This week I read “Safe As Houses: Sorting and School Houses At Hogwarts” by Chantel Lavoie and found very little, if any, substance other than one or two slight examples that peer into a bigger picture rather than simply school life squabbles. The vast majority of this text seems to rely solely on the presumption that the Slytherin house is almost strictly evil and has reason for being the most undesirable house, this foundation purposely has an antithesis in the form of pointing out on page seven that Snape is impressively courageous. He is and there is little doubt in it, but that isn’t really the point, the main point is that any notion for house placement is up for interpretation, so assuming that Snape is a special example of a brave Slytherin depends on ones own definition, while I’m not sure if this article came out before “Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince.” If it was then it gravely forgets the bravery of Draco Malfoy or professor Horace Slughorn, and if this was written before “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows” then it forgets the bravery of the entire Malfoy family. While I’m sure this was written before at least the former of these two, I think it’s glaringly one-dimensional.

Above anything else though, the thing that sets the meaning of one’s house into nothingness is found on page 6 where it brings up that Peter Pettigrew only: “…turned Slythering after leaving Hogwarts.” With this idea on the tables in makes an sort of assertion of the importance of ones own house in their later years to be utterly meaningless, amounting to very little more than old school pride or heritage to ones own class, or family as this article makes clear on page eleven. The only lasting effect ones house has is to their selective options as friends rather than just peers since there’s much rivalry between the houses, notably even ambivalence towards Slytherin by the rest of the other houses. The main question though, is if it is all deserved, the article brings up reasons why it could be, mainly on the likability of the characters on page seven, but also brings up, on the previous page no less, that it wouldn’t matter in real life as sorting’s done here are unbelievably flawed, anyone could go anywhere based on what they have, Harry could have been in Slytherin due to his ambition, according to page five, and he were, certainly he wouldn’t be considered evil by default. It’s childish to even write up an article with this as the foundation instead of summarizing in a single sentence that they only seem bad due to perspective. On it’s fifth page, the article asks and fails to answer why a house so evil would even be allowed to be in Hogwarts, the answer is an incredibly simple one for someone willing to put things together rather than simply stick to one’s own ignorance. The answer is that they are not all bad, Gryffindor’s are not all good, Ravenclaw’s are not scholarly, and Hufflepuff’s are not all kind, they simply have characteristics that could be perceived as such, as we all do, the only difference is that some aspects shine a bit brighter.

In their chapter, “Were the Malfoys Aristocrats?: The Decline and Fall of the Pure-Blooded”, Laura Loiacono and Grace Loiacono propose the idea that despite the fact that the world of Harry Potter does not have actual aristocratic titles, there are still certain families who can be seen as aristocratic by definition. The main example used is the Malfoy family. The Malfoy family portray themselves as cold, uncaring upper-class individuals who fight to maintain a hold onto their own class privilege.

One of the points that the authors makes is about the home that the Malfoy’s live in. Malfoy Manor is the only residence mentioned in the series that has reference to being a manor house. “Manor houses are a holdover from the medieval period, when feudalism (also called the “manorial” system) assigned legal and economic power over an area to the lord of the manor; centuries after the end of feudalism, there are very few buildings left in Britain today that can legally lay claim to being a manor (Page 177).” The authors further claim that the Malfoy’s ownership of a manor home is one of their biggest claims to being considered “aristocratic” in the wizarding world.

Another point that the authors make points out the use of servants. “Muggle aristocrats in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries employed servants, although they did not exert quite the level of control over the servants in their employ that wizards exert over their house-elves (page 177-178).” Muggle aristocrats, as well as other wealthy employers, would use servants to do whatever work they deemed unworthy of their status. The wizarding community used house-elves as their servants, and though not all of them were as torturous to their house elves as the Malfoys were to their previous house-elf, Dobby, muggle aristocrats were in return not always nice to their servants.

