Discrimination leaves long lasting effects on its victims that include effects on their mental and physical health. An excerpt titled “Prejudice and Discrimination” from the book Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life: A Research Agenda written by Rodolfo A. Bulatao and Norman B. Anderson talks a lot about lasting effects such as living conditions, education, employment, and mental health that discrimination and racism has on people. One lasting effect that was talked about in this excerpt was that “coping strategies that people use as they grapple with inequitable living conditions and a hostile psychosocial environment, are internalizing negative stereotypes” (77). This puts into perspective the psychological and health stress that people go under when they are discriminated against. With this being said, when someone is enslaved by a particular type of person, the enslaved person takes that negativity and places it on all people associated to similarities of the person enslaving them. Rodolfo A. Bulatao and Norman B. Anderson “proposed that racial discrimination does not just add to stress; it is an actual pathogen,” meaning that it can cause diseases (77). This means that people who are discriminated against are getting diseases mentally and physically because of the way they are being treated by other people. According to correlational studies done about people who are discriminated against, “more than 70 percent of the studies report poorer health” (78). Which means that more than 70 percent of people are suffering from diseases from the stress that the people discriminated against them in their lives and treated them unfairly. These studies can be used to explain the lasting effects that discrimination has on Dobby and how he acts throughout the series. Because he was discriminated against, he was psychologically affected.
Through the use of Dobby, it has been argued that J. K. Rowling used him as a supposed representation of African American slaves in American history and compared Dobby to a form of a comical character throughout the series. With this being said, some people think that Rowling added Dobby’s character as a way for children to understand the role of slaves in society. An article titled Harry and the Other: Answering the Race Question in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter written by Jackie C. Horne discusses how the elves throughout the series are mistreated and misunderstood. Horne suggests that “Rowling's depiction of Dobby and his fellow elves contains uncomfortable echoes of many of the stereotypes held by whites of enslaved African Americans” (80). This example puts into perspective the way the reader may look at Dobby when they are reading. Horne says that -“the reader, is invited to laugh at Dobby's mismatched clothing, his bargaining over wages with Dumbledore (he wants lower, rather than higher, wages than the
headmaster offers), and his assertion of his "free will"” (81). Through these examples of Dobby’s life, the reader can see the way that Dobby is treated and how this may affect his thinking long-term. Critics of Harry Potter say that J. K. Rowling’s depictions of house-elves in general are supposed to help the young readers better understand slavery and discrimination through the way the characters treat Dobby and how he in turn reacts to them. Although people who are contradicting this criticism, such as Farah Mendlesohn, claim that the house elves could be set free and be happy in the end, yet Rowling chooses to make them unhappy if released, as well as continuing to want to work for standards lower than what the reader may think is normal. Mendlesohn also says that “the humorous method by which house-elves can be set free by a master giving them clothes keeps all of the power in the hands of the oppressor, rather than allowing agency to the oppressed” (81). Through this, the reader develops sympathy towards Dobby because as much as he wants to be freed, he physically cannot leave his masters until he is given clothes. Although many critics address Dobby’s captivity by his masters, no one talks about how this affects him long term and how he internalizes certain behaviors. I will address these behaviors through later examples in my analysis.
Similarly, Dobby and other house-elves are looked down upon by the wizarding world. Dobby and his fellow house-elves are look at to be “the others” in the population, meaning they are non-magical, non-human beings. An article written by Luisa Grijalva Maza titled Deconstructing the Grand Narrative in Harry Potter: Inclusion/Exclusion and Discriminatory Policies in Fiction and Practice, states that there is a clear distinction between the general magical population and the Others. In Harry Potter, the wizards are the general population and anyone outside of the human-magic world is considered the Others. Maza talks about how the “house elves, primarily represented by Dobby, are enslaved to their masters for life unless liberated by the ‘master’s’ voluntary decision” (430). House elves never dream about leaving their masters, in fact it is more of a tragedy when an elf is let go, than when an elf is enslaved for life. Maza states that “the “good” creature recognizes and subsumes itself under the supremacy of the Wizard, or in the case of Dobby, the supremacy of wizarding values” (430). Through this statement, we understand that Dobby acts the way he does because of the values that wizards have instilled in elves in many past generations. For an elf such as Dobby who wants to be free, it is a matter of finding someone to accept him as an elf who wants to be paid. Dobby struggles to find another master because the wizards believe elves should work for free. Maza claims that “the magical human characterization of house elves, defined by loyalty, obedience, and inferiority, generates sympathy” for the readers towards the elves (430). Although we see the elves stating that they must work, readers feel obligated to want to help the elves be free from work forever because of the way that Dobby talks about how he wants freedom, which is seen as being a disgrace to the elf population. Without Dobby’s character wanting freedom, the reader would not think about letting the elves go. In fact, the enslavement of elves would only be an added detail to the story if the elves never complained. But since Dobby shows he wants freedom, or his version of it, the readers key into the way the enslavement affects the elves lives.
