Hagrid & Our Love for Animals

We have a great amount of empathy toward people who have a great love of animals, as Hagrid does. However, we also have an evolutionary fear of certain types of animals, which are mostly the ones that Hagrid adores, such as spiders. To other animals our culture has taught us disgust, such as (let’s face it) flobberworms or fear, such as dragons. Hagrid has shown time and time again his devotion to these ‘gross’ animals, and his ability to think so highly of them, which many people will not be able to relate to. Yet we still think of his character as a sweet and occasional bumbling person.