Marriage is another resemblance that the Malfoy’s have in comparison to muggle aristocrats. “Because a “pure” ancestry underlay both groups’ claims to superiority, marriage outside the group would shame the whole family and “contaminate” their line of descent (page 178).” The examples that the authors give from the Harry Potter universe, is Andromeda Black, who married muggle born Ted Tonks and had a daughter, Nymphadora Tonks, and her family burned her off of the family tree and disowned her for it. In real life, Vita Sackville-West married Harold Nicholson, a man with no title, her family was upset due to the fact that she decided to marry beneath her station. Marrying the right person was very key to maintain station and to disregard that to the Malfoy’s and aristocrats is beyond imagination.

Overall, it is very interesting to see the comparisons between the Malfoy’s and the aristocrats we have experienced in the real world. The author’s ideas are very convincing and despite the fact that the wizarding world does not give such titles, I believe that the idea that the Malfoy’s are as close to aristocracy as the Harry Potter universe gets. They feel entitled, have money, power, servants, and believe that their beliefs are the superior way of life, like many aristocrats are portrayed in the muggle world.

Teaching children is a challenge, especially when you need them to retain and apply the information you teach them. Many teachers have developed creative ways to engage students in all disciplines to help them retain more content and be able to use it further down the line. In the article “Harry Potter as a context for Interdisciplinary Studies” by Tisha Beaton, there are many examples of how this can be done specifically using Harry Potter and the wizarding world. While there are plenty of useful examples and clearly beneficial activities that were created, I would like to add to the list of possible exercises and explain why they would be effective for students. This will be a beneficial exercise for myself as I can apply it to real life so all my future students can all retain and apply what they are taught.
The methods applied in Beaton’s article allowed students to think creatively and make their own projects for a given subject that personally fit their thinking and learning style. The author states that, “…For some students, responding to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone filled a need for self-expression and the desire to record their thinking about the world. As Harry Potter’s world mirrors our own, the meanings they derived from the literature…”(Beaton 102). Students that were asked to think critically and creatively had more of a desire to repeat back information that they had learned or share opinions which they formed from the content they were taught. Not only does this ensure that the students remember what they have learned, it also motivates them to remain engaged when doing future assignments within other disciplines. If I could create another exercise that could require the student to think and respond in a similar way I would ask the children to read a description of the four houses of Hogwarts and answer which house they would belong to and why. This will allow students to think about themselves on a personal level while also having to support their opinion with information that they were given.
Another great approach that was taken was related to mathematics. Using Harry Potter as a concept for math is a great way to engage students who are not able to think logically as easily as others. Numbers do not always connect with students, and sometimes creative thinking can be a good way to get students to apply the topic and fully understand it. When discussing budgeting activity presented to a group of students Beaton explains that, “…Each student was assigned a character from the novel and given a different amount for his or her budget..” (Beaton 100). The use of pretending makes the activity more appealing and also encourages the children to think in a different way. The activity was successful in the classroom and the students fully understood how to budget and had a real-life way to apply the concept even though they learned it by using fictional characters. The concept that everyone has a different budget and needs to split their money differently was easy to understand, and the use of familiar characters helped promote enthusiasm and made it more likely for the information to stick with the children. If I could suggest a similar exercise for the students, I would have used Gringots Bank as context. I would use the concept of simple math and apply amounts to different Gringots coins and have the students add them or subtract them to make change. I would ask them to pick a student (Harry, Hermione etc.) and they would all have a different set of coins but would buy the same objects with different coin amounts. This would allow the students to come up with many potential answers to the same problem while understanding how to successfully do simple math.
Scientific thinking is another way to incorporate Harry Potter into the classroom in a way that is relevant. The author discusses many different categories of science, but one in particular was used to explain a complex topic in a simple way. The article states that “…The second topic was a study of matter, which drew on laboratory experiments to prove science concepts that related to the three states of matter. The students equated this to potions class…” (Beaton 100-101). Using the idea of potions allowed students to understand that when one substance is modified or mixed with another, it changes into something else or has a new effect. While potions are fictional, it gets the point across clearly and it excites the students making the students want to learn more about science. If I could develop a new activity that could be used in a similar way, I would give the students a list of “potions” and what needs to be mixed together to create that potion. The students would have to follow directions, pay attention to order and understand cause and effect. It also gives them hands-on learning experience and makes it a fun activity while teaching them a more complicated concept.
All of the methods used to apply Harry Potter in the classroom engaged, and excited students to learn and retain the concepts presented to them. Across all disciplines it was very effective to use the familiar wizarding world of Harry Potter. In addition to what was provided I was able to think on my own on how to expand of create more activities that could be effective for students. This is a real life situation for myself seeing as I am looking to pursue a career in education and it helped me to think about the types of students I may have in the classroom and how to appeal to all of them so they can walk away learning as much as possible.

