Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Within Chamber of Secrets, Rowling identifies many shades and types of prejudice that shape interactions in the wizarding world. While many of these prejudices are despicable and destructive, others seem to manifest themselves in otherwise admirable characters or have some degree of justification. By examining the broad range of prejudices that exist and how they impact human interactions, Rowling calls attention to the need to rise above personal bias.

Some prejudices are presented as overt and obviously wrong. These include a set of assumptions shared by Voldemort and his followers, including the Malfoys, who feel that magical people are superior to Muggles, with whom they should not associate. This prejudice extends to witches and wizards who lack magical ancestry and those who have magical ancestry but fail to respect it (in the eyes of those who subscribe to this philosophy) by falling into friendly association with Muggles. When Mr. Malfoy spots the Weasleys with the Grangers, who are Muggles, in Diagon Alley, he comments, “The company you keep, Weasley...and I thought your family could sink no lower” (62). Mr. Malfoy’s use of a height-based metaphor to describe Mr. Weasley’s supposed transgression reveals the hierarchical way that he views the world based on indicators such as wealth and birth.