How Does Harry Potter Show Tolerance

Tolerance: what is it and how does it work? Tolerance can be defined as a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward opinions, beliefs, cultures, and practices that differ from one’s own. Tolerance can be obtained through learning and understanding why someone differs from you, whether that be in beliefs, practices, culture, or opinion and allows the appreciation of diversity and the ability to learn and grow by understanding different view points. Intolerance, on the other hand, is the failure to appreciate and respect the practices, opinions, cultures, and beliefs of others. This results in various amounts of conflicts that could otherwise be avoided. Understanding intolerance, and the negative effects that accompany it is vital in understanding …show more content…
From mud-bloods to house elves, it is very evident that race causes problems in the wizarding world, just as it does in society today. Multiple studies have been performed providing evidence that reading Harry Potter creates tolerance, but how does it work? When reading the Harry Potter book series individuals will relate to one of the characters, whether that be Harry, Hermione, Malfoy, or Voldemort. They find aspects about the character that they can relate to their own life or that they strive to achieve. Harry and Hermione are both characters that promote tolerance and the respect of others, despite differences. Malfoy and Voldemort are discriminatory and judge others based on both race and opinions. When living in the wizarding world, prejudices are everywhere and characters like Harry and Hermione help bring people together rather than tearing them apart, unlike Voldemort and Draco Malfoy. Harry spends his time surrounded by people from all different backgrounds. From Ron, who is considered “poor”, Hermione who is a Mud-blood, Neville, a pure blood that lacks basic skills, and even Dobby, a house elf. Harry finds that although they all might be different and come from different backgrounds, they can all contribute something and grow and learn from each others experiences and ideas. He understands the concept that stereotypes are not always true. Harry also takes a stand for Dobby who is in slaved by the Malfoys. He sees how poorly he is treated and executes a plan to free him. When a reader relates to Harry they support his actions and develop traits similar to his own, thus making it easy to understand how characters with kind and tolerant attitudes throughout the series subconsciously promote tolerance to the