In “Hairy Snout, Human Heart,” Eveline Brugger has no clear thesis. Her article is simply an examination and comparison of werewolves in the Harry Potter Universe and the concept of werewolves in the real world. Additionally, she provides an apt review of literature on the topic which themselves offer differing views on the matter and be used to justify my point: the use of werewolves in the Harry Potter universe can serve as an allegory to institutionalized bigotry towards the lower-class within the United States.

In her article, Brugger compares Remus Lupin and Fenrir Greyback’s outlooks on their shared condition. Lupin, who actively tries to succeed in regular wizarding society, is met with push-back and contempt each time his condition is made public. Greyback o the other hand embraces his outcast status and actively uses it to terrorize the inhabitants of his world. Despite the fact that the way they carry themselves and how they feel about their condition is vastly different, the world as a whole treats them nearly identically. Even though Lupin regularly follows his Wolfsbane regiment and takes the due caution during his time of the month, he is given the same amount of respect as the murderous Greyback, as Brugger puts it, “…he willingly gives up his humanity in favor of his nature as a monster…” (Brugger 305).

In many ways this mimics the way that poverty is seen in the United States. For the as long as this country has existed, it has been built off of the exploitation of those who are either not educated enough to know when they are being exploited or too dependent on the system to do anything about it. I will admit that this is very different from werewolves, however, it is how they are treated by the rest of their society that becomes almost identical. They are both pushed to the fringes of society, deemed unqualified for jobs, and their interaction with the mainstream is considered unacceptable socially. Burger describes it, “..he or she will undoubtably face social backlash in the form of fear and revulsion…” (Brugger 304).

In order to help “cure” people of their poverty, our government has devoted enormous resources into helping people get back on their feet. Whether it be income assistance, project housing, or food stamps, many times those who are in poverty become dependant on these resources and lack the knowledge to become self-sufficient. In many cases, the public admission of being the recipient of social welfare programs comes with an incredibly social stigma. Likewise, Brugger notes that several werewolf assistance programs exist as well, although these seem to be for the protection of the general public instead of werewolves themselves. Furthermore, it is incredibly difficult to change social class in the United States. One of the best indicators of one’s net worth is the net worth of their parents. In this way, a life of poverty becomes almost hereditary, just like Lycanthropy. Brugger tells us that “…Lupin worries that his unborn child will be affected because his ‘kind usually don’t breed,’…” Once inflicted, the cycle starts and it becomes a roll of the dice as to whether it’s possible to escape. One may have the greatest desire to break the stigma and climb the social ladder, but often times it is not up to their own choices.

