Custom «Queer Things in Harry Potter Series» Essay Paper Sample

Over the years, Harry Potter series both the book and film create a clashing sound in the world of entertainment. Hundreds of thousands or even million fans follow its public release. Some might cried for not being the first to get a ticket for the premiere night or cried for not getting the first copies of books release to the public. Indeed, Harry Potter is a true mania and it captured the heart of the kids who love magic and even the seasoned ones. Aside from its character with contemporary parallel like Vodlemort was compared to George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein, what make the series more interesting are its queer characters and events in the both in the novels and films. In addition, the series has resonated the Lesbian – Gay – Bisexuals – Transexual (LGBT) society.

In order to make this paper more academic let me cite some queer characters, situations and events in harry potter and the academic papers that have written comments and discussion on them. A beautiful start shall be on the presumed greatest wizard in the series whom we call as the headmaster- Albus Percivel Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

Many we’re surprise including the stars who were playing roles in the movie even Harry Potter himself Daniel Radcliffe in JK Rowling’s declaration that the character Albus Dumbledore is a gay. According to the author, as reflected in foxnews.com, she made the character gay since from the start. And what makes it more interesting is that Dumbledore had a great love towards his long time friend who turned to be a dark wizard whom he defeated in an unfamous battle. What does it signify? It means that Dumbledore chose to be wise over his heart. Love can make us blind, as the author said.

According to hwat has been published in the site, Rowling suggests that it is very acceptable that the head of any school is a “Sodomite” or gay in Old Testament. Sodomite from the vile city of Sodom which we all know connotes a very negative meaning. Further, the site argues that what Rowling is doing in her books is that she portrayed withcraft and wizardry in a very positive way which should not be according to Christian dogma. Moreover, the site has noted “the Harry Potter series dishonors God, eliminates the sinfulness of sin, glamorizes sorcery, and the spirit surrounding the series is evil, sinister and anti-Christian”.

Indeed, the queer things in Harry Potter is not just noticeable for those who love it but for those who oppose it as well.

The news that Dumbledore is gay should not surprise us. The latimes.com had laid the clues on the sexuality of Dumbledore as character. According to the site that clues on his (Dumbledore) sexuality were always there in the book. There were seven clues they have presented. One is his pet, Fawkes, which bears colorful feathers and “flaming”. Second is in his name. Albus Dumbledore is an anagram for “Male bods rule bud”. Third is his fashion statement. Dumbledore loves purple cloak and high heeled boots. Dumbledore defies the fashion standards of a normal masculinity. Fourth is his sensitivity. He was the one who figure out that Voldemort’s weakness is his incapability to love. This is unusual to a masculine figure. Next clue is his openness. Another clue is his historical parallel to reality. Some scholars said that Dumbledore is parallel with Leonardo Da Vinci. The two were considered eccentric geniuses. Besides, the two shared commonalities such as they were mysterious yet loving, warm and calm. Leonardo constantly wrote his experiences and read them again and again while Dumbledore collects memory and examine them in his pensieve again and again. An everybody knows that maestro Leonardo is a gay. And the last clue is only few of us know that he was gay. Just like in the real life situation. If you are gay, your sexual orientation is somewhat not obvious to your peer just like Dumbledore’s.

“Neither Dumbledore nor Grindelwald ever seems to have referred to this brief boyhood friendship in later life. However, there can be no doubt that Dumbledore delayed, for some five years of turmoil, fatalities, and disappearances, his attack upon Gellert Grindelwald. Was it lingering affection for the man, or fear of exposure as his once best friend that caused Dumbledore to hesitate? Was it only reluctantly that Dumbledore set out to capture the man he was once so delighted he had met?” (Deathly Hallows, 259)

With this excerpt from the book, a fan or even an ordinary reader of the book can deduct that Dumbledore found his equal in the person of Gellert and person like Dumbledore, persons whose brilliance was of his equal will be fascinated by people they meet whom they can consider as their equal. It shows now that the two young wizards shared a very intimate friendship bond or even more than friendship.

But whatever is written about Dumbledore, he was still the greatest wizard in Harry Potter series, greater than Harry himself. He’s gay character only says that whatever the sexual orientation of a person is he’s till capable of doing great things even heroic ones. In addition, his gay personality in the series depicts that how should a society look into these things.

Another queer character in the series is Professor Sybil Trelawney. We have known Sybil Trelawney as an absurd and a very different teacher in Hogwarts. She taught Divination and has eyes that can see what’s beyond. There’s might be a reason why Sybil was put into the scenes and why she depicts such personalities, being odd. In harrypotter Wikipedia her name is associated with an ancient prophetess who prophesied without being consulted. And also her personalities might come from a 1973 book entitle Sybil. This is about a girl who developed multiple personalities due to abusive experiences which is also true to Professor Sybil. She had multiple personalities and acting weird and spooky. She made prophecy at times you did not expect.

This very odd in the real life situation but Sybil Trelawney exist in our world. She is a picture of every girl with complex personalities because they do not who they are and what they can do. She is picture of every person who has not been aware of their full potential and how they can contribute something great in the society. She doesn’t know that her prophesy gave birth to a series the world knows today as HARRY POTTER.

