It's important to note, that the "rich" in Harry Potter are not only rich. They are people along the lines of what passes for wizard nobility, or at least of that heritage. The Malfoys are an excellent case.
I agree a lot of this is inspired by British culture (history, but also literature like Dickens) and by her Scotish sensibilities too probably, though she had several important characters who had the blood lineage and who were painted very positively - but most of them were either poor or nothing was made of their wealth (eg: Neville, the Weasleys etc.). Only Sirius and Harry were technically very rich, and sometimes Rowling was tempted to show this as a challenge/danger (and source of guilt) to Harry. He had to learn to use his wealth the right way, not to show off or embarass his poorer friends with over the top generosity etc.
Her harshest critic of the wealthy was of course the Malfoys. They treat their "staff" terribly, show off their wealth all the time, use it as a source of power for bribes etc. and they sneer at the poor, even the pure blood ones like the Weasleys who were to them a disgrace to the pure blood.
Let's say her own background (and even her poverty at the time) showed a bit in the way she depicted the mediocre middle-class wannabe bourgeois like the Dursleys and the insanely rich like the Malfoys, offering the poor, struggling Weasleys as her central positive family.
I'm not against it mind you, I found her satirical elements very amusing, but it was a bit black and white... maybe.
Harry Potter (the entire series)
06/04/2010 11:00:07 PM
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Re: Harry Potter (the entire series)
06/04/2010 11:29:49 PM
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Really?
07/04/2010 05:41:46 PM
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I honestly think it's a combination of the two
07/04/2010 05:55:18 PM
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I'll give you that....
07/04/2010 06:11:27 PM
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It does seem logical that the series gets more teenager-oriented as Harry grows older.
07/04/2010 06:47:57 PM
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Re: Harry Potter (the entire series)
07/04/2010 12:26:22 AM
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I get where you're coming from
07/04/2010 06:19:13 PM
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That's kind of the point though...
07/04/2010 08:44:26 PM
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This is how I see it too
08/04/2010 12:43:03 AM
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just a comment about your rich=bad
08/04/2010 02:05:32 AM
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Re: just a comment about your rich=bad
08/04/2010 05:58:13 PM
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I agree with many of your points.
07/04/2010 12:44:31 AM
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I have to dispute the concept of going "too far."
07/04/2010 06:32:47 AM
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Hm, I don't know.
07/04/2010 11:08:12 AM
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This is a lot like the argument I'm having with Joel on the CMB concerning original sin.
08/04/2010 07:21:39 AM
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Where is this debate? I'd like to read it.
08/04/2010 05:18:38 PM
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I should have put "debate" in quotes. It's about four sentences long.
08/04/2010 10:32:43 PM
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More conversation on Snape.
07/04/2010 06:01:37 PM
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His death wasn't very spectacular, but he did play an essential role...
07/04/2010 06:45:58 PM
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Brief comments on Magic, Dumbledore, and The Epilogue.
07/04/2010 07:13:55 AM
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Re: Brief comments on Magic, Dumbledore, and The Epilogue.
07/04/2010 06:09:20 PM
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The movies are even worse about this.
07/04/2010 06:15:35 PM
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Death doesn't actually happen in slow-motion fit for the cinema screen.
08/04/2010 07:24:31 AM
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Re: Death doesn't actually happen in slow-motion fit for the cinema screen.
08/04/2010 03:27:09 PM
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Harry Potter and Star Wars have two radically different approaches to this
07/04/2010 06:13:25 PM
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When my son asked for his own set of Harry Potter books,
07/04/2010 10:26:37 PM
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This is assuming of course...
07/04/2010 11:00:15 PM
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I was most irritated by the ironic names
08/04/2010 05:38:59 AM
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Re: I was most irritated by the ironic names
08/04/2010 10:07:40 PM
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Exactly - it's not as obvious if you're a kid, then it seems clever and it's fun to decode.
09/04/2010 01:04:11 AM
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