The social issues and atrocities that have occurred in this world have striking similarities to the happenings in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A large parallel that has been drawn between real life and this magical world compares Nazis and Hitler to Voldemort, Death Eaters and the Ministry of Magic. There are many similarities between the two and it is no surprise that the author wanted to make a point out of such a grave period in history. The ideas of, social and racial ideals, propaganda, and rise to power can be seen within the two worlds and happened in very similar ways. Racial and social ideals in Nazi Germany were the driving points of the holocaust, and the same can be said about how purebred wizards felt about mudbloods and phasing them out of the Wizarding World. Both can be connected to a term mentioned in the reading Was Voldemort a Nazi?. When making a comparison between Nazis and Death Eaters the author states, “…The term “social death”… used to describe the position of slaves in a civil society, but this term is also useful in analyzing the position of Jews and other “racial undesirables” in Germany during the 1930’s” (Reagin 142).  This real world example connects strongly to the term “Mudblood” (a wizard with one or two muggle-born parents) and how they are viewed in the wizarding world. Both the Nazis and The Death Eaters (and many Ministry supporters) used propaganda to encourage a purification within their world. Both groups want to keep “purebred”/Aryans the dominant race and they form reward systems for people who support this propaganda. There are several examples of Nazi propaganda from a website titled “High Style of Nazi Propaganda (1925-1930)”. When comparing these images to Ministry of Magic propaganda (found on google), they two are remarkably similar. There was one poster that stood out to me in particular, it was a poster of a hand holding a sword in the air and a phrase that translates to “Germans, For You!”. There is an almost identical image for Ministry propaganda and it says “when muggles attack” and there is a wizard holding a lightning bolt in a stabbing position. I think the two send the same exact message that violence is the solution and that people should praise those images.  Another parallel I was able to draw was the one between the power of German Dictatorship and Absolute power in the Wizarding world. In the article Magic is Might the author mentions that, “The Minister ruled with more independence and authority than any Muggle Prime Minister…” (Liedl 154). This quote could also be used to the way Hitler had complete control over his audience and his followers. He was not following any constitutional rules and he was simply running off of pure authority and power, much like the Minister of Magic does. Both “rulers” gained their position and their following through propaganda and spreading ideals that other people would idealize for themselves. To further support this, the author then states “Without the political freedom enjoyed by witches and wizards in governing their increasingly isolated community, ambitious and charismatic Muggles rose to power….” (Liedl 162). This example of a rise to power is exactly how Hitler gained his power during the Second World War. He used his charisma and his outstanding public speaking skills to get people on his side, and several Prime Ministers both magic and muggle did the same. All of these ideas of social and racial ideals, propaganda and rise to power were highly visible in both Nazi Germany and the Wizarding world where the extinction of mudbloods is still on the rise and used as means for justice.

Throughout her chapter “Was Voldemort a Nazi?,” Nancy Reagin makes stark comparisons to the reign of the wizarding world’s dark lord to our world’s closest equivalent. The two both had an insatiable thirst for power and if anyone got in their way of achieving that power, they very quickly and conveniently disappeared.  Additionally, the ways that their respective parties ruled and governed were similar as well; operating primarily through questionable means and oppressive policies. As such, the two could be considered almost cut/paste copies of one another that have nearly the same motivations, goals, friends, and personal backgrounds.

Of all Hitler’s nefarious wrongdoings, the most well-known is the institutionalization of anti-Semitism. This is similar to both Voldemort and Grindlewald’s view on muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards. Although how they came to power varied, once at the height of their power, they used it to systematically oppress those that they deemed inferior to themselves. As Reagin puts it, “While some extremists in the magical community campaigned to persuade the Ministry to classify mugggles as beasts rather than as human beings…[others] considered wizards to be an entirely separate race from humans.” As Voldemort was seizing power in the Ministry of Magic, he went so far as to replace the statue depicting wizards living peacefully with other races with one showcasing wizard superiority.  As far as I am aware of, Hitler did not go as far as to erect statues blatantly highlighting his views of jewish inferiority, however, he instead systematically committed genocide against non-aryans.

The primary difference between Hitler and Voldemort rests in how they governed their empires. Although they both retained absolute power and control, Hitler sat at the helm of his ship and was the energetic and charismatic leader. Conversely, Voldemort worked almost exclusively from the shadows typically allowing his higher ranking officers to lead while he attended to personal missions. Reagin addresses it herself, “…he [Voldemort] was certainly willing to let his followers pursue their vision of pureblood superiority while he was abroad.” The Death Eaters seem much more adept at acting on their own, without their leader, than the various branches of Hitler’s empire. Furthermore, Voldemort also seemed much more willing to allow his high-ranking officers to use their empire to pursue their own agendas as long as it did not act against Voldemort’s goals: absolute power and immortality.

