Modern Day Mudblood
The character I identify with the most is without-a-doubt
the lovely Hermoine Granger. My connection with her began in the Chamber of
Secrets when that little troll Malfoy spits out, “No one asked your opinion,
you filthy little Mudblood,” at the Gryffindor/Slytherin quidditch match. Such
a beautiful day… ruined by Malfoy. His ridiculous ongoing hatred towards
Hermoine and Mudbloods continues throughout the book. I found his most notable
quotes to be:
“'But I know one thing: last time the
Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died. So I bet it's only a
matter of time before one of them's killed this time… I hope it's Granger,’ he
said with relish.”
“'I'm surprised all the Mudbloods
haven't packed their bags by now,' Malfoy went on. 'Bet you five Galleons the
next one dies. Pity it wasn't Granger…'”
Mudblood, in my eyes, is such a terrible word—yet one that
not every reader would find as intense as I do. You see, I find myself as a
“Modern Day Mudblood”: a gay man. And I feel as if Hermoine found the term as
offensive and revolting as I find the term “faggot.” Just typing the word made
me cringe. Malfoy icily describing Mudbloods as “filthy” and even wishing DEATH
upon them (multiple times!) proves the magnitude of his hatred towards “their
kind” and the ignorance backing it.
Those terrible blows are ones that I unfortunately have felt
many times in my life, and I identify with Hermoine as being outcasted and
mistreated for being different—and for something she couldn’t even control. Furthermore,
I identify with her on what she could
control. It seemed as if her “know-it-all” tendencies stemmed from this
outcasting and that she feels as if she has something to prove. Mudblood you say? Well this Mudblood is
going to be the best damn witch you’ve ever seen! I admit that I too have a
“perfectionist complex” and competiveness at Hermoine-like levels, and I feel
that it too stems from this reason. We not only want to change our perceptions
and expectations of “our kind,” but to also exceed the crap out of them. And…
well… we do! =)
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment