I would love to see any essay you would like to write, it would be very interesting to read!
The problem I have is that we can either view Slytherins as a 'symbol', or we can view them as 'human', we can't interchange between these views when it suits us. If we accept that social inequality is a by-product of the good guys being human, then we must also accept that Slytherins were human too, and that some of them may deserve sympathy rather than being lumped into a symbol.
I mean, we all know that Slytherins with all their blood purity were a basic thematic metaphor for racism within our own culture. That's like, HP reading 101. But the people who tar all of the Slytherins with the same brush, who remove their human traits in order to see them only as a symbol - those are the same people who see problematic posts on Tumblr and roll their eyes and say, "ugh, white girls, amirite?" instead of trying to erase their ignorance through knowledge.
No, of course one war (well, three; this was Voldemort's second go round, and there was that whole thing with Grindelwald after all) wasn't going to eradicate social inequality completely - as much as I would wish it otherwise, that seems to be an innate part of the human condition. But what that epilogue does is point out that not only is social inequality still rife, but that if it's coming from the side of good, then apparently "all is well." But for me, it's not, and I think that if Draco had had the chance to make his own choices, then that epilogue could have shown some kind of improvement - however little - rather than just a shift in the social dynamic. Just my opinion, obviously.
For people who seem intent on ignoring the greater ideas JKR was trying to express in this story. That's not me, I am perfectly aware of the myriad ideas JKR explored in her works. I'm also not ignoring the fact that HP is a Christ narrative which ends with resurrection and redemption. We had the resurrection, and Voldemort was given the chance for redemption, so why wasn't Draco? When he is, quite obviously, the HP counterpart for Pontius Pilate, who was forgiven by Christ, because, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2014-11-26 10:33 am (UTC)The problem I have is that we can either view Slytherins as a 'symbol', or we can view them as 'human', we can't interchange between these views when it suits us. If we accept that social inequality is a by-product of the good guys being human, then we must also accept that Slytherins were human too, and that some of them may deserve sympathy rather than being lumped into a symbol.
I mean, we all know that Slytherins with all their blood purity were a basic thematic metaphor for racism within our own culture. That's like, HP reading 101. But the people who tar all of the Slytherins with the same brush, who remove their human traits in order to see them only as a symbol - those are the same people who see problematic posts on Tumblr and roll their eyes and say, "ugh, white girls, amirite?" instead of trying to erase their ignorance through knowledge.
No, of course one war (well, three; this was Voldemort's second go round, and there was that whole thing with Grindelwald after all) wasn't going to eradicate social inequality completely - as much as I would wish it otherwise, that seems to be an innate part of the human condition. But what that epilogue does is point out that not only is social inequality still rife, but that if it's coming from the side of good, then apparently "all is well." But for me, it's not, and I think that if Draco had had the chance to make his own choices, then that epilogue could have shown some kind of improvement - however little - rather than just a shift in the social dynamic. Just my opinion, obviously.
For people who seem intent on ignoring the greater ideas JKR was trying to express in this story. That's not me, I am perfectly aware of the myriad ideas JKR explored in her works. I'm also not ignoring the fact that HP is a Christ narrative which ends with resurrection and redemption. We had the resurrection, and Voldemort was given the chance for redemption, so why wasn't Draco? When he is, quite obviously, the HP counterpart for Pontius Pilate, who was forgiven by Christ, because, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."