[HPforGrownups] race [book differences?] / cultures of readers

[N Fry]

No: HPFGUIDX 40326

Isn't it interesting how culture can effect the way that we read these 
books? Not just in the use of words, but also dealing with the assumptions 
and reactions we may potentially have.

GulPlum wrote:
>but I suspect that by Book Four, JKR had had a few comments more than
>she'd have liked about the fact that on the whole, her characters at
>least appear to be "too white".

Me (not Rosie):
I freely admit that I grew up with a very stereotypical view of the English 
- that whole prim, proper, white image that many Americans seem to have of 
British people. Because of that, it is my instinctive reading to not only 
assume that the vast majority of the characters are white, but to not even 
question that fact. My experiences have shown that many of the people I know 
don't realize the number of different ethnic groups living in that area. 
Which is why I was so interested in the next section of GulPlum's message, 
which I quoted below...

>"Patil" is a bit of a giveaway. :-) I have no idea what the Indian
>population is like in the USA, but over here (and especially in very
>Asian areas like the one I live in), the Patils and Patels are all
>over the place, anmd one doesn't need to think twice about where
>they're from. :-)

me:
I grew up/live in rural Indiana = *very* white. I assumed that the Patils 
didn't have English names, but I wasn't immediately aware if they were taken 
from a particular ethnic group or if they were just interesting names that 
JKR had come up with. I suppose if I had thought about it a bit, I might 
have figured it out, but my original readings were purely for entertainment 
purposes. I didn't look to deeply into the means of names (other than the 
obvious ones, like Prof. Sprout). I wonder how many of the US kids who read 
these books realize that the Patils are Indian. God, I hope Scholastic 
doesn't start thinking along those lines... I has only kidding when I wrote 
my little "explanation" of their ethnicity (India Indians vs. US Indians) in 
my original message.

For the most part, I don't think that US and UK cultures are so vastly 
different that my overall interpretation of the books are totally different 
than someone reading the UK versions. But I have noticed that I have 
different assumptions on some of the details. For example - the location of 
Hogwarts. Is it generally accepted that the school is located in Scotland, 
or is that just a proposed theory? I'll admit that it never even occurred to 
me that the school could be located anywhere other than England. Of course, 
that could also have to do with the fact that I can never keep straight the 
differences between England/UK/Britain/British Isles etc.


~ Nik (who has never stepped foot outside of the US, but would love to visit 
England some day) & (who is also posting her first message after graduating 
from moderated new member status. Yay me!)

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