In J.K. Rowling's acclaimed series, there is a clear separation between good and evil. The reader is aligned with Hogwarts and the 'good' wizards, and Voldemort and his followers are clearly characterized as evil. Dementors and Death Eaters are continuously attempting to invade the walls of Hogwarts, and are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way of securing power. If J.K. Rowling drew upon World War II for the series, can that view be shifted to how the series can now be read in relation to terrorism? Analyze the ways in which Death Eaters resemble terrorist organizations. What does this say about our culture? How can we learn from the series using this lens?
As an idea the Death Eaters exemplify terrorism but at it's core it's really hard to say/argue. I feel like they are the embodiment of terror because the books make it a little too easy for us to see them as people. They don't get character development, like Bellatrix a lot of them come off as just wanting to watch the world burn. On that note, there is always Draco. A good angle this article could take is: Draco Malfoy helping people sympathize with children in radical families. Death Eaters aren't brainwashed by religion like modern day terrorists but as the books point out in a lot of cases they are pressured into it, feeling like they have no other choice, and that it's submit to Voldemort or die. – Slaidey9 years ago
Are you aiming to explore Death Eaters as "weapons" or terror as as state sanctioned vehicle to spread fear of terrorism or a way to control it. It might be a more effective argument to take Death Easters as weapons of fear and control, given that they are operated under the "state power" which in this case would be the ministry. For example as one of the comments above has suggested here, Death Eaters are clearly not brainwashed but rather, it is their nature and function to spread fear. – aferozan9 years ago
I'm actually going to go ahead and take this topic up. It seems like an interesting topic to discuss. It's pretty well established that Rowling drew inspiration from the Nazis, but puritan ideology exists even today, and future generations may look back at this series, coming as terrorism becomes a real problem in the world, and may very well assume that was its inspiration. – Adnan Bey9 years ago
Looking forward to this article Adnan. – Munjeera9 years ago
There's a pretty interesting (and amusing) video that Cracked made a couple of years ago that might shed some light on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz88P6tL9wc – ProtoCanon8 years ago
