What's the point of Hogwarts? The Dursleys were right.

[northsouth17]

No: HPFGUIDX 127777



> Sandra replies: .......and that misses my point. Middle and High 
> schools educate students to give them a platform for any 
> number of university courses and in turn, jobs. The kids leave 
> Hogwarts with a very limited range of options ahead of them (as 
> you put it yourself with your own job suggestions), and in my 
> view, a thoroughly medieval path to tread. 

I agree, for the most part, that growing up in Hogwarts is going to 
seriously restrict you in the muggle world. But I don't see why JKR 
is being blamed for this. I mean, the WW does not exactly hold to a 
relativist view of culture, do they? The WW is presented as far, far, 
far from perfect, even on the "mundane" (unVoldemort Related) level - 
corruption at the ministry, institutionalized bigotry and racism, 
etc. 

The "nationalism" of the WW is hardly a flaw, IMO. Like any culture, 
it propagates itself. Hogwarts indoctrinates muggleborns (Hermione is 
a great example, I think. She's obviously a good student by 
Muggleworld standards too, but she no longer even has the option, and 
probably not the desire, to go study at a muggle university, barring 
some super human effort from her. It's less obvious with Harry, 
becuse he hates the Dursleys and the whole muggle world, so the fact 
he's never really going back is softened - and for the readers too, I 
think.) and totally re-socilizes them. 

Is it a flaw in the WW, maybe, I think so. It certainly puts 
muggleborns like Hermoine in a very difficult position, and I do 
think that the WW dosen't offer nearly everything the regular world 
does. But I do not think it's a flaw in the *books*. 

Northsouth