Another aspect of the discrimination against house-elves is that J. K. Rowling used discrimination against the servants of the series, not any particular skin color. People argue that J. K. Rowling is trying to show a comparison to African American slaves yet she stays away from racism amongst skin color. An article written by Marion Rana titled ‘The less you lot have ter do with these foreigners, the happier yeh’ll be’: Cultural and National Otherness in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series states the ideas that “fictional creatures such as the house elves are represented as inferior and Rowling embraces and reproduces many of the prejudices” (52). The main issue with the Harry Potter series showing discrimination is that it is not against the races of different people, it is within the creatures that are not human where we see the most discrimination. Instead of wizards showing discrimination to people of different skin color, or people who are from different areas of the map, J. K. Rowling chooses to emphasize discrimination on the characters that are actually not human at all. Rana explains that, “the elves are believed to be inferior because they lack intelligence, because they are incapable of living independently and because they like to serve humans” (53). In reality, the house-elves never actually say they enjoy serving their masters. It is more around the fact that they truly think that is all that they can do. Rana states that Dobby “is the only elf who actually opposes his enslavement. He is considered a disgrace by the other elves, and more importantly, is seen as a ‘weirdo’, as the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures-teacher Hagrid puts it, by the wizards and witches in the novels” (53). The other elves see Dobby as a threat to what is normal for them. They see him as acting out to the people who they serve and in that way he is a disgrace. The elves believe that they are treated as equals when the wizards are nice to them. They do not believe in being set free, just being treated as an actual being that does have feelings which shows that they are unsure of what freedom really is.
The previous sources tell a lot about how Dobby has been perceived through different views, yet no source talks directly about how the way he acts coincides with the lasting effects of the way he has been treated. Although the previous sources give different sides about how the readers think about him and his role within the series, they do not directly state the way that this can create long-term effects in the way he acts; they do not give reasons behind these perceptions. Some long-term effects of discrimination
include loss of self-identity, loss of self-worth, and confusion about what freedom truly is. I will add to their thoughts about the way the reader thinks about him by explaining the ways in which Dobby acts because of his treatment in my analysis.
Through the use of Dobby, it has been argued that J. K. Rowling used him as a supposed representation of African American slaves in American history and compared Dobby to a form of a comical character throughout the series. With this being said, some people think that Rowling added Dobby’s character as a way for children to understand the role of slaves in society. An article titled Harry and the Other: Answering the Race Question in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter written by Jackie C. Horne discusses how the elves throughout the series are mistreated and misunderstood. Horne suggests that “Rowling's depiction of Dobby and his fellow elves contains uncomfortable echoes of many of the stereotypes held by whites of enslaved African Americans” (80). This example puts into perspective the way the reader may look at Dobby when they are reading. Horne says that -“the reader, is invited to laugh at Dobby's mismatched clothing, his bargaining over wages with Dumbledore (he wants lower, rather than higher, wages than the
headmaster offers), and his assertion of his "free will"” (81). Through these examples of Dobby’s life, the reader can see the way that Dobby is treated and how this may affect his thinking long-term. Critics of Harry Potter say that J. K. Rowling’s depictions of house-elves in general are supposed to help the young readers better understand slavery and discrimination through the way the characters treat Dobby and how he in turn reacts to them. Although people who are contradicting this criticism, such as Farah Mendlesohn, claim that the house elves could be set free and be happy in the end, yet Rowling chooses to make them unhappy if released, as well as continuing to want to work for standards lower than what the reader may think is normal. Mendlesohn also says that “the humorous method by which house-elves can be set free by a master giving them clothes keeps all of the power in the hands of the oppressor, rather than allowing agency to the oppressed” (81). Through this, the reader develops sympathy towards Dobby because as much as he wants to be freed, he physically cannot leave his masters until he is given clothes. Although many critics address Dobby’s captivity by his masters, no one talks about how this affects him long term and how he internalizes certain behaviors. I will address these behaviors through later examples in my analysis.
