The Story behind the Story: Linguistic Manipulations and Narratives in Harry Potter
Nearly from
the moment the first book was published in June 1997, J. K. Rowling’s Harry
Potter series seemed to sweep the globe with popularity. Twenty-five years
later, the series remains an international phenomenon, with fans everywhere
still anxiously awaiting their Hogwarts acceptance letters (even long past the
age of eleven) and traveling long distances just to spend a few precious
moments at one of Universal Studios’ Harry Potter World theme parks. But not
only did Rowling succeed in creating a wildly successful magical world with
witches and wizards and flying broomsticks, she also created a world in which
characters could learn new life lessons from the challenges they
faced—including the lesson that the government may not always be right.
The Ministry of Magic is portrayed as one of the most controversial organizations in the wizarding world. They are shown to act with reckless abandon (nearly expelling Harry from Hogwarts on several occasions under false pretenses) and seem to yield to popularity easier than they do to sound reasoning. As the series progresses, and indeed as Voldemort gains more and more followers, the Ministry becomes increasingly frantic to perpetuate an image of control and even competency. One of the more drastic measures to this end is the appointment of Dolores Umbridge as high inquisitor over Hogwarts, giving her unchecked power to make reforms to school policy. This, of course, was an utter fiasco, complete with the blatant torture of underage wizards and the unlawful use of veritiserum (truth potion) to further her own position.
The Ministry, however, paints the picture in a different light: according to a Daily Prophet article announcing her new position (see Appendix for full version), Dolores Umbridge was nothing short of Hogwarts’ salvation. But how could one event have two such varying accounts? And how did the Ministry succeed in convincing so many of their citizens that all was not only under control, but better than ever before? One possible explanation is that the answer can be found by taking a look further into their discourse. To that end, this paper will examine the Daily Prophet article put out by the Ministry of Magic at the time of Umbridge’s appointment as high inquisitor of Hogwarts for any language manipulations that would further the narrative that their interference in school policy would be better than letting Dumbledore run the school himself.
The use of presuppositions is a brilliant way to embed information into a sentence so that it is not immediately questioned. This happens because this information is being presented as already known, or pre-supposed, rather than being presented as new or enlightening. Many such presuppositions were found in this text specifically by using AntConc, the personal corpus tool, to search for presupposition triggers such as definite descriptors and factive verbs.
One of the first presuppositions that appears in the text is when the article is describing the Ministry’s plan to “to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts” (Rowling 209). Even though this is one of the very first times in the series that falling standards at Hogwarts are ever mentioned, linguistically this information is being presented as a commonly known fact. This is done though the use of definite description: definite because of the use of the definite article “the” (not “some” falling standards that would be in effect uncountable), and descriptive because of the modifying “falling” in front of “standards.” All of this combined serves to purport to a reader that although Hogwarts has standards, under Dumbledore’s control, they are plummeting.
Another way of implementing presuppositions is through factive verbs. This happens in the article text when Percy Weasley is quoted to have said, “I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation” (210). The presupposition in this statement follows Percy’s factive verb phrase “I know that” because the information following this phrase—that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation—is presented as non-negotiable fact.
This example, however, provides another layer of language manipulation that furthers this narrative of Dumbledore’s ineptitude. This time, however, the manipulation comes not through presupposed information but through information conveyed in implicature—the meaning that goes beyond words, based on their compliance (or non-compliance) with Gricean maxims. Now, let’s examine again the preceding example about Dumbledore “being subjected to fair and objective evaluation.” The implicature is that up to this point, any evaluation Dumbledore may have been subjected to lacked the values of fairness and objectivity. This is because of how the sentence relates to the Gricean maxim of manner, which states that in discourse, one must be as clear, brief, and orderly as one can while avoiding ambiguity and obscurity. Because Percy clarifies which kind of evaluation Dumbledore is being subjected to (that is, fair and objective evaluation), he is avoiding as much ambiguity and obscurity as possible, therefore activating his implication and subsequently furthering the narrative of Dumbledore’s poor job as a leader of Hogwarts.
