The wizards in Harry Potter's world stand separate from the Muggles—they live in a magical world hidden out of our sight in order to avoid that whole "burn them at the stake" thing.
But within the world of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, there are still class divisions—the Weasleys are poor and struggle to make ends meet, while Malfoy's perfect awfulness comes from generations of aristocratic inbreeding.
And then there's Hogwarts: it's divided into four houses based on individual temperament, which separates the good guys from the bad ones pretty neatly in the process.
Questions about Society and Class
- How do class distinctions in the movie reflect similar divisions in the real world? What does the film have to say about those divisions?
- In what ways do classes in the Wizarding World match classes in the real world? In what ways are they different?
- What kinds of class distinctions do we see between Muggles and wizards?
- How is class and society divide up within Hogwarts itself?
Chew on This
Take a peek at these thesis statements. Agree or disagree?
Societal differences are stronger in the Wizarding World than they are in ours.
Societal differences are weaker in the Wizarding World than they are in ours.