Assignment
The New Literature
S.b Gardi Department of English
Mkbu
Nirali Makvana
M.a Sem 4
Roll no. 14
Muggle Blood and Pure Blood ( Wizarding World ) in Harry Potter ( Fictional work by J.K Rowling )
✒ Abstract
" Classification or Class Discrimination," if we think deeply than it is hard witted pillar of society. And Yes, it will bit difficult to abolish it from roots because if we pip into history than we come to know that this isn't only the problem of contemporary society or time but it was highly affected in that time also and we all know that,
" Literature is the mirror of Society or an X - Ray image of Society which shows good as well as bad picture of society. "
And it is the work of writers to ponder upon the issues faced by people in that time. So, in this J.K Rowling is the best writer because even in her fictional work she has beautifully drawn the problems of class discrimination. She portrayed the picture of Two class : Muggle ( non - magical family ) and Wizarding family , how muggles faced issues to take admission in great schools Hogwarts. Let us see in detail.
📌Research Objectives
¤ To find out the origin of the Muggle and Wizarding world.
¤ to find out how j.k Rowling portrayed the picture of these two world or families in her fictional world Harry Potter.
¤ to ponder upon which are the Muggle families and Wizarding families in Harry Potter.
¤ To find out the important role of these two families in Harry Potter.
📌Key Words
Pure blood ( Wizarding world ), Attitude, origin of magical abilities, Treatment, History of persecution
📋 Introduction
The fictional universe of British author J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two distinct societies: the Wizarding World and the Muggle world. In the novels, the Muggle world is the world inhabited by the non-magical majority, with which the Wizarding world exists coextensively, albeit mostly remaining hidden from the non-magical humans. The plot of the series is set in 1990s Britain, but in a veiled and separate shadow society wherein magic is commonly used and practised, and those who can use it live in self-enforced seclusion, hiding their abilities from the rest of the world. The term "Wizarding World" refers to the global wizard community that lives hidden in parallel with the Muggle world; the different terms refer to different communities within the same area rather than separate planets or worlds. Any new works taking place in this universe are released under the "J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World" brand.
✒Pure Blood ( Wizarding
World )
The term ‘pure-blood’ refers to a family or individual without Muggle (non-magic) blood. The concept is generally associated with Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, whose aversion to teaching anybody of Muggle parentage eventually led to a breach with his three fellow founders, and his resignation from the school.
Slytherin’s discrimination on the basis of parentage was considered an unusual and misguided view by the majority of wizards at the time. Contemporary literature suggests that Muggle-borns were not only accepted, but often considered to be particularly gifted. They went by the affectionate name of ‘Magbobs’ (there has been much debate about the origin of the term, but it seems most likely to be that in such a case, magic ‘bobbed up’ out of nowhere).
📌" You place too much importance, and you always have done, on the so-called purity of blood! You fail to recognise that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be! "
(ALBUS DUMBLEDORE'S STANCE ON BLOOD STATUS)
Blood status also called purity of blood is a concept in the wizarding world that distinguishes between family trees that have different levels of magically-endowed members. It often results in prejudice towards those who have a large number of Muggles in their families. As Sirius Black informed Harry Potter, almost all wizards of their time have Muggles in their family trees, though some claim not to. The concept played a key role in both the First and Second Wizarding Wars. Families that claim to be pure, to whatever extent they ever really were, are dwindling in number.
By 1995, the number of pure-blood families were declining. Most pure-blood families were related by then in an effort, by some, to retain their status by marrying only other pure-blood families, but it had eventually led to inbreeding. While some families, such as the Malfoys, had allowed for marrying half-bloods, others such as the Gaunts, Lestranges, and Blacks, required their family to only marry pure-blood individuals, or those with no Muggle or Muggle-born ancestors. This refusal of marrying Muggles or Muggle-borns had led to difficulty in propagating their families.
Some pure-blood families can trace their pure-blood status through many generations of magical ancestors and deny ever having any Muggles within the family, such as the House of Black, the motto of which is "Toujours pur", meaning "Always (or Still) Pure". However, the truth is that if they ever did exist in the past, true pure-blood wizards and witches do not exist today. They merely erase Squibs, Muggle-borns, and Muggles from their family trees. Half-bloods who consider blood purity very important also hide their Muggle ancestry, clinging to the magical heritage they do have. Many Death Eaters are believed to have done this, and their leader himself took on the name Lord Voldemort out of a desire to not keep the name of his "filthy Muggle father". It is likely that Voldemort told his followers he was a pure-blood, or that most of the Death Eaters knew better than to question Riddle's blood status, given the reaction of Bellatrix Lestrange to Harry's "accusation" that he was in fact a half-blood. Many pure-blood families, such as the Blacks and Gaunts, practise marrying cousins in order to maintain their pure-blood status, and disown any members who marry someone who is not a pure-blood. This practice has been known to cause problems as families often become inbred because of this; for example, the Gaunts showed signs of violent tendencies, mental instability, and being enfeebled. The number of pure-bloods has diminished over time because of said inbreeding.
✒Attitude
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families."
