discuss the issues the magical world’s economy poses in regards to new innovations.

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