In response to Eric’s “Background and Education”, I agree with Eric that nowadays people judge each other by their social background. Just like Eric mentions in his free post, people tends to respect more of those who studied at an Ivy League (the “Better schools”) than people who attend a normal school. There are two reasons why people think the Ivy League students are superior. First, there is an assumption that Ivy League students are generally smarter than regular students, although they might in fact pursuing the same degree; second, Ivy League students are wealthier then regular students, thus they have more power in the society.

Compare this social phenomenon to Harry Potter and the prison of the Azkaban, Malfoy always look down at Harry and his friends, make joke about how poor the Weasley’s family is, and laugh at Hermione’s Mangal parents. Malfoy is so ignorance because Malfoy’s family is at the higher social position and therefore has more influence in their society, thus makes him thinks he is superior to the three of them. (Harry, Ron and Hermione). However, the truth is that Harry and Hermione are more talented than Malfoy in magic skills, he doesn’t have anything to be show off except his family name.

In Eric’s example of Professor Lupin’s werewolf identity forced him to resign from his position is a good example of how people judge the book by its cover. Professor Lupin is a caring character, although he can be dangerous transform into a werewolf, he takes potion to keep his mind clear and stay away from his students during his transformation. Parents don’t allow their children to take classes with professor Lupin because they judge his identity over what his personality. However, it is understandable because parents never get a chance to understand professor Lupin.