Discourse on the purity of Blood and Harry Potter

How do the novels play with the thesis of pure blood (Master Race) giving an antithesis by belonging protagonists to half-blood / Mud-blood? What sort of synthesis is sought in this discourse in the Harry Potter series?

web resources

• Not So Magical: Issues with Racism, Classism, and

• Ideology in Harry Potter

• Mudbloods, Half-bloods and Pure-bloods

• The issues of racism and race discrimination in J.K.

Rowling’s Harry Potter

Arguments

• Pure blooded wizards have a sense of Pride in their "pure blood" identity

• The book addresses issues of race descrimination not only in Human world but also in non-human races. Like House elves, Goblins, Centaurs, and Giants(Click Here to navigate article)

• Stereotypical and Prejudicial behaviour of Lord Voldemort and his followers towards Muggle born and half blood wizards

• Notion of Racial Purification followed by Lord Voldemort

• Voldemort's campaign against “mudbloods” as Self-loathing

• Conflict between Good and Evil ultimately starts by making discrimination between Pure blood wizards and Muggle born of Half-Blood.

Illustrations

Pure blooded wizards have a sense of Pride in their "pure blood" identity: Pure blooded wizard means a wizard or witches have no muggle blood in their family tree until three generations. And this is rare to find. Draco Malfoy is pure blooded wizard and he always take false pride in being pure blood and also sidelines muggle born by saying them 'the other sort' and these pure blooded wizard are born and brought up with a notion that they are better than others because pure blood of wizarding world is running in their vain

’It's about the most insulting thing he could think of,’ gasped Ron, coming back up. ‘Mudblood's a

really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born - you know, non-magic parents. There are some

wizards - like Malfoy's family - who think they're better than everyone else because they're what

people call it pure-blood.’

(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.)

Notion of Racial Purification followed by Lord Voldemort: Lord Voldemort is a kind of wizard whose deep desire is to remain immortal and another is to vanish a muggle born out of Hogwarts. So, He believes that magic is only for pure blooded wizards and that he wants to clear Hogwarts from Muggle born children. This shows a kind of stereotypical notion of Race Purification in society. And we can connect this point with the history of America where Race Description has long prevailing history. In “Ideology and Race in American History” Barbara J. Fields, professor of history and

general scholar, also writes that

“classes may have struggled over power and privilege, over

oppression and exploitation, over competing senses of justice and right; but in the United States,

these were secondary to the great, overarching theme of race”

So, here it can be drag out that the idea of Race purification in wizarding world is somewhat connected with American History, where Race descrimination have deep rooted foundations.

Voldemort's campaign against “mudbloods” as Self-loathing

Self-loathing is a term generally referring to how a people belonging to subculture internalize a kind of prejudicial misbelief believed by dominant culture against subculture. And people of subculture started hating themselves which led them towards low self esteem and self harm.

Lana Whited says…In (article)

"The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Children's Literature,”

connects Voldemort’s self-loathing to Adolf Hitler’s racial intolerance of Jews."

According to the above statement Hitler's own Jewish ancestry forced him to view himself with scorn and self hatred and he started persecution of Jews in society. And people believe that his attempts to eliminate Jews from society show to exterminate part of himself he loathed. In the same manner Voldemort's campaign against muggle born might have arised from his self hatred towards himself because he himself is half blood. And his father who is muggle born left his mother alone after his birth. And later he killed his father. (To refer to Voldemort's History Click Here) So, His hatred towards his father can be given as a reason behind Voldemort's obsession to purify the wizarding world from Muggle-born.

The book addresses issues of race descrimination not only in Human world but also in non-human races. Like House elves, Goblins, Centaurs, and Giants.

“Wizarding history often skates over what the wizards have done to other magical races.”

(Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows)

In the Harry Potter Series we see that the Wizarding World and more particularly Voldemort are stuck with the idea of 'Purifying the wizarding world from Muggle born. So, Here we see that Goblins are as powerful and intellectual as the Wizarding world. Who Guarding Gringotts wizarding Bank. But still their status with comparison to pureblood wizards is inferior. And the same happens with other creatures like House elves, Centaurs, and Giants, Death Eaters etc.

Muggles (non-magical persons)

2) Muggle-borns (witches/wizards with magical abilities but non-magical parents)

3) half-bloods (witches/wizards who are not pure-blooded, but also not Muggle-born)

4) purebloods (those with complete magical ancestry)

5) Squibs (a non-magical child with magical parents)