ENG4U BOOK REPORT
Harry Potter and the Sorcerers’ stone is a fantasy novel written by the British author, J.K Rowling. It is the first of the Harry Potters series by the same author and it was first published in 1997 in Britain. The fantasy of an 11-year-old boy, Harry Potter, who discovers that he is a wizard takes place in the London suburbs of Little Whinging, Surrey. The story is set in a time when people believed in supernatural powers and the existence of witches and wizards. Harry ‘s parents had died on a car accident leaving him orphaned. As such he had to live with his Uncle Dursely, his aunt Petunia and their son Dudley. The Dursleys knew that Harrys parents practiced wizardry and therefore tried to hid this information from Harry. As the book unwinds, we know of the mistreatment that Harry went through while leaving in their house until one day he gets a letter of invitation to the school of wizardry. Also, the book was published at a time when Christianity was being spread and thus was highly criticized for encouraging or portraying the fun in having some supernatural powers that could even be used to harm other people. Also several publishers passed it on with the reason that it was a slow book long and complex until it was published by Bloomsbury press.
The book is narrated from a third person point of view. The impression of an observer from a distance is implied as seen from the description of events that occur when Mr. Dursely goes off to work. The third person narration gives vividity to the events making them more suspenseful and builds up emotions from the reader making the book more interesting. The main character in this fantasy novel is the boy Harry Potter. His parents are dead, after being killed by the wizard Voldemort. He survives his spells to kill him as a result of protection from his mother. Voldemort’s powers seemed to have been broken once he tried to kill the boy. Rowling shows how his character transforms from that of a timid boy to one who displays bravery and loyalty to his friends.
The antagonist in this novel is the wizard Voldemort. He is a wizard who went rogue and when he kills Harry’s parents, he is filled with vengeance for not being able to wipe out the whole family. He is also obsessed with gaining immortality after his disappearance he decides to live in a forest where he drinks unicorn blood. He also comes to struggle with Harry as he plans to steal the sorcerer’s stone which is capable of giving its bearer immortality. He possesses the body of professor Quirrell who dies when they struggle out with Harry.
Other characters that are important in building the plot of the book include Albus Dumbledore, who is the head of Hogwarts academy. He is displayed as a level headed and wise leader of the wizardry school. Despite his rank at school he is humble and almost appears as to have encouraged the quest to find the sorcerer’s stone hence developing the theme of humility in the novel. When Harry joins Hogwarts he befriends two students; one of them Hermione Granger, who came from a family of muggles and the other Ron Weasley who is from a line of witches. Together the trio build a friendship that lasts through the adventures that lead to obtaining the sorcerer’s stone. They are the representation of friendship and loyalty in a world that may be filled with enmity and darkness.
Rowling uses the third persona style to narrate the story. This style creates some vividity that can be fully expressed by a person outside the story. It helps develop the characters as well as the themes as we get to understand the human side and the wizard side of the various characters. A reader can thus easily identify on a character or a theme that is being built using this style. At some points the narrator is omniscient describing the feelings and thoughts of the protagonist, Harry to the reader. Thoughts of other characters are however revealed from the conversations that they have with each other. Her style of writing is also plain, having adverbs to create descriptions for characters and scenes. This style makes it easy for the reader to create a mental image of the character in question hence drawing their attention to the book. An example of this style is when she describes the troll that almost kills Hermione; “It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald held perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible”, (Rowling, 2012)
The title of the book is significant to the work that is written therein. It gives a general overview of what seems to be the quest for Harry. It is what brings together two forces in the wizardry world, goodness and evil. Voldemort sees the stone as his instrument to getting immortality and kill Harry while Harry himself sees this as a magical instrument that which gets into the wrong hands will lead to destruction. There also might be feelings of vengeance in Harry as he fights his parents’ killer. The destruction of the stone leaves Quirrell dead, Harry in hospital and the stone crushed so that no more destruction could occur. It is an overview of what to expect in the book and therefore builds curiosity in a reader and transporting them to a fantasy world.
