Socialization Process - Harry Potter - Book Report/Review Example

The process of an individual inheriting the social norms, customs and traditions is called Socialization Process. The values and norms that a society develops over ages are through the intermingling of individuals and these are the very norms that the young ones adopt and recognize with through their growing years. In other words Socialization is ‘the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained’ (Clausen, Page 5, 1968). The norms, values and cultures are transferred to children through their elders primarily, but the society that has created these principles itself plays a huge role in familiarizing them to the children. The initial years of a baby’s life are crucial since that is the time when the personality is being shaped and the values are being defined for the child. Through the process of socialization, the rights and wrongs are taught to the children. The educational process, both formal and informal plays a key role in the process of socialization. All in all, the society is the teacher and all the new members undergo a process of learning and understanding under the guidance of the society that has created the norms governing them. It continues to teach through the different stages of life and perpetually shapes the personalities and thinking of its individuals. The importance of this process can be gauged from the fact that the maintenance of a social order is completely dependent on it. Society places certain obligations on certain people according to their roles. Depending on the social status, social class and other such factors, the limitations, role and values for individuals are determined. The role of an individual, as well as how one is perceived all depends on these. Gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, wealth, educational background, so on and so forth are different determining factors for one’s role and status in society. These factors can be widely divided into Ascribed Status and Achieved Status, some of which are the Master Statuses as well. While the Master status is the most major and outstanding status that determines ones identity outright, the ascribed and achieved status are determined on the basis of the manner in which they are acquired. ‘An Ascribed Status is a social position conferred at birth or received involuntarily later in life, over attributes over which the individual has little or no control, such as race/ethnicity, age and gender. ... An achieved status is a social position a person assumes voluntarily as a result of personal choice, merit or direct effort.’ (Kendall, Page 117, 2008) These statuses are a part of the basic structure of living in a society. The struggle between the ascribed and achieved statuses and the psychological turns that an individual goes through are varying and complex. While accepting the social norms and customs, the personal values and norms are either constantly at battle or silently asserting themselves to be felt. The process of socializing and the attaches sociological and psychological processes can be best described through the internationally famous character of Harry Potter, created by J. K. Rowling. Rowling, the creator of the celebrated and popular Harry Potter series (first book published in 1997) gained instantaneous recognition from her first work. She herself admits to not expecting such a huge success from her first attempt. The series although classified as children’s fiction gained equal popularity amongst adults. Although the Harry Potter series was based on fantasy world of wizards and magic, a lot of people could identify with the strength and weaknesses of the characters in the books which was one of books’ endearing charms. The characters though could perform astounding magical acts and possessed astonishing special capabilities still were plagued by human vices, insecurities and vulnerabilities. Similarly the characters also possessed the redeeming human qualities like the ability to love and to sacrifice, generosity and bravery etc. The endeavours of Harry Potter were presented to us in a most enthralling manner; at one angle it held the fantastical elements of a magical world, created from rich imagination, where everything was possible and the rules and norms were different from our world. On the other hand the characters residing in that magical world were most human-like, they were like us, they understood basic decent human moral values, and they cherished emotions like love, friendship, courage, and loyalty. These were the social values and norms that were taught to the characters and to which they were familiar. The readers could relate to that, and they understood and empathized when Harry suffered due to cruelty and indifference of his only remaining blood relations, as we often see such cruelty in our own life. When Harry is given a chance for a new life the readers are happy for him and they root for him, want him to succeed in his new life and strive against all odds. And it is the oxymoronic existence that instigates Harry in the opposite direction in the magical world and forces him to familiarize and reacquaint himself with the world around him. The beauty of the acclaimed series is in the paradox of the two worlds (normal and magic) and the two lives that are given to Harry. The culture of both the worlds shown in the book series is different on some levels while same on other. And naturally this cultural difference deeply influenced the lives of characters residing in both these separate worlds. The children and grown ups from non-magical world are generally divided into two groups based on their attitude recognizing the presence of an alternate magical world. Some are scared, derisive, and choose ignorance while refusing to acknowledge the existence of magic, a magical world and Hogwarts (the wizard school) like the Dursleys while some accept it with an open mind like Hermione’s parents, and encourage their daughter to utilize her magical potential. Similarly in the magical world there are two kinds of people one who are compassionate towards the non-magical world and its people, they accept them as well as their ignorance and vulnerability. This group recognizes that the “Muggles” could be harmed from certain knowledge and misdirected magical spells therefore they try to protect the “Muggles”. Some are so tolerant they even express interest in how non-magical people perform day to day tasks in the absence of magic like the Arthur Weasley. Second group despises the non-magical people for their weakness and also