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Louis Rammel

Professor Hagemaster

Research Writing

25 October 2019

Reality Reflected: A Look at Fiction

Why does society generally view fiction and reality as two separate entities? Now, while

not everything one can do in fiction is possible, the ideas behind them, the driving force as one

might say, are very real. Authors, directors, artists, and various other creators use their works,

while not real, to say something about the world during their lives. Perhaps they reflect the views

of the time, or maybe social injustice that’s occurring around them. To say that fiction and reality

are separate from one another is quite simply false. One cannot exist without the other, as fiction

draws itself from reality. This can be seen in the Harry Potter series, which applies a great deal of

social context and historical precedent to the fictional world constructed by J. K. Rowling. This

paper seeks to prove, through the lens of Harry Potter, that the false dichotomy of fiction vs.

reality is unfounded as fiction is born out of reality and failing to understand this is a detriment to

society as it allows for people to miss important messages within media.

The history of this dichotomy can be seen with the English Class System. Within the

confines of the English Class System, people were stuck in a certain part of society regardless of

how hard they worked at trying to move to another one. This is also expressed within the idea of

royalty, as they would intermarry with siblings simply to keep their status and respect among
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their peers. David Dobbs notes that royal incest persists in societies where those in power have

no equals besides their gods and that since gods intermarry so to should they. (Dobbs 60). This is

very common among societies in which such rigid class systems are in place. These types of

societies set the background for the history of this dichotomy.

One example of reality in fiction is presented in how the inhabitants of the world of Harry

Potter treat one another. There are obvious indications that the world state of Britain, during the

time the book is set, is at use in the books. Keep in mind that Harry Potter is a book series by a

British author and the story is built from that viewpoint. It is important to note how the English

Class System is taken from reality and mirrored in these works. John O’ Sullivan notes that

Britain is the kind of society that one would have great difficulty, even to an impossible extent,

to move to another class due to the solidarity of class barriers. (O’Sullivan 493). This is reflected

in the Weasley’s and other wizard families as they are poor and remain so for the duration of the

story. Furthermore, O’ Sullivan claims that Britain is a class system predicated on accent,

appearance, education, and people’s interests. (O’Sullivan 495). This is also prevalent in Harry

Potter as others are ridiculed for looking poor, and most of those people are mixed blood wizards

who weren’t educated on proper dress wear for wizard purposes.

Another example of the fiction books of Harry Potter taking from reality can be spied in

the historical context of Hitler and his discrimination of the Jews. The story of Harry Potter is

home to a group known as the Death Eaters, and they are quite reminiscent of the Nazi’s and

their prejudices. The antagonist of the story, Voldemort, is a good deal like history’s most well-

known dictator as they both seek to “purify” the gene pool and dominate the world. History

Professor and Author Joel F. Harrington writes that German officers were openly discussing

genocide and how they needed to secure the safety of the German people from the undesirables
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(Harrington 30). This is the viewpoint that the followers of Voldemort hold and predicate their

actions on, not unlike the Nazi during the Holocaust. The Death Eaters hate the mixed blood

wizards and would kill them all if given the chance, often referring to them as animals, or

implying that they are subhuman. This seems to be ripped straight out the Nazi’s rhetoric. This

further proves that fiction is created upon the altar of reality, as the two are so close in form and

presentation as to be almost one and the same.

Another aspect of fiction that relates to reality being intertwined with it, is reality’s

imposing nature on fiction. This can be seen in the way that Rowling writes Harry Potter to be a

very male dominated series. Despite being a woman herself, she doesn’t write any of the power

wielding characters as female. This might be the result of the reality that for this book to sell

better, Rowling had to bend to a male audience and write the book that way. Robina Sharif and

Gull Hina say that one of the biggest hurdles for women is that society is male dominated (Sharif

& Hina 69). Now the argument could be made that Hermione is influential, but in honesty she is

just another side character. She acts as more of a support than a lead, boosting Harry along rather

than claim acknowledgement for herself. They present her as this smart and driven girl in the

beginning of the series, and she by no means loses intelligence, but the story does put her in

stereotypical positions. She is the one that needs saving when a troll attacks, which is a classic

damsel in distress. Nobody listens to her when she tries to help the elves, who are enslaved,

which shows that people don’t take her seriously. This provides further evidence that reality and

fiction are interwoven by their very nature.

Now some defenders of this dichotomy might say something along the lines of the

actions taken in fiction are too fantastical to have any relationship to reality. While it is true that

some of the actions in something such as Harry Potter aren’t possible in the world of reality, this
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is not a valid reason to deny the applications of inferring a deeper meaning in these kinds of

fictional worlds. Yes, humanity can’t cast spells to fix everyday issues like the wizards of Harry

Potter can, but the lust for the ability to do so is very real in our world. Author Shelby Hearon

says that, “Sometimes, talking about what is true in fiction, writers’ groups ask: If the people and

plot of the book don't come from your own life, then where do they come from? And my answer

is always: Read nonfiction. I believe that reading real voices telling about real events can

suggest, in some stray phrase or scrap of narrative, a fictional world that our own emotions can

inhabit.” (Hearon n.p.). This shows that fiction authors rely on the real world for inspiration and

ideas, so with that in mind it is clear that there is something to gain by realizing that even

fantastical works draw upon real emotions. So, to say that just because a world is fictional or

fantastical means that it has nothing to offer readers outside of entertainment is quite unfounded.

In conclusion, the dichotomy of fiction vs. reality is false as fiction relies on reality.

Without reality, fiction could not exist as ideas stem from reality. This is shown through the

Harry Potter books as it relates to several real-world issues and events. Despite being a fictional

world, one can broach concepts such as social systems like the English Class System.

Furthermore, one can also look deeper to find real world issues expressed within the text such as

Nazism and inequality among women. Debunking this issue would be to the great benefit of

society as not considering fiction to be of educational value simply because it is fantastical

allows for the knowledge and insight one might gain from taking these works seriously, go to

waste. It is for these reasons that the fiction vs. reality is not only false but also a detriment.
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Works Cited

O’Sullivan, John. “Peter Bauer and the English Call System, by John O’Sullivan.” Cato Journal, Cato

Journal, Cato Institute, 1 Jan, 1970,

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.indianatech.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=355b9816-

d14a-45b5-835a-af0987d681f2%40pdc-v-

sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=19628251&db=aph

Harrington, Joel F. “Himmler's Witch Hunt.” History Today,

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.indianatech.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=41&sid=60d1

02c2-658b-4edd-88b4-ab24d310daaa%40pdc-v-sessmgr03

Sharif, Robina, and Gull Hina. Participation of women in Politics: A Perceptive of Hurdles and

Challenges.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.indianatech.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=81&sid=37cd3f76-

5339-4faf-8edd-

9acae2b22c92%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=

134342540&db=aph

Hearon, Shelby. Fiction Vs. Reality.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.indianatech.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=727b46fe-3f43-4556-

bfb9-bedaf9cca388%40sdc-v-

sessmgr03&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=5577797&db=aph

Dobbs, David. “The Risks and Rewards of Royal Incest.” National Geographic, 13 Sept. 2017,

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.indianatech.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=15&sid=37cd3f76-
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5339-4faf-8edd-

9acae2b22c92%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#A

N=53022672&db=aph

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