Some pure-bloods regard themselves as superior to those witches and wizards who are born to Muggles and half-bloods. They believe that Muggles are little more than animals and that Muggle-borns, whom they derisively call 'Mudbloods', are second-class citizens, inferior and unworthy of being allowed to practise magic. Many also discriminate against half-breeds, giants, werewolves and magical creatures.
✒Origin of magical abilities
Muggle-borns inherit magic from a distant ancestor; they are descended from Squibs who have married Muggles and whose families had lost the knowledge of their wizarding legacy. The magic resurfaces unexpectedly many generations later.Because of the heritable traits of magic, Muggle-born siblings are possible, as in the case of Colin and Dennis Creevey. However, this is not always the case, as Lily Evans' sister Petunia was a Muggle.
When Muggle-born witches and wizards reach the age of eleven in the British wizarding community, their Hogwarts acceptance letters are delivered in person by a member of the staff, instead of by owl post (the usual postal system for wizards and witches). The purpose is to reassure the parents or guardians about the sudden news, and explain to them about the concealed magical society. They would also assist the family with the preparation for going to their desired wizarding school and for the buying of school supplies.
✒Treatment
Muggle-born witches and wizards are often subjects of deeply prejudicial and discriminatory beliefs akin to racism. Derided by pure-bloods and called disparaging names such as "Mudblood", a term implying that they are somehow dirty and impure, or at the very least, common. Many pure-bloods believe that Muggle-borns are unworthy of magic and should not be allowed into the wizarding world. During the period of time where Muggle-borns were being persecuted, a news article from the Daily Prophet stated that Muggle-borns could have only obtained magic by force or theft.
Those who do not share these beliefs, such as the Weasley family, are often labelled as "blood traitors".Harry Potter who was half-blood was marked as "Undesirable No.1" during the height of the Second Wizarding War for his pro Muggle views and his stance against Lord Voldemort and his new regime.Ron Weasley described the entire prejudice as being ridiculous: not only were most modern wizards half-blood, if Muggle-borns had not been accepted into the wizard community, wizardkind would have inevitably died out altogether.
✒History of persecution
📌" Muggle-borns are being rounded up as we speak... unless you can prove that you have at least one close wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your magical power illegally and must suffer the punishment."
(THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC'S NEW REGIME)
Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts, argued that the school should only admit pure-bloods as students, as Durmstrang Institute does. Slytherin's views were considered unusual at the time; most wizards of his era not only accepted Muggle-borns but actually considered them especially gifted, and referred to them by the affectionate term "Magbobs". The other three founders of Hogwarts favoured admitting all witches and wizards as students and opposed Slytherin on this point.
As a result of the disagreement, Slytherin left the school. Before leaving, he created the Chamber of Secrets, hoping that his true heir would one day release the Basilisk out of the Chamber and kill wizards and witches he thought didn't deserve to have access to magic (particularly Muggle-borns). About one thousand years later, Tom Marvolo Riddle, having discovered his ancestry, went on to set the basilisk on his fellow Hogwarts students. He was finally successful in killing one fourteen year old Muggle-born student, named Myrtle Warren, in 1943. She later became known as Moaning Myrtle and lived in the girls bathroom for years after her death. Fifty years later in 1992, by means of his diary Horcrux, he possessed Ginny Weasley and reopened the Chamber of Secrets. The monster petrified several people, including Colin Creevey, Penelope Clearwater, Hermione Granger, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and even the Gryffindor ghost, Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, as well as Filch's cat, Mrs Norris.Tom Riddle, later known as Lord Voldemort, took this prejudice to an even greater extreme with his followers, the Death Eaters, despite the fact that he himself was a half-blood.
✒ To Conclude
The series demonstrates that love and an appreciation for all is the answer to life’s most difficult questions and circumstances. Yet, the broader picture demonstrates to Harry Potter enthusiasts that one’s attitude toward another person or race is just as significant throughout the series as it is in our physical existence. Regardless of which character one may closest associate themselves to, the extreme blood-segregation displayed both on-screen and on-page consistently. By extracting such morals and placing them in everyday scenarios, Harry Potter audiences have the potential to adapt these core values from the series and utilize them in their own cultures and societies; inducing the opposite of Lord Voldemort’s wishes and creating a better world for all to peacefully coincide in. Although J. K. Rowling chose to present these real-life biases in the form of the wizarding world, her motives behind educating the listenership on such relevant matters have resonated with audiences for over twenty-years; showcasing while we all have both good and bad within us, it’s how we act upon such virtues that truly show others who we are.
📌Work Citation
▪Barratt, Bethany. “Purebloods and Mudbloods: Race, Species, and Power.” The Politics of Harry Potter, 2012, pp. 59–84., doi:10.1057/9781137016546_4.
▪Horne, Jackie. “Harry and the Other: Answering the Race Question in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter.” The Lion and the Unicorn, vol. 34, no. 1, 2010, pp. 76–104.
▪“Muggle-Born.” Harry Potter Wiki, harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Muggle-born.
▪Viljanen, Julia. “Magic Is Might : Class and Power Dynamics in the Harry Potter Series .” University of Helsinki, n.d., pp. 1–50.
▪Weiss, Shira. “Harry Potter’s Ethical Paradigms: Augustine, Kant and Feminist Moral Theory” Children's Literature 2012, Vol.40, pp.191-217.
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