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Harry Potter Stereotypes

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Harry Potter can be read not only as a captivating journey into a magical world, but also as a realistic commentary on human experience. The racial outlook on the literal level is that of open mindedness. The author has intended to comment on race by focusing on blood status and house-elf rights. Rowling attempts to neutralize race with the portrayal of diverse young wizards but some are born into stereotypes from which they cannot escape. At first glance, the Harry Potter universe seems to have little racial tension than what the racial metaphors intended to provide. There are a handful of non-White characters, including Gryffindors Lee Jordan, Dean Thomas, Angelina Johnson, and Parvati Patil, as well as Harry’s first romantic interest, yet, the non-White characters are provided racial identifiers. …show more content…

In contrast to the non-White characters, none of the White characters are racially identified. Only the attributes different from being white are identified “A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line” (Rowling, Sorcerer’s Stone 89). Part of the reason lies in the privilege of Whiteness: As the unmarked centre against which difference is drawn, whiteness never has to speak its name, never has to acknowledge its role as an organizing principle in social and cultural relations. But like Lord Voldemort’s name, the omission of ‘The Race That Shall Not Be Named’ signifies more than merely an absence. Identifying and naming “Whiteness” brings to mind various racial discrepancies and creates awareness of racial privilege which makes White people feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, there is little doubt that she uses wizards, Muggles, and house-elves as symbolic racial categories and that Voldemort’s obsession with pureblood status is a very thinly veiled allegory for European and American obsession with racial purity during the first half of the 20th

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