Meyyappan 1

Abi Meyyappan
Mrs. Barnes
Honors Language Arts
25 September 2015
Doubts in Equality
"We can say all we want about equality, but we don't believe in it. We believe in
superiority and inferiority. It's in our nature to rank ourselves into status groups." - Lauren
McLaughlin. The thought that there are levels of superiority between humans is a common theme
in both The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K.
Rowling. In The Book Thief, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party believe that Jewish people (who
were seen more as a race than as a religion) are inferior to them and therefore do not deserve to
live like Germans. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Voldemort and the Death Eaters
believe that Muggle-borns are below purebloods and therefore do not deserve to have magic in
their blood. Both writers use character interactions, symbolism, and setting to
convey the idea of there being levels of superiority between humans.
Through the use of character interactions, the authors idea of ranks and superiority are
developed throughout both books. One of the main interactions in Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows is between Bellatrix Lestrange, Voldemorts most devoted Death Eater, and Hermione
Granger, who is Muggle-born and one of Harrys best friends. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione
get caught in the Malfoy Manor, Bellatrix orders them to be sent to the dungeon underneath,
Wait, said Bellatrix sharply. all except...except for the mudblood...She cut Hermione free
from the other prisoners, then dragged her by the hair into the middle of the room...there was a
terrible drawn out scream from directly above them, (Rowling, 463). Through this scene, the

Meyyappan 2

treatment of Muggle-borns (also known as mudbloods) is shown as Bellatrix tortures Hermione

for information and physically hurts her and brings out what she calls dirty blood. Bellatrix also
says, You are a lying, filthy mudblood, and I know it!...Tell me the truth or I swear I shall run
through you with this knife (Rowling 465). Bellatrix treats Hermione like a lower race and
couldnt care less about the pain inflicted upon her. Similarly, in The Book Thief, Jews are
tortured and treated as prisoners, Their eyes were enormous in their starving skulls, and the dirt
was molded to them....Their gaunt faces were stretched with torture. Hunger ate at them as
they continued forward...His eyes were the color of agony, and weightless as he was, he was
too heavy for his legs to carry.... The Jew was whipped six times. On his back, his head, and
his legs. You filth, you swine! Blood dripped now from his ear, (Zusak 393-394). During this
time, Jews are being forced to march to concentration camps and are publicly whipped during the
journey. Both of these examples show how one party treats the other, proving the idea of
superiority between races.
The act of hiding is a very large symbol of desperation that contributes to the theme in
both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Book Thief. In Harry Potter, five characters,
Teddy Lupin, Dirk Cresswell and Dean Thomas, who are all Muggle-borns, and Griphook and
Gornuk, two goblins, hide in a forest. Knew they were coming for me, replied mellow-voiced
Ted Heard Death Eaters were in the area last week and decided Id better run for it. Refused
to register as a Muggle-born on principle, see, so I knew it was a matter of time, knew Id have
to leave in the end. My wife should be okay, shes pure-blood, (Rowling, 295). At this point,
Death Eaters are searching everywhere for Muggle-borns and everyone who wants to live has to
hide. Similarly, in The Book Thief, Max Vandenburg hides in the Hubermann's basement for a
long time before leaving from gratitude and the fear of jeopardizing their safety. He was a Jew,

