ipl-logo

Harry Potter Gender Roles

1725 Words7 Pages

Gender Roles and Christian Symbols in Harry Potter The novel series Harry Potter is one of the most successful series ever written. Today, it appears in more than sixty languages around the world. It is full of adventure and mystery that grabs the attention of readers, young and old. Influenced by Christianity and the many gender roles in today’s society, J.K. Rowling uses symbols, whether it be a person or an object, to portray her views throughout the Harry Potter series. J. K. Rowling is a British author that was born in Chipping Sodbury, Gloucestershire, England. She was born to a normal family and had a normal childhood. Rowling always had a passion for writing. She first started writing at the age of six. As she grew older, she wanted …show more content…

One of the most prominent is that of the different gender roles in society, mostly the roles of the women that are around Harry. Rowling is greatly influenced by the roles on women in today’s society. She portrays the women around Harry as knowledge bearers and sometimes even stereotypes them. She shows them as being protectors from evil. Luna Lovegood and Professor McGonagall, for example, are seen as wise or as a mother figure and that is all. These two women are only seen as stereotypical women to Harry (Cordova). He never grows close enough to them to know anything more about them. McGonagall especially is seen being caught up in her emotions and having sporadic outbursts here and there. For example, she “clutches her chest, gasps, and speaks while the all-knowing Dumbledore beams” when Harry returned from defeating the basilisk, a giant serpent used by dark wizards, in the second novel (Gallardo and …show more content…

House elves are small, enslaved, and emotional creatures with high pitched voices that live only to serve a magical family or institution; they are “deeply ingrained” to their masters (Kellner). They are “second-class citizens in the wizarding world” and are constantly being taken advantage of (Kellner). These elves are an “obvious allegory for subjugated populations everywhere” (Kellner). Most house elves are uneducated, and they do not have the means to overcome the people oppressing them. They do not think for themselves. Rowling is trying to portray that the women in today’s society are beginning to think like the elves. Women are thinking that this kind of “enslavement” is a moral requirement, not just a societal

Show More
Related

Wes Moore's Life

140 Words | 1 Pages

She wanted him to grow up to have a successful life and develop

Read More

Ethos And Pathos In Margaret Sanger's Speech

1351 Words | 6 Pages

In the beginning she talks about how throughout the centuries women have been slaves to men’s desires and philosophies. She evens relates men’s hold of women as the “shackles of slavery”. “We now know that there never can be a free humanity until woman is freed from ignorance, and we know, too, that woman can never call herself free until she is mistress of her own body. Just so long as man dictates and controls the standards of sex morality, just so long will man control the world” (pg.2).

Read More

Fahrenheit 451 Gender Analysis

250 Words | 1 Pages

In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, gender divides are not readily apparent however they do exist, resembling many real societies. In Bradbury’s society the government has the most power followed by the firemen. There is no evidence of any women being firefighters in their society, resulting in women having less power than men. Also in Montag’s case, he works while his wife is at home. Montag’s wife, Mildred, is not expected to work, nor are there any jobs mentioned that she, a women, could perform.

Read More

Horror In Shirley Jackson's The Haunting Of Hill House

1639 Words | 7 Pages

Also, Since society treated women poorly they would treat each other poorly. On page 33 of the Haunting of Hill House Jackson said, "But she looked oddly well, it seemed to her as she stood by the long mirror on the wardrobe door, almost comfortable.” Women would turn against each other and try to be better than each other. This is shown by the relationship between Eleanor and Theodora in this novel. Men during the 1950s played a huge role in the daily lives of women, which is shown the

Read More

Little Giants: Gender Roles In Society

804 Words | 4 Pages

I remembered when I was young, there were plenty of movie that has girls play dolls and boys play football. These movies were popular among children that day until now, girls were meant to be soft and boys were meant to be powerful and strong. Then one day, I’ve watched a movie that has a girl play in the football team and I were surprised because it’s the first time that I’ve seen a movie that shows girl can be both femininity and masculinity. This movie has a huge impact on young children behaviour and has influenced children in constructing gender roles in the society. ‘Little Giants’ has shown the characteristic of the main character to be abnormal and changing the gender stereotypes in young audiences’ perspective.