abhor the people with mix-blood origin (magically gifted student from non-magical families e.g. Hermione) the example are people like Voldemort and Malfoy family. On the other hand the unique paradox in the social status of Harry Potter in both worlds that he inhabits is an intriguing factor in the series. In the “Muggle World” he is an orphan, a social outcast, with little prospects in life and nobody to rely on. While in the Magic world he is the “boy who lived”, the famous Harry Potter who was the only one who survived after confronting the notorious dark lord Voldemort. This gives the character depth and the writer margin to create a unique personality. Harry Potter is an orphan and he lives with his mother’s sister’s family: Aunt Petunia Dursely, Uncle Vernon Dursley and their spoiled and pampered son Dudley Dursley. He is told by his aunt and uncle that his parents died in a car crash when he was just a baby. He has no other relation in the world therefore he is completely dependent on his Aunt and Uncle for financial as well as social security. Harry’s aunt and uncle do not tell Harry that his parents were magicians and he is kept in total darkness regarding his real world. Therefore he is unaware of any physical possession his parents might have left him. The Dursley’s are neglectful of his needs, he has no physical belongings and all of his possessions are hand downs and he sleeps in a cupboard. Dursley’s themselves belong to the middleclass with sufficient though not boastful economic means and Harry is in turn considered at the lowest rung in their household and this in turn reflects on his social positioning outside the household. In the social circle that the Dursley’s move in, Harry is ignored as well as abused, and no one gives him any importance or significance. Therefore in the non-magical world Harry’s ascribed status is that of a penny-less orphan who is left to the mercy of the mean Dursley’s since he was just a baby. On the other hand in the magical world the ascribed status of Harry is quite prestigious, not only has he a substantial account in Gringotts (magic world’s bank) but he is “the boy who lived”. He is the one who is believed to have caused the downfall of the notorious most powerful dark lord Voldemort when he was just a baby; his name is mentioned in the many magical books and the whole magical world is in awe of him (and his scar mark) and respects him for ridding them of the dark lord and also being his parent’s son (Lilly and James Potter: famous wizards). All in all Harry has many friends and well-wishers. On the other hand he has won some enemies as well; people who were the supporters of the dark lord. Now Harry possesses two contrasting ascribed statuses: that of an underprivileged underdog and that of a most respected hero, who gains respect and fame when he was just a baby. As to his achieved status, in the non-magical world he was a good student and a non-confronting obedient nephew. After entering in the magic world at the age of eleven, he became a member of Gryffindor (a prestigious house at Hogwarts) a part of group of friends, he became a seeker in the Gryffindor Quidditch team, his prestige increased while he defeated Voldemort in many encounters and took part in different adventures to help others. Preceding everything is the ascribed master status of Harry in the magical world of being the boy who defeated lord Voldemort. Every other status (ascribed or achieved) is affected by this fame. The status is referred to as ascribed as in actuality Voldemort was defeated by a protective magical spell put by Lilly (Harry’s mother) on Harry before she sacrificed her life for him. Due to the ascribed status of Harry in the magical world, the role of a hero was attached to Harry in his later life. So when Harry entered the magical world the whole social structure changed for him, but he still carried his preconceived notions from the previous social structure. Although due to the change Harry was required to re-socialize as a wizard. His role in the society changed since his own conceptions and perceptions had changed, not only about the surroundings but about himself. Still he took decisions based on his predefined morality; he roots for the underdog because he empathizes with them, because his past is with him and while he is entering a world quite different from his previous one, he understands the position of the weak. His socializing in the magical realm is influenced by his emotional and psychological experiences from the past. He forms a long lasting friendship with Hermione and Ron due to this reason and always defends underdogs like Neville and Luna. Similarly as he faced the bully’s like Dudley and Vernon he sees the slytherins as they are and steers clear of them (Malfoy etc) even when he is given an opportunity to join them. But as he has suffered by hands of bully’s in his pre-Hogwarts life he refuses to join them. The change in Harry’s social structure also brought some changes in his ideals and psychology; he gained the power to stand up to bully’s and fight for his rights, he learned to associate with groups by forming affiliations and friendships. Therefore when his culture, class and status changed so did his role as well as his personality. The sociological condition and physiological conditions are related and they affect each other, but the description of both cannot be same, where the social structure comprises of things like status, class, role, groups in a society and sociological description defines this aspect, while the physiological description relates to the emotional and psychological angle. The general change in Harry’s emotions was from despair to hope and happiness. When Harry entered the magical world the whole social structure changed for him. Harry was, therefore, required to go through the socializing process again and understand the values around him from a scratch. Reference: Clausen, John A. (1968) Socialization and Society. Boston. Little Brown and Company. Raz, S. Mobinuddin. (1976) The process of socialization. New Delhi. Chetana Publications. Kendall, Diana. (2008) Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials. Cengage Learning. Shapiro, Marc. (2001) J.K. Rowling: the wizard behind Harry Potter‎. St. Martin's Griffin Rowling, J. K. (1997). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Chambers of Secrets. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (2000). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Bloomsbury Rowling, J. K. (2007). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Bloomsbury Read More