Assumptions and Biases

On pg. 94, Rowling writes, “A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.”

• What assumptions did you make about Lee Jordan based on this description?
  
• Was the movie Lee a different race than you pictured him in your head?
  
• This link describes how people who are white often assume fictional book characters are white unless it is explicitly stated that the characters are people of color. How did you imagine the characters of Harry Potter based on the books alone? Were you surprised by the races of any of the characters in the movies?
  

Ron seemed embarrassed and thought he’d said too much when he almost told Harry that his parents couldn’t afford to buy him an owl. Since Harry had only recently come into money, it seemed easy for him to connect with Ron’s experience with poverty.

• What role does social class play in the friendships Harry develops with his peers at Hogwarts?

Hermione mentions that she got a few extra books for background reading and read about Harry in them.

• What clues does this give you about Hermione’s social class and economic situation?
  
• What does it say about Hermione that she has access to books about the culture she is entering?
  
• Although Harry has plenty of money to buy those books, it seemingly doesn’t occur to him to do so.
  
• What does this say about how Hermione and Harry have been brought up?
  
• How might Hermione's experience of her first days at Hogwarts be different if her parents didn't have the money to buy her magical books?

What clues do you notice in the text about characters’ social class?
i.e. Hermione’s access to books, Ron’s homemade sandwich, etc.







Further Reading:
Race Flipping and Expectations