Meyyappan 3

and if there was one such place, it was a basement, or any other such hidden venue of survival...
There was nowhere else for Max Vandenburg to go, (Zusak 207-209). For the entirety of his
stay with the Hubermanns, Max was safe, and their basement saved his life in many instances.
Getting captured was also a symbol going along with hiding. Max says Liesel...they got me a
few months ago...halfway to Stuttgart (Zusak 511). Max describes his capture to Liesel and
similarly in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, I was caught...I was halfway to Azkaban
[the wizard prison] when I made a break for it (Rowling 296). Dirk describes his escape from
the Death Eaters and prison. Now he is forced to hide in the forests to avoid being recaptured.
Hiding and being captured play a big role in both books and shows the situation and conditions
the inferior were forced through.
While some may argue that hiding is cowardice and that the desperation is shameful, they
fail to understand the threat imposed by the larger party. Others might say that the Jews and
Muggle-borns should have fought for themselves instead of hiding but in reality, it would have
been a fight against death. The Death Eaters were not afraid to use the three unforgivable curses,
the killing curse, the Cruciatus curse (a curse that inflicts unimaginable pain), and the Imperius
curse ( a curse that puts the victim under the control of the caster). The Death Eaters have been
known to ruthlessly murder innocent souls on many occasions and it is no different with the Nazi
Party. After Harry has a vision, he is horrified of what he has witnessed, Ive just seen
Voldemort murdering a woman. By now hes probably killed her whole family. And he didnt
need to. It was Cedric all over again, they were just there (Rowling 233). Voldemort couldnt
care less about the rest of the people as long as he was alive, this is what caused such a big fear
factor that resulted in Muggle-borns having no choice but to hide. In The Book Thief, during the
walk of the Jews, Liesel realizes their condition cannot be changed, They could not be saved,

Meyyappan 4

and in a few minutes, she would see what would happen to those who might try to help them,
(Zusak 393). Anyone who tries to help is whipped and physically injured along with the rest of
the Jews who were sent to a concentration camp. The Jews were weakened in such ways that
their bodies would not permit them to fight back physically even if mentally they were strong. To
further prove the incorrect claim of the victims cowardly behavior, the people who were hiding
and escaping from the Nazi party and Death Eaters were defying them by being survivors. They
fought by staying alive which is what the larger parties don't want. Though some may believe
hiding is cowardice, the text strongly proves that hiding was their best way of defiance.
The setting of both books plays a major part in the sticky situations created for the lower
race. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Death Eaters are roaming around looking for
Muggle-borns everywhere and they use the ministry records to question and capture Muggleborns that have been recorded. At the ministry, Dolores Umbridge, an evil, narrow minded, cruel,
toadlike woman, interrogates Muggle-borns that have been sought out through the area and has
files tracking everyone with connections to Harry Potter. Arthur Weasley, who is an important
figure in Harrys life, has a rather large file, Arthur Weasley-Security Status- TRACKED. All
movements are being monitored. Strong likelihood (Rowling 252). Umbridge and other
pureblood maniacs are so completely obsessed with eradicating the wizarding community of
muggle-borns that they fail to realize the fact that if not for muggles, the wizarding race would
die out after a period of time. Instead of accepting muggles, they spend their time searching for
Muggle-borns and interrogating them based upon false and unfair accusations. Muggle-borns
have no choice but to receive this unjust treatment since they are in an area with the pureblood
majority. Similarly in The Book Thief, the Nazis are present in the majority of towns and they
are searching for Jews. During one of the searches, Max comes close to being discovered, The

Meyyappan 5

party...Theyre checking all the houses and apartment blocks. Instant dryness seized the interior
of Liesels mouth...As the Nazis progressed down the street...A seven-punch knock was
hammered into the door of 33 Himmel Street, and it was too late to move anyone anywhere
(339-342 Zusak). The family is scared to death at the thought Nazis coming and searching their
house. In both books, the setting is filled with the majority of the upper class which in turn puts
the fear factor into play for the Jews and Muggle-borns.
Both The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
develop the idea of levels of superiority between humans, through character interactions,
symbolism, and setting. The torturous interactions between Bellatrix and Hermione at Malfoy
Manor and the violent interactions between the Nazis and Jews on the streets help contribute to
the manner the lower race are treated with. Hiding and being captured enhances the symbol of
desperation and desire to live and a setting in a community with the majority of Nazis and a
majority of Death Eaters contributes to the fear factor posed to those threatened. All of these
literary devices are woven intricately into the plot teaching the reader about the opinions circled
around ranks of superiority through humans. Like Lauren McLaughlin said, it's in our nature to
rank ourselves into status groups and believe in superiority and inferiority. It's up to us to change
that and create a better society.

Works Cited

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.

Meyyappan 6

Rowling, J. K., and Mary GrandPre. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY:
Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print.