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Elaine Ostry's 'Accepting Mudblods'

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A) History of Magic (Word Count: 201)
In the article “Accepting Mudbloods: The Ambivalent Social Vision of J.K Rowling’s Fairy Tales” Elaine Ostry explains the purpose of fairy tale themes throughout the Harry Potter series. Many events in Harry Potter can be connected to commonly known fairy tales. Ostry explains that authors tend to change common fairy tales to suit their needs, and Rowling alters the tales in order to combat materialism and racism. Ron’s and Hermione’s situation is used to argue against materialism, and show people should be judged on their character and not their wealth. On the other hand, the attitude towards wealth becomes conflicted, as the modest decision is often rewarded with riches. In addition, race is the main cause of the conflicts between muggle-born and pure-blood, and between human wizards and nonhuman magical creatures. Ostry explains that the idea is there, but there are some shortcomings. They fight to protect muggle-born wizards, but tend to look down on muggles, and cultural groups of the characters are not commonly specified. Ostry considered this a form of “color blindness” and it contradicts Rowling’s ideas on racial tolerance. Overall, the story has radical parts when discussing racial tolerance and materialism, but it is still a conservative story.
B) Muggle Studies (Word Count: 198) …show more content…

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