The last implication that supports the Ministry’s narrative is found in how Dumbledore is described. In a line disparaging Dumbledore’s management of Hogwarts, the Daily Prophet describes him as “Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot” (210). The use of the implicative adverb “once” serves to tell the public that Dumbledore, having lost such grand and venerable positions, is in fact losing credibility and can no longer be trusted in places of power. Besides the use of the implicative adverb, this implicature also works off of the Gricean maxim of quantity (saying just as much as is needed, no more, no less). Because Dumbledore is the main topic of the article (meaning that surely the audience is familiar with him at this point and doesn’t need further introduction to who he is) and because his name has been used several times in the article up to this point with no other mention rather than “Dumbledore,” the use of extra description of what positions he does or does not hold is being used to excess and merely for the point of showcasing his falling societal and executive status.
With all the presuppositions and implicatures present in the article up to this point, the reader can hardly question how the Ministry feels about Dumbledore. What’s left for the Ministry to accomplish is establishing themselves as an authority figure that it is strong, action-oriented, and capable of taking over the school in Dumbledore’s place.
The following paragraph in the article highlights another similar presupposition when Percy Weasley is quoted as referring to “an exciting new phase in the minister's plan” (209). Here, the definite article “the” in combination with the possessive determiner “minister’s” signals the presupposition that the minister has a plan. By specifying exactly which plan—it’s not a plan or just some plan they had laying around—the Ministry asserts that they are primed and ready to deal with the so-called crisis created by Dumbledore’s ineptitudes, again furthering their narrative.
The article employs a similar presupposition in the Ministry’s favor with the quote that many parents are “glad to know that the ministry is keeping an eye on the situation” (210). Due to its construction in a factive verbal phrase, the information that the Ministry is keeping an eye on things is being presented as already commonly known, therefore presenting the Ministry in an action-oriented light.
But it isn’t just in the syntax of language that can constitute meaningful manipulations. Both of the two preceding examples in fact employ another manipulation based on the framing of the sentences. The first example about an “exciting new phase in the minister’s plan” is framed as coming from Percy Weasley, the “junior assistant to the minister” (209), and the second example about the Ministry “keeping an eye on the situation” is framed by the dialogue tag, “said Mr. Lucious Malfoy…speaking from his Wilshire mansion last night” (210). Both of these are significant for their appeal to an authority figure: while Percy may not be second in command of the government, he certainly has the minister’s ear, and Lucious Malfoy is a known member of the school board for Hogwarts and would thus have an immense amount of sway with how the school is being run. Having both of these figures simultaneously condemn Dumbledore and praise the Ministry can only convey to the reader that the narrative must be true in light of the authority that the article draws upon.
When analyzed under the category of a news piece, the Daily Prophet article scored above average in dimensions such as positive tone and allurement and scored below average in negative tone (see Appendix). Although it seems redundant to list both above average positive tone and below average negative tone, it is significant when considering the narrative this article puts forward: despite the disparages against Dumbledore throughout the piece, the Ministry still maintains a positive tone by constructing said disparages as commonly known (or pre-supposed) facts rather than as accusations (and, of course, the same could also be said of their use of conveying complaints through implicature rather than explicitly stated). This maintenance of positivity is important if the Ministry wishes their narrative (that they are more capable than Dumbledore) to succeed—it is easy for an audience to catch on to outright negativity in the form of complaints and endless finger-pointing as a solution to problems, which means the Ministry must be careful with its tone.
The careful ways in which this article was constructed also leads into the quality of allurement, or the act of enticing or charming an audience through fascination. This allurement is particularly utilized in the way that the Ministry presents the second half of their narrative: the effect of the presuppositions and framing methods discussed earlier is that they paint themselves to be strong, capable, action-oriented, and trustworthy without ever having to spell it out in those exact terms for the audience. Its overall effect, however, leaves the audience dazzled by their responsiveness and confident that all is under control at Hogwarts—cementing, at last, the Ministry’s narrative.
The Ministry of Magic is portrayed as one of the most controversial organizations in the wizarding world. They are shown to act with reckless abandon (nearly expelling Harry from Hogwarts on several occasions under false pretenses) and seem to yield to popularity easier than they do to sound reasoning. As the series progresses, and indeed as Voldemort gains more and more followers, the Ministry becomes increasingly frantic to perpetuate an image of control and even competency. One of the more drastic measures to this end is the appointment of Dolores Umbridge as high inquisitor over Hogwarts, giving her unchecked power to make reforms to school policy. This, of course, was an utter fiasco, complete with the blatant torture of underage wizards and the unlawful use of veritiserum (truth potion) to further her own position.
