Blog Post 2, Option 2, Anna Taylor

My major in education has influenced the way I view and interpret the Harry Potter novels in many different ways. The plot revolves around the Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which allowed me to experience how the teachers and students interacted in their school.  Although the students are not in a typical school they are still required to fulfill the same obligations. The student's classroom is a creative environment that allows them to learn by using their imagination and hands on experience. Harry learns to use his wand for the first time while Professor Flick instructed him to "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick" as Harry practiced his spell aloud. (Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 10) The other student's in the class also demonstrated wand movements by swinging them back and forth while learning to create different movements. Professor Flick's lesson plan is an example of a theory commonly used by teachers know as Piaget's theory; The theory suggest  "children learn best through discovery and actively exploring." (Simple Psychology.org)

From reading the novel's it's apparent Harry, Hermoine, and Ron are very different as student's. Harry is intelligent, and distracted easily finding it difficult to focus such as in the novel The Sorcerer's Stone when he's not able to answer a question that Professor Snape addressed to him. Hermione is the model student that loves school and exhibits a high level of intelligence and discipline. She is always the first student with her hand up and ready to answer a question. Ron Weasley is also easily distracted; although he is intelligent he doesn't always choose to apply himself academically.

Blog 2 - Katelyn Corich

I have always been interested in the socialization among people, starting with introduction sociology classes, and thus leading to me minoring in sociology in school. Being a fan of the Harry Potter books long before attending college, it has been intriguing to read them again as an adult and analyze them in terms of my sociological education. One major idea that comes to mind in these novels is the socialization between the wizarding and non-wizarding communities. In the real world there are, of course, many different cultures, countries, and communities that have varying tendencies in regards to social interaction. 

For instance, in the magical world of Harry Potter, one major conflict in behavior between the merging of wizards and non-wizards that I took notice of were the occasions where the Dursleys were forced to interact with wizards such as the Weasley family. In the beginning of the books, the Durselys had to come to terms with means of wizard communication: owl post. In the muggle world one communicates via the telephone or corresponds through written post which is in turn delivered to the correspondent by a mailman, whereas in the wizarding community written communication is delivered to the correspondent through an owl. As one can imagine, this would be very baffling to adjust to abruptly. As a sociologist this is similar to someone being introduced to another's unique tendencies due to beliefs or habits pertaining to their culture. While I have learned about things like this in sociology classes, it is interesting to apply the same concepts to situations in a fantastical novel under bizarre circumstances. 

In addition to the owl post, there were times where Ron Weasley attempted to communicate with Harry over summer holiday by means of muggle communication, aka the telephone (or as he mispronounces it, the fellytone). Having never used a telephone, Ron is unaware of how to speak through it, baffled that he can be heard from such a great distance, therefore screams into the phone requesting to speak with Harry when Uncle Vernon answers. Again, from a sociological view, this is another instance where two very separate cultures have the opportunity to blend together, albeit under more disastrous circumstances given the Dursleys adamant feelings against wizardry. 

One thing that is very different, sociologically, in these books is how separate and particularly secret the muggle and wizard worlds are from each other. Witches and wizards often live among muggles without the muggles' knowledge, but have muggle studies courses to learn more about them. This is not the same vice versa, however. Many muggles are completed unaware the magic exists in the world. In reality, all around the world human beings are aware of the varying types of people, cultures, lifestyles, etc. in different countries. Many people often go out of their way to learn more about these cultures and interact with people belonging to them in order to embrace them. In the Harry Potter books there are indeed muggles who are aware and accepting of the wizarding community such as Hermione's parents, who are both regular people with a magical daughter. These examples of awareness and blending of worlds takes similar situations from our real world and applies them to fictitious characters showing how these types of behaviors are seemingly a part of human nature no matter the circumstances. 

Blog 2

J.K. Rowling’s series brings to light the issue of morality, that is, the choice between doing what is right and what is easy. In her first five novels, Rowling puts Harry in situations where he faces moral dilemmas. But what makes Harry such a lovable protagonist is that he usually makes the right choice despite how tired or frustrated he gets with having to fight against the rise and return of Lord Voldemort.

