"The Happiest Man on Earth Would Be Able to Use the Mirror of Erised like a Normal Mirror, That Is, He Would Look Into It and See Himself Exactly as He Is": The Representation of Ethnic Minorities in the Harry Potter Book Series
Vuorinen, Vilma (2024)
2024
Englannin kielen ja kirjallisuuden maisteriohjelma - Master's Programme in English Language and Literature
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-05-20
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202405025158
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202405025158
Tiivistelmä
In this thesis, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (1997-2008) novels and the adjacent works Fantastic Beasts (2016-2018), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2010), and Tales of Beedle the Bard (2008) are examined. The thesis examines how ethnic minorities are depicted in the world of Harry Potter through ethnic minority characters and allegorized depictions of minorities and how they reproduce racial othering and stereotypes.
The first chapter examines the importance of representation and how ethnicity is depicted in literature. The second chapter examines how black people are portrayed in the books by examining black characters and allegorized representations of white supremacy and a slave race. The third chapter examines anti-Semitic caricatures and the depiction of the only Jewish character. The fourth chapter examines the portrayal of Asian people.
The thesis concludes that there is very little ethnic minority representation in the books and that the few ethnic minority characters are not developed and do not have depth. The depictions are often based on and reinforce existing stereotypes.
The first chapter examines the importance of representation and how ethnicity is depicted in literature. The second chapter examines how black people are portrayed in the books by examining black characters and allegorized representations of white supremacy and a slave race. The third chapter examines anti-Semitic caricatures and the depiction of the only Jewish character. The fourth chapter examines the portrayal of Asian people.
The thesis concludes that there is very little ethnic minority representation in the books and that the few ethnic minority characters are not developed and do not have depth. The depictions are often based on and reinforce existing stereotypes.