The Ministry, however, paints the picture in a different light: according to a Daily Prophet article announcing her new position (see Appendix for full version), Dolores Umbridge was nothing short of Hogwarts’ salvation. But how could one event have two such varying accounts? And how did the Ministry succeed in convincing so many of their citizens that all was not only under control, but better than ever before? One possible explanation is that the answer can be found by taking a look further into their discourse. To that end, this paper will examine the Daily Prophet article put out by the Ministry of Magic at the time of Umbridge’s appointment as high inquisitor of Hogwarts for any language manipulations that would further the narrative that their interference in school policy would be better than letting Dumbledore run the school himself.
Furthering the Narrative, Part One
In order for this narrative to be successful, the Ministry needs to convince their readers of the fact that Dumbledore as a leader has become lax, unruly, and even eccentric. They do this through certain language manipulations, including the use of presuppositions and implicatures regarding Dumbledore’s role at Hogwarts. This section will analyze the use of these language manipulations (beginning with presuppositions) in order to more fully understand their effect in promoting this narrative.The use of presuppositions is a brilliant way to embed information into a sentence so that it is not immediately questioned. This happens because this information is being presented as already known, or pre-supposed, rather than being presented as new or enlightening. Many such presuppositions were found in this text specifically by using AntConc, the personal corpus tool, to search for presupposition triggers such as definite descriptors and factive verbs.
One of the first presuppositions that appears in the text is when the article is describing the Ministry’s plan to “to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts” (Rowling 209). Even though this is one of the very first times in the series that falling standards at Hogwarts are ever mentioned, linguistically this information is being presented as a commonly known fact. This is done though the use of definite description: definite because of the use of the definite article “the” (not “some” falling standards that would be in effect uncountable), and descriptive because of the modifying “falling” in front of “standards.” All of this combined serves to purport to a reader that although Hogwarts has standards, under Dumbledore’s control, they are plummeting.
Another way of implementing presuppositions is through factive verbs. This happens in the article text when Percy Weasley is quoted to have said, “I feel much easier in my mind now that I know that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation” (210). The presupposition in this statement follows Percy’s factive verb phrase “I know that” because the information following this phrase—that Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation—is presented as non-negotiable fact.
This example, however, provides another layer of language manipulation that furthers this narrative of Dumbledore’s ineptitude. This time, however, the manipulation comes not through presupposed information but through information conveyed in implicature—the meaning that goes beyond words, based on their compliance (or non-compliance) with Gricean maxims. Now, let’s examine again the preceding example about Dumbledore “being subjected to fair and objective evaluation.” The implicature is that up to this point, any evaluation Dumbledore may have been subjected to lacked the values of fairness and objectivity. This is because of how the sentence relates to the Gricean maxim of manner, which states that in discourse, one must be as clear, brief, and orderly as one can while avoiding ambiguity and obscurity. Because Percy clarifies which kind of evaluation Dumbledore is being subjected to (that is, fair and objective evaluation), he is avoiding as much ambiguity and obscurity as possible, therefore activating his implication and subsequently furthering the narrative of Dumbledore’s poor job as a leader of Hogwarts.
The last implication that supports the Ministry’s narrative is found in how Dumbledore is described. In a line disparaging Dumbledore’s management of Hogwarts, the Daily Prophet describes him as “Albus Dumbledore, once Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot” (210). The use of the implicative adverb “once” serves to tell the public that Dumbledore, having lost such grand and venerable positions, is in fact losing credibility and can no longer be trusted in places of power. Besides the use of the implicative adverb, this implicature also works off of the Gricean maxim of quantity (saying just as much as is needed, no more, no less). Because Dumbledore is the main topic of the article (meaning that surely the audience is familiar with him at this point and doesn’t need further introduction to who he is) and because his name has been used several times in the article up to this point with no other mention rather than “Dumbledore,” the use of extra description of what positions he does or does not hold is being used to excess and merely for the point of showcasing his falling societal and executive status.
With all the presuppositions and implicatures present in the article up to this point, the reader can hardly question how the Ministry feels about Dumbledore. What’s left for the Ministry to accomplish is establishing themselves as an authority figure that it is strong, action-oriented, and capable of taking over the school in Dumbledore’s place.