Read More

Gender Roles In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

737 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is set in the 1960’s, a time when men and women had specific and restrictive roles in society. Men were the ones to work and earn money for their families and women were expected to a caring and obedient homemakers. In many ways, those gender stereotypes are still very present today. The contrasting opinions of Atticus Finch and Aunt Alexandra provide the reader with the different views on how men and women should be raised, which in turn, affects the readers thoughts and opinions on the gender expectations and roles that are present in today’s society.

Read More

Gender Differences In Lord Of The Flies Gender Roles Essay

560 Words | 3 Pages

Lady of the Flies While reading any novel, watching any movie, or generally just enjoying any sort of story no matter what type of media it is conveyed through, the listener may often ask questions of what could have been. That is to say that they ask themselves what new or different direction the story might go through if one or more certain qualities of the story were to be changed or reversed. One common question, or trope, that comes up is if what if the genders of the main characters were changed from boy to girl, or vice versa? In a novel like Lord of the Flies by William Golding, which contains an all male schoolboy cast, this is bound to be asked.

Read More

Gender Roles In The Princess And The Frog

597 Words | 3 Pages

The movie “The Princess and the Frog” is not your typical “boy saves girl” movie. Instead, this Disney movie presents us with a strong female lead who doesn’t need a man to achieve her goals. In many previous Disney movies, it is demonstrated that a girl needs a man in order to get her happily ever after. Without a prince, she is nothing. In “The Princess and the Frog” the gender roles are presented to us as equal, even reverse at times.

Read More

Stereotypes Of Being A Child Of Immigrants

272 Words | 2 Pages

I knew that when I became older I wanted to have the same determination and work ethic that I grew up observing. I wanted to have the same strength that she did to pursue her passions.

Read More

Trifles Gender Roles

823 Words | 4 Pages

The one-act play, “Trifles,” by Susan Glaspell, has several themes that are incorporated within it. There are several dominant ideas such as female identity, patriarchal dominance, isolation, and justice are themes that are all reflected in different ways throughout the play; however, gender is the main theme of “Trifles.” There is a considerable difference between the roles of the men and the women in this play. The men are expected to act in a more controlling, dominant way, while the women are expected to act in the typical ‘housekeeper’ fashion. The theme of gender is brought out through the play in many dramatic elements such as character, tone, and dramatic irony.

Read More

Spirited Away Gender Roles

1682 Words | 7 Pages

As feminism and gender equality are becoming more important to society, the way gender roles are depicted in literature and media are shifting to conform to society’s views. This usage of gender roles can be seen in two popular contemporary animated movies: Frozen and Spirited Away. Both of these films are geared for younger audiences and attempt to teach important life lessons, like friendship and growing up. Through closer examination of how each film portrays gender, however, Frozen appears to not be as egalitarian as many have come to believe. Comparing both films, Frozen is not very feminist as it continues to perpetuate traditional gender roles and fairytale tropes, such as love at first sight and damsels in distress, whereas Spirited

Read More

Gender Roles In Puritan Society

571 Words | 3 Pages

Looking back to the Puritan society, the equality between males and females is one of the most controversial faults of the time. The Puritan’s did not view males and females as equal. The Puritans thought of women to be not important in comparison to men. The authorities gave specific rules and expected the people to follow the rules, or they would be punished. In modern day American society, men and women have some of the same roles.

Read More

Hidden Symbols In Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic

880 Words | 4 Pages

All authors place symbols within their writings to apply hidden meanings that correspond with certain characters. Writer Alice Hoffman’s brilliant novel, Practical Magic contains many symbolic items. Some readers are unable to connect the emblematic pieces to a specific character. Others are able to identify the exact objects that are connected to certain people in a book. Three symbols in Hoffman’s Practical Magic that are easy to identify are the dove heart, the lilacs, and the thorns.

Read More

Gender Roles In Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

979 Words | 4 Pages

In contrast of all of this if I was younger and read this specific part of the novel I wouldn’t have noticed any gender prejudice. As a child I would honestly think she is just a rude person who thinks they’re too good for others. I would’ve understood it a whole different way than Rowling intended to portray them due to how a child’s mindset would be

Read More

Gender Roles In The Twilight Saga

1031 Words | 5 Pages

These two books are very well known and loved by young adolescent girls and teenagers all over the world. It is worrisome that these young girls could be soaking up hidden messages about gender roles without even realizing it and then play them out in their own lives. It is also very concerning that young girls let boys and men talk to the in a disrespectful

Read More

More about Harry Potter Gender Roles

Related Topics

Open Document