When Joanne K. Rowling published her first Harry Potter novel in 1997 probably nobody expected
the tremendous success her writing debut was going to bring her. The huge popularity of the
seven-book series led not only to an equally successful series of film adaptations but also to
a variety of well selling merchandise. Children and adults alike are enchanted by the wizarding
world that Rowling so meticulously created. However Rowling's story does not only serve as a
source for our entertainment she also uses her fantasy world as a metaphor for our own world
depicting rights and wrongs in many different fields. One of the main themes is even a very
controversial one: discrimination. And Rowling did not just invent a world in black and white
she does not simply tell the reader that prejudice is a reprehensible trait in our society.
Rather she created a world for the readers to explore and find things out for themselves as
the story continued. In this paper the author claims that the representation of discrimination
in the Harry Potter series influences the readers in a positive way and that they are likely
less prejudiced against stigmatised groups after reading the books.