Regardless of how they personally ruled, their respective parties maintained power in remarkable similar ways: rulings, edicts, and laws. Few people recognize that Hitler came to power through free and democratic elections. It was only after that when he re-shaped the system to ensure he remained in power indefinitely. And it was in that very way that made him so brilliantly manipulative: he used the system and played by the system’s own rules to change the system in his favor. it was only after he was at that point when the oppression of his enemies began. But even still, the oppression that he instituted was legal; he changed the law so that he was allowed to make laws that prevented Jews from succeeding in society. Voldemort work in the same way. After mobilizing his followers and seizing control of the ministry (although in a way rather different from Hitler), Voldemort began issues slews of new restrictions and false reports to suit his agenda. Reagin supports this claim by referring to the Deathly Hallows when Lupin tells Harry, “unless you can prove that you have at least one Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your power illegally and must suffer the punishment.” When the level of government autocracy has been reached when they are permitted to freely publish oppressive decrees, such as Voldemort’s against muggle-borns or Hitler’s against Jews, a revolution and revolt is surely in order.

Although the two had vastly different personalities and styles of leadership, their main goals proved to be markedly similar: reshaping the world as they saw fit and achieving total authority. Even though Voldemort prized his own personal power and longevity before anything else compared to Hitler’s determination of establishing Aryans as the leading power of the world, they were both ruthless in their resolve to achieve their goals and commanded the unquestioned loyalty of their subordinates. Ultimately, they both succumbed to the powers of the greater good but their actions scarred their respective worlds and their inhabitants. In any case, comparing the two comes easy for their outlook on the world and their opponents was scarily similar.

For my first supplemental reading I read: “Were the Malfoys Aristocrats? The Decline and Fall of the Pure-Blooded.” By Laura Loiacono and Grace Loiacono from the book. I found it interesting on many levels and agreed on many of it’s ideas and learned from it’s viewpoints. I appreciated the historical context and to how it relates to British history and politics while remaining firmly rooted at the topic at hand. One of the most notable instances comes on page 177 when they bring to mention that the Malfoy Manor may have been in the family’s possession since either the medieval period or from before the seclusion of the wizardry world. The reason why it is significant to me at least comes from how far back the supposed aristocracy can be dated. As this chapter makes clear, the Malfoy’s seem to be the only family in the entire wizardry world to have a manor, the most recent of which in stated history was in the Tudor era in the 16^th century. This does a great deal to support the claim that they do indeed belong in the aristocratic classes.

The last two segments from this chapter were probably the most intriguing of all and the ones that made the parallels from the muggle and wizardry world the most clear. Starting from page 186, a question I had always wondered to myself was detailed brilliantly, this of course pertaining to the number of aristocrats or purebloods in the wizardry world. Much like in the muggle world during the 20^th century, the higher classes saw a great deal of decline from various acts of violence and bloodshed, the majority from the first world war, which saw a great number of purebloods die and families therefore becoming permanently affected by this loss go on to a steady decline, almost wiped out in the coming generations. As stated in page 187, only two great grandchildren of Pollux and Irma black remain, this makes sense to why the pure blood status in Harry’s time was as rare as it was. By the time of Voldemort’s final defeat the class system of the wizardry world had gone into a state of deep confusion. By the time 19 years had passed, being pure blood amounted to very little other than an anecdote, in the play: “Harry Potter And The Cursed Child,” it wasn’t relevant enough to mentioned more than a handful of times, if that.