Furthering the Narrative, Part Two
The first technique the Ministry uses to establish this second half of their narrative is similarly done through the use of presuppositions. One of the earliest presuppositions used in the article is in the sentence, “This is not the first time the minister used new laws to effect improvements in the wizarding school” (209). The presupposition in this sentence—that the minister is using new laws to effect improvements—is triggered through the iterative phrase “not the first time.” This pre-supposes that the minister has taken similar action in the past and also serves to highlight the effective nature of the government in interfering in school policies.The following paragraph in the article highlights another similar presupposition when Percy Weasley is quoted as referring to “an exciting new phase in the minister's plan” (209). Here, the definite article “the” in combination with the possessive determiner “minister’s” signals the presupposition that the minister has a plan. By specifying exactly which plan—it’s not a plan or just some plan they had laying around—the Ministry asserts that they are primed and ready to deal with the so-called crisis created by Dumbledore’s ineptitudes, again furthering their narrative.
The article employs a similar presupposition in the Ministry’s favor with the quote that many parents are “glad to know that the ministry is keeping an eye on the situation” (210). Due to its construction in a factive verbal phrase, the information that the Ministry is keeping an eye on things is being presented as already commonly known, therefore presenting the Ministry in an action-oriented light.
But it isn’t just in the syntax of language that can constitute meaningful manipulations. Both of the two preceding examples in fact employ another manipulation based on the framing of the sentences. The first example about an “exciting new phase in the minister’s plan” is framed as coming from Percy Weasley, the “junior assistant to the minister” (209), and the second example about the Ministry “keeping an eye on the situation” is framed by the dialogue tag, “said Mr. Lucious Malfoy…speaking from his Wilshire mansion last night” (210). Both of these are significant for their appeal to an authority figure: while Percy may not be second in command of the government, he certainly has the minister’s ear, and Lucious Malfoy is a known member of the school board for Hogwarts and would thus have an immense amount of sway with how the school is being run. Having both of these figures simultaneously condemn Dumbledore and praise the Ministry can only convey to the reader that the narrative must be true in light of the authority that the article draws upon.
Analysis of the Overall Effect (LIWC)
These examples, however, are by no means an exhaustive list of the ways in which this narrative is perpetuated throughout the text. Another method of analysis can be done through stepping back to look at the overall effect of the text. This is done through the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) computer application, which is a powerful tool in researching psychological effects in writing. According to the LIWC website, one of the key uses of this tool is to analyze narrative arcs and to understand how narratives unfold by responding to “over 100 dimensions of text” based on the category of the writing being analyzed (be it fiction, entertainment, news, or other).When analyzed under the category of a news piece, the Daily Prophet article scored above average in dimensions such as positive tone and allurement and scored below average in negative tone (see Appendix). Although it seems redundant to list both above average positive tone and below average negative tone, it is significant when considering the narrative this article puts forward: despite the disparages against Dumbledore throughout the piece, the Ministry still maintains a positive tone by constructing said disparages as commonly known (or pre-supposed) facts rather than as accusations (and, of course, the same could also be said of their use of conveying complaints through implicature rather than explicitly stated). This maintenance of positivity is important if the Ministry wishes their narrative (that they are more capable than Dumbledore) to succeed—it is easy for an audience to catch on to outright negativity in the form of complaints and endless finger-pointing as a solution to problems, which means the Ministry must be careful with its tone.
The careful ways in which this article was constructed also leads into the quality of allurement, or the act of enticing or charming an audience through fascination. This allurement is particularly utilized in the way that the Ministry presents the second half of their narrative: the effect of the presuppositions and framing methods discussed earlier is that they paint themselves to be strong, capable, action-oriented, and trustworthy without ever having to spell it out in those exact terms for the audience. Its overall effect, however, leaves the audience dazzled by their responsiveness and confident that all is under control at Hogwarts—cementing, at last, the Ministry’s narrative.
Conclusion
This paper used linguistic examples of the manipulation of language to show how certain narratives were being perpetuated in the news article announcing Dolores Umbridge’s appointment as high inquisitor over Hogwarts. And although Harry Potter and by extension the article discussed in this paper are fictional works, it is interesting to analyze the linguistic factors at play within the text. In Harry Potter, we read of a government that was manipulating the facts and alluring its public into only seeing things how they would have them be interpreted; however, the value of recognizing the means of such narratives expands to more than just the fictional world. Similar analyses in the real world may be helpful in recognizing the narratives being perpetuated all around us, whether good or bad, and may even help lessen the polarization at play in the government and media today. Either way, the linguistic manipulations at play in Harry Potter serve to warn the characters and audience about underlying motives in places of supposed authority.
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