Adam Sandel expressed in the reasons why gays and lesbian have special love for the series. This is due to the fact that the some parts of the series depicts LGBT thing. One thing Sandel wrote is the part of the series where Harry was raised in a cupboard, a closet and when he was 10 years old he was introduced into the world where he should belongs. This depicts the life of many LGBT in the society. They live in secrecy. They hide themselves in a world different to them. They hide themselves in a closet. And not just that, when Harry comes out and goes into his world he met new people of his kind, new rules and he chooses to whom to trust. That is exactly what happens to many LGBT people today. When they decide to comes out and face their world, they will meet many people, new faces and they are left uninformed of whom to trust. And why all of these are important? Let me quote what Adam Sandler wrote, “The hallmark of great literature and film is that regardless of how fantastical it may be, it has the ability to reflect back to us our own lives, dreams and experience”.

In addition to the roster of queer things about harry potter is Snape. The contain a page in which Severus Snape was regarded as a representation of female heroism. Severus Snape as we all know was one of the major characters in the saga. He had participated many events in the movies and in the books as well. Severus Snape was built up as the primary antagonist in the beginning of the story but turns out to be a good friend and a lover of Harry’s mother. Further, Severus Snape took the dual personality in the series since he was a death eater and Dumbledore’s ally as well. What is queer about him is as the story progresses, his character becomes more depth and complex. His personality that surfaces suggested that there were hidden secrets within him and only him can reveal it and this secret can turn the tide of the story.

One premise of the site is his first speech in his potion class “foolish wand waving”. According to the site this is a rejection of his masculine character. In addition to that, his character of pouring himself in his cauldron as a potion teacher is a feminine thing a witch can do. Also, in half blood prince, Snape’s handwriting was thought by Harry as girl’s handwriting. Further, in his childhood memories, he was seen as wearing an old woman’s blouse. Similar incident in the film that Snape was wearing a woman’s blouse was in Professor Lupin’s class about bogart. But note that in bristish slang when you are called as “in girl’s blouse”, it means that you are displaying a feminine side of yours. Thus of we take it that way Snape is really displaying feminine characteristics in the series.

Another instance that shows the feminine side of Snape is that he never became violent and never in a real open combat which according to the same site, a feminine thing. Women in the army do not take a role in open combat. They usually engage in planning, office works and intelligence but in open combat, just a few.

Is Snape a feminine heroism? Yes, indeed. We have seen him as rigid but we know that he is capable of being soft and loving. We perceived that he’s somewhat a criminal and heartless death eater but he has not killed someone except of course the preplanned death of Dumbledore in his hands. He was not seen became violent in the series. He was seen in action like what masculine character portrays or indulges. Moreover, Snape’s role in the Hogwarts is naturally a woman’s job.

In addition, David Nylund has made very queering observation about the series. He wrote, “Reading Harry Potter: Popular Culture, Queer Theory, and the Fashioning of Youth Identity” to record his observation about the series. Note that a literature is being judges according to the popular culture existing when the literature is written or crafted. The author’s perception on the characters is biased with what she has seen in the society she belongs thus a literature is a mirror of the ideals and realities of her society. David Nylund, a psychologist commented that “Harry Potter is a giant parallel to the journey of a homosexual. Therefore, his assertion is compliant with the claim that the homosexuality in Harry Potter is hidden and must be searched for”.

Let us be enlightened that David Nylund was a psychologist exposed to clinical practice. He conducted interviews with his patients and one of those was Steven, a gay, who managed to insert himself into the text of Harry Potter. He used the queer theory on Harry Potter to understand more Steven. According to Nylund, S”teve’s use of Harry Potter is an example of how young persons use popular culture texts creatively to fashion alternative versions of whom they might be”. This shows that the effect of the queer events and characters in Harry Potter have effects on the psychological being of the individual.

In his paper, “Reading Harry Potter: Popular Culture, Queer Theory, and the Fashioning of Youth Identity”, he quoted Michael Bronski a Cultural scholar who wrote “Now Rowling has never stated or even implied that the Potter books are gay allegory, but her language and story effortlessly themselves to such a queer reading. In her first book,Mr. Dursley keeps noting that the wizards and witches dress in purple,violet, and green clothing—all colors associated with homosexuality. More tellingly, the language Rowling has the Dursleys use to discuss Harry’s mother and her wizard husband, referring to “her crowd” and to “their kind,” mirrors often used to invoke homosexuality. And once Harry discovers the nature of his difference, the Dursleys demand complete silence and total concealment. (p. 3)”

What’s the point here now? The point is there are indeed queer situations, depictions, characters and even lines in the series that resonated LGBT.

In support to the claim of the homosexuality in the Harry Potter series, Monica Kempski quoted what Dumbledore said in the first book of the series, “It is our choices that show us who we truly are far more than our abilities”. According to her, this is another manifestation that indeed the series have promoted homosexuality.