In her book, Harry Potter and the sorcerer’s stone, Rowling narrates the story of a young boy who is orphaned at a tender age and is forced to live with his relatives. The relatives, his aunt and uncle hold a secret concerning Harrys’ parents and they fear the day that it will come out (Rowling, 2012). As he turns 11 years he starts receiving mysterious letters inviting him to wizardry school. His uncle hides these letters and goes a step farther by relocating to another place to avoid the. However, one day a giant man named Hagrid storms their house and explains to Harry who he really is. It is from here that he decides to join the school which he discovers that he is already famous.
His stay in school is adventurous and he soon learns that he is a natural at broom flying hence he joins the Quidittich. Together with the friends he makes at Hogwarts they discover that the wizard Voldemort who was thought to have disappeared after killing his parents, was trying to steal the sorcerer’s stone. The stone had the capabilities of giving a person immortality. He fights with Voldemort and finally kills him. The stone is crushed and hence the danger of giving an evil wizard powers to live forever is eliminated. His house, Gryffindor is awarded several points and a cup for showing bravery in this feat. The book ends with Harry returning to London to his Uncle and Aunt to spend his summer holiday with them.
The climax of this story happens when Harry has to fight with Voldemort who wanted to steal the sorcerer’s stone. He first learns of Voldemort when he attacks him in the forest. Harry was rescued by a centaur who gave him this piece of information. He then understands it was him who was trying to steal the stone. As such, he gathers with his friends Ron and Hermione and together they decide to find the stone before Voldemort did. They go up the forbidden third-floor corridor and by using several spells they are able to get past the security spells put to protect the stone. He finds himself face to face with Quirrell who was possessed by Voldemort. He makes him look through the mirror of Erised and Harry feels the weight of the stone in his pocket. Voldemort instructs Quirrell to kill Harry. He instead burns from touching Harry. This is followed by a struggle that leaves Quirrell dead and Harry hospitalized. When he comes to, Albus Dumbledore explains to Harry that He and Flamel had decided to destroy the stone. Harrys’ house is awarded points for the bravery they had shown. This sector forms the center of the book, with the reader in tension of what will happen next and who will win.
Rowling uses Harry to show humility as a theme. When Harry arrives in Hogwarts, he discovers that his parents had left him a substantial amount of money. He goes shopping for his necessities to join the school. Here he also learns that he is a hero as Voldemort could not kill him. Despite all these praises, Harry remains humble something which can be attributed to the values that he had learnt while at his uncles’ house. During broom flying lesson, he also learns that he is a natural at the trick and is soon appointed to join Quidditich. His super star abilities however do not change him into an arrogant person. He however uses his gifts to learn and discover other things at Hogwarts. The author also develops the theme of rebellion (Rowling, Weinstein, Henriksen, 2002). When Harry receives his father’s cloak, he uses it to make invisible and thus tours the school library at night which is against the rules of the school. He also helps Hagrid hide a dragon instead of reporting him to the authorities. Together with his friends, he dares to go to the forbidden third floor where h strives to get the sorcerer’s stone before Voldemort does. These themes enhance his character as that of a brave and caring friend.
The author uses symbolism to enhance these themes. The scar on Harrys face which is in the shape of lightning, symbolizes the uniqueness of Harrys character. It can be seen as a badge that reminds him of the battles that he had fought unknowingly and those he is yet to fight. It is also a symbol of connection and love that his mother had for him. Thus whenever Voldemort touches him, he is burnt and the scar tends to hurt when he is in the presence of someone who has hatred towards him.
Another symbol is the mirror of erased. One is able to see their deepest desires in the mirror once they look into it. It is a representation of self-awareness of the characters and it is used to reveal to the readers what the characters really want. Voldemort attempts to use this mirror and Harry for him get the stone. When Harry looks in the mirror for the first time when he is given his father’s cloak of invisibility, he sees his parents in the mirror (Rowling, Weinstein, Henriksen, 2002). This reflects his thoughts at the moment as he deeply wished to see his parents.
Although the book was originally written for children, it is a surpasses this age category and can be read by even adults. It is enchanting as it engulfs the reader with its vividity, style and themes that are developed. Readers are able to point out which characters are annoying and those which they find themselves drawn to. It attracts the curiosity of the reader from its title and slowly draws them to discover the richness of the fantasy world that Rowling so easily paints. The reader is also left