Similarly, Dobby and other house-elves are looked down upon by the wizarding world. Dobby and his fellow house-elves are look at to be “the others” in the population, meaning they are non-magical, non-human beings. An article written by Luisa Grijalva Maza titled Deconstructing the Grand Narrative in Harry Potter: Inclusion/Exclusion and Discriminatory Policies in Fiction and Practice, states that there is a clear distinction between the general magical population and the Others. In Harry Potter, the wizards are the general population and anyone outside of the human-magic world is considered the Others. Maza talks about how the “house elves, primarily represented by Dobby, are enslaved to their masters for life unless liberated by the ‘master’s’ voluntary decision” (430). House elves never dream about leaving their masters, in fact it is more of a tragedy when an elf is let go, than when an elf is enslaved for life. Maza states that “the “good” creature recognizes and subsumes itself under the supremacy of the Wizard, or in the case of Dobby, the supremacy of wizarding values” (430). Through this statement, we understand that Dobby acts the way he does because of the values that wizards have instilled in elves in many past generations. For an elf such as Dobby who wants to be free, it is a matter of finding someone to accept him as an elf who wants to be paid. Dobby struggles to find another master because the wizards believe elves should work for free. Maza claims that “the magical human characterization of house elves, defined by loyalty, obedience, and inferiority, generates sympathy” for the readers towards the elves (430). Although we see the elves stating that they must work, readers feel obligated to want to help the elves be free from work forever because of the way that Dobby talks about how he wants freedom, which is seen as being a disgrace to the elf population. Without Dobby’s character wanting freedom, the reader would not think about letting the elves go. In fact, the enslavement of elves would only be an added detail to the story if the elves never complained. But since Dobby shows he wants freedom, or his version of it, the readers key into the way the enslavement affects the elves lives.
Another aspect of the discrimination against house-elves is that J. K. Rowling used discrimination against the servants of the series, not any particular skin color. People argue that J. K. Rowling is trying to show a comparison to African American slaves yet she stays away from racism amongst skin color. An article written by Marion Rana titled ‘The less you lot have ter do with these foreigners, the happier yeh’ll be’: Cultural and National Otherness in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series states the ideas that “fictional creatures such as the house elves are represented as inferior and Rowling embraces and reproduces many of the prejudices” (52). The main issue with the Harry Potter series showing discrimination is that it is not against the races of different people, it is within the creatures that are not human where we see the most discrimination. Instead of wizards showing discrimination to people of different skin color, or people who are from different areas of the map, J. K. Rowling chooses to emphasize discrimination on the characters that are actually not human at all. Rana explains that, “the elves are believed to be inferior because they lack intelligence, because they are incapable of living independently and because they like to serve humans” (53). In reality, the house-elves never actually say they enjoy serving their masters. It is more around the fact that they truly think that is all that they can do. Rana states that Dobby “is the only elf who actually opposes his enslavement. He is considered a disgrace by the other elves, and more importantly, is seen as a ‘weirdo’, as the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures-teacher Hagrid puts it, by the wizards and witches in the novels” (53). The other elves see Dobby as a threat to what is normal for them. They see him as acting out to the people who they serve and in that way he is a disgrace. The elves believe that they are treated as equals when the wizards are nice to them. They do not believe in being set free, just being treated as an actual being that does have feelings which shows that they are unsure of what freedom really is.
The previous sources tell a lot about how Dobby has been perceived through different views, yet no source talks directly about how the way he acts coincides with the lasting effects of the way he has been treated. Although the previous sources give different sides about how the readers think about him and his role within the series, they do not directly state the way that this can create long-term effects in the way he acts; they do not give reasons behind these perceptions. Some long-term effects of discrimination
include loss of self-identity, loss of self-worth, and confusion about what freedom truly is. I will add to their thoughts about the way the reader thinks about him by explaining the ways in which Dobby acts because of his treatment in my analysis.