In Chamber of Secrets, Harry decides to set Dobby free by tricking Mr. Malfoy into giving Dobby a sock. Harry felt the moral obligation to free Dobby despite the fact that he nearly had Harry expelled from school. In Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry decides not to kill Peter Pettigrew, who contributed to the death of Harry’s parents, but hand him over to the Dementors instead. Harry explains, “I don’t reckon my dad would’ve wanted them [Sirius Black and Remus Lupin] to become killers” (Rowling 376). Here, we see that Harry’s parents are his moral compass. In the Goblet of Fire, it becomes even more difficult for Harry to make morally right decisions because everyone is angry with him for being chosen to compete in the Tri-wizard tournament. Despite his frustration, he opts to save Fleur’s little sister during the second task after Fleur fails to finish. While this was a moral decision, it almost cost Harry the tournament and his life. Ron even questions why Harry took the time to save her, and Harry explains, “’Fleur didn’t turn up, I couldn’t leave her” (Rowling 503). Finally, in the fifth novel, Harry takes a leap and forms a secret club to teach his classmates defense against the dark arts. However, Harry struggles with this decision because it’s against school rules. But in the end, he decides that the return of Voldemort outweighs his fear of being caught.

What’s intriguing about Rowling’s series is that we learn that doing what is moral might require breaking the rules. Time and time again Harry has to break the school and even Ministry rules to do what is morally right, and thankfully he is brave enough to do so.  

Blog 2 Prompt 1 | Quintin Faler

Harry Potter is relevant in our culture because of the ways it can connect to many audiences. Harry Potter can relate to the children reading it, because they can connect with the same issues Harry is going through (well most except the magic bit). Children can relate to Harry through his journey whether is be going to a new school, having a terrible household, or just discovering something new about yourself and taking on that challenge (Rowling, Sorcerer’s Stone). Harry gets in fights with his friends (Rowling, Goblet of Fire) struggles with teachers in school (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix) and trying out for sports teams (Rowling, Sorcerer’s Stone) things most of us can relate to in the past. As a culture our youth has grown up with Harry Potter and now seems like second nature to have read it or at least seen the movies. It is a bridge that can connect many cultures around the world because it is popular everywhere and now connects us to our culture. It is the story that helped us grow up and became a very relatable story to a lot of audiences especially our culture who grew up with the Harry Potter books. It has helped as guide of growing up with all the angsts and problems any youth could go through.

Adults, like their youth counterpart can relate to the story because they can be going through turmoil like Harry constantly seems to be getting into. Harry faces some real troubles in his first five years at Hogwarts, things that can still haunt adults. For example, a death of a friend like Harry went through with Sirius (Rowling, Order of the Phoenix). Harry really grows up over the series and adults grow and change even with their age and experiences. While the book was popular for children it has become part of the culture of adults today, because it has become a norm for adults to know the series as well as the youth. While the Harry Potter series has definitely influenced our culture by its relatable story and ability to reach multiple audiences, its real influence is because it is now part of our culture.

Blog 2, Option 1

Our generation has grown up with the Harry Potter books, so they contain a special sort of relevance to culture that I think anyone reading them can appreciate. One main cultural issue that is constantly shaping the Harry Potter books is the idea of making choices. Harry is a fine example of having to make difficult choices. His choices and decisions, although sometimes rash as they are, effect the course of the novels.

In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the choices that Harry makes during the Triwizard Tournament drastically effect the course of the storyline. First, he makes the choice to not only bring Ron back with him during the underwater challenge, but lingers to make sure that the others who are trapped make it back safely too. This decision causes Harry to return outside of the time limit, but as the judges believe it showed "strong moral fiber," they were willing to award him more points. I find this to be relatable to all readers, because we often find ourselves making decisions where we have to choose between putting ourselves first or putting others first. Harry put others before himself, and this had a big effect on the outcome. However, we wonder how his fate might have changed had he put himself first. I find this dilemma to be very relatable to our culture.

An example of a rash choice that Harry makes is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where he decides that Sirius is in trouble at the ministry and he goes to find him, only to find out he has been fooled by Voldemort. This outcome was directly related to Harry's choice to not put forth enough effort during occlumency lessons with Professor Snape. We can see from this example how all of Harry's choices are connected to each other. This is apparent in our culture today as well. Each choice we make yields a particular outcome, and then soon enough we find ourselves faced with another choice.

Life is an endless cycle of choices. Sometimes we make the right choice and sometimes we make the wrong one. Sometimes we are happy with our choices and sometimes we regret them for awhile. I think the Harry Potter series does a great job of showing how life is a series of interconnected choices. I mean, just think how the series would have been different had Voldemort made different decisions in his past.

