Jump to content

Harry Potter Nazi allegory EE


anamotamayor

Recommended Posts

So I'm going to write my EE in English Literature, and I really want to write about how Voldemort and the Death Eaters are an allegory to Hitler and the Nazis, but I'm not sure this qualifies as a "research".

Also, I think it would be better if I could do a "how Nazi Germany is used as an allegory in modern literature" sort of essay, but I would need another novel to compare with Potter. My supervisor said she didn't know much about HP, but when she googled it she saw a clear connection with Nazi Germany, and told me to compare it to Nineteen Eighty-Four and its totalitarian government, but I have not read Orwell's novel and I do not know if it can really be compared with what I want to do with HP or if my supervisor is just not helping me at all.

Do you think the Nazi idea could work? And would it be necessary to use another book?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd say, it's actually quite obvious to me that there is a connection (or maybe I was influence by their Nazi-like uniforms in HP7 movie). However, I'd say an EE like this, however interesting (I'd actually love to write it) may be a bit trivial and not score too well in the end. I'm no expert in literature EEs, so I might not be right, but from what I can see, it's generally not advisable to write an EE on HP.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, I've read more than a few posts saying that they rarely score well... but it is the only book with "literary worth" that I would like to work with... I originally had Spanish B as my EE subject but then thought I won't be able to write an essay if it's not about something I really like.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Pish posh. HP EEs are fine! One of my old schoolmates got an A with an HP-based EE.

OP, can you maybe explain your topic in a more literary context? Because it sounds vaguely historical to me. What exactly are you trying to analyse and show via the Nazi allegory in the HP fandom.

Your teacher did not lead you astray with 1984, it works pretty well for your premise. Read the book. Even if you don't plan on using it.

Edited by Arrowhead
Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes 1984 is a good match for the Nazi Germany theme, I do SL English but I have read the book. I think it would work really well because the book focuses on an extreme totalitarian regime that even go to the extent of being able to track people's thoughts and control the memory of people so that they manipulate events that happened in the past to suit their needs, and if they catch someone against them, they make them "perfect" and then kill them. the book focuses on 2 people who go together to try and fight against it.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes well, that was my main concern with that topic because as my supervisor told me it could end up being only a description on how HP is similar to Nazi Germany.

What I wanted to "research" was the extent to which Nazi Germany influenced literature (in the allegorical sense) which is why I was looking for another book to use as a comparison.

Thank you for recommending 1984! I'll definitely check it out!

Link to post
Share on other sites

That sounds like a really cool topic! I've heard a lot of people have done comparison essays (not just EE's) on Harry Potter and WWII in general.

Maybe you could do something along the lines of "To what extent is WWII symbolized in the Harry Potter novels?". I'm not quite sure on the wording, but I think you could definitely find 4000 words of good material on the subject, with plenty of research about Nazi's and Hitler.

My EE is actually on Harry Potter and how the mythology in it is used to teach children about universal traits like wisdom, bravery, cunning, and hard-work (A.K.A, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff).


Good Luck!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...