If this chapter proves anything it is that the Malfoy family were indeed aristocrats for quite some time, potentially at a low estimate of half a millennium. By the end of the 20^th century however they were a family that were by little more than pure luck and chance decisions, barely scraped by past Azkaban, they became a family of resentment and of low whispers. As stated in page 191, the Malfoy’s, or at the very least Lucius, lost all political power, what remained however, was the ultimate symbol of what was, their large and spacious manor. A constant reminder of what was.

In her chapter, “Was Voldemort a Nazi?: Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism”, by Nancy R. Reagin, we see the comparisons between Voldemort and Hitler and the ideas that they shared and differed. The two men both took the idea of a “pure race” and felt that any person who was not of their “pure race” needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Adolf Hitler felt that the Aryan race was the one true race, while Voldemort felt that only pure-blooded witches and wizards were fit to practice magic.

However, both of these men did not have man things in common other than their want to rid the world of any “impure” races and the fact that they were both hypocritical. In the “Harry Potter” series, Lord Voldemort was a “half-blood”. A “half-blood” is a person who is the child of a witch or wizard and a non-magic person which is also known as a muggle. When the article was written, there were speculations that Adolf Hitler was half Jewish, though, again, at the time the article was written the fact had yet to be proven or disproven. The main comparison between Lord Voldemort and Adolf Hitler is this quote from Reagin: “What is distinctive about Hitler and the Nazis among fascist movements-what made them such a useful comparison for Rowling-was their racial policies (Reagin, 129).”

Many people tried to conceal their heritage during World War II and J.K. Rowling used this method in the Harry Potter Series as well. “Those who tried to conceal Muggle ancestry were vulnerable to being found out and turned in, because in such a small population, those who had “unusual” (not traditional wizarding) names must have stuck out (Reagin, 139).” Though it would not work for many, the idea of trying to save a family from either death or torture would be a reason to risk the chance. Just like in Nazi Germany, the people would fake a pureblood line to try and avoid being found out. “The National Socialist regime made proof of “Aryan” ancestry a requirement for many government benefits and positions; those who wanted higher-ranking positions in the Party or the government (for example, SS officers) might even have to produce proof of “pure” ethnic German ancestry going back to 1750 (Reagin, 139).” In order to survive happily and move up in ranks, you needed to be able to produce this ancestry, if you didn’t have it, you needed to fake it.

However, unlike Hitler who was constantly seen in the public eye, Voldemort preferred to safeguard his own power and keep his immortality as well as searching for the Elder Wand. Hitler gave speeches that made many who heard them feel so moved, and feel like what he was saying was exactly how life was supposed to be. Voldemort, really did not give public speeches. He told his followers what they needed to hear and as long as his wants and needs were met, he allowed them to do what they wanted as well. “Although Voldemort seems to have focused primarily on the Elder Wand during Deathly Hallows, he was certainly willing to let his followers pursue their vision of pureblood superiority while he was abroad (Reagin, 132).” Voldemort, though he believed in the pureblood cause, was more concerned with having and maintaining power and being immortal, rather than making sure that there would only be purebloods left in the world, rather than letting muggleborns learn magic or marry into pureblood or even halfblood families.

In conclusion, though Voldemort and Adolf Hitler were very similar in their racial policies, they went about maintaining their power and expanding their presence in different ways.

Hi guys! When I made a new page for my reading journal, it showed up as a link above the house banner, but there isn’t an option to comment on pages. To fix this issue, and make all of the reading journals accessible, I’ve created a new category titled “Reading Journals” for us to post in, that way we have a section that specifically features our reading journals! All you have to do to post there is go to the top of the page like for a regular post, hover over “New” and click “Post.” Then, when you’re in the editing screen, scroll down to “Categories” on the right, and click the “Reading Journals” checkbox when you post your journal! A useful tool that you’ll also want to know about is the “Read More” button. It’s in the tool bar on the top of the text section – second one on the right. If you just post a summary of your journal, you can include the entirety of it under a read more link by using it, which makes it easier to follow through to comment on your journal. You can see an example of it on my reading journal post, which is up now!