Blog Post 2, Option # 1

The Harry Potter books are relevant to our culture, especially in the way we treat people with disabilities, in specific, the deaf community. Similar to Harry’s treatment at the Dursleys in books 1-5, deaf children are subjected to unfair treatment by their parents or adult figures. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon act as if Dudley is the only child in their house, which is similar to the way some parents act about their deaf child. In our culture, 90% of deaf children are born to hearing adults and 88% of those parents do not known sign language, (NIDCD). As detrimental of a statistic as that is, Harry can absolutely relate to it. He grew up with emotional and sometimes physical abuse, similar to deaf children. As seen in book one, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, “Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that’s where he slept” (Chapter 2). Whereas Dudley would receive all of the presents, love, and attention, Harry did not receive anything of the sort. “The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn’t there- or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn’t understand them, like a slug” (Chapter 2). If there are other children, usually hearing, in the household, they will receive the attention over the deaf child. 

Another corresponding situation between Harry Potter and the Deaf world is how Uncle Vernon makes it his life mission to make Harry “normal.” In deaf culture, parents try to make their deaf child as “normal” as possible by having them receive a cochlear implant or attempting to force oral lesson upon them. In Harry Potter, we see Uncle Vernon state, “We swore when we took him in we’d put a stop to that rubbish, swore we’d stamp it out of him!..”(Chapter 4). Throughout the five books we have covered, we see Harry signaled out for the battles he has overcome and the situations he has been in, even though sometimes those situations aren’t his fault. Just because Harry was “The Boy Who Lived,” he is instantly known for the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. For a deaf teen, they are known immediately for their use of sign language. We see Harry become the focus of many conversations and constant staring. For a deaf teenager, they will be a victim of the same type of conversations and staring, similar to what Harry has to endure. Unfortunately, our deaf culture has a great deal similar with the Harry Potter books 1-5. We see many specific examples in the first book, but the obstacles Harry has to overcome in books 2-5 relate just as much to the hurdles deaf individuals have to overcome as well.

Blog Post 2: Option 1

              Rowling has created a variety of issues within the first 5 books of the Harry Potter series, which provide relevance to our culture. One issue I have seen throughout all of the books in multiple scenes, is the idea of bullying. Bullying has become a big issue within our society and is always trying to be prevented. Bullying has been going on for so long in our culture, and Rowling tries to display that as well through scenes where even Harry's father is showing these actions. In my opinion, bullying in today's world is taken very seriously compared to how it is in the Harry Potter series. I feel as if Rowling creates her characters stronger than humans in the real world, which is maybe how she thinks the real world should be.

             One character of whom we all know is a bully, is Draco Malfoy. Draco strives upon being the biggest and baddest student at Hogwarts and takes advantage of that by bullying Harry and his friends. Most of the incidents that happen between Harry and Draco, it is Draco starting the fight by bringing up part of Harry's past. One example of this is in the Half Blood Prince when Draco says "Didn't mummy ever tell you it was rude to eavesdrop, Potter? Petrificus totalus! Oh yeah. She was dead before you could wipe the drool off your chin", and leaves him on the train. It seems as if Draco always gets away with bullying which would definitely not happen in today's society. Today, if someone is being bullied at school this would result in a suspension or even expulsion. 

             Another example of bullying in Harry Potter is when Umbridge gives Harry detention and causes him harm when he writes sentences. When he is writing sentences, the writing is being written into his hand and causes him to bleed. Harry brushes it off and decides to push through it and be strong. "That's right. Because deep down you know that you deserve to be punished. Don't you Mr. Potter?", says Umbridge. In our culture, this would be considered abuse and Umbridge would be sentenced to jail. Rowling creates Harry's character as strong though and he lets it happen. 

             The way J.K. Rowling creates her characters and the way they act towards each other is a lot like our culture and the way we act towards each other. There are a lot of issues in our society that I also see in the Harry Potter series, but bullying is an issue I constantly see and noticed how differently it is taken in the books. People in our society are a lot less strong because we know that we can call our parents and everything will be okay. Rowling decides to make her characters strong and independent, which I think is a great idea. It helps us as readers see that we can be strong as well and stick up for ourselves, because we know that deep down bullies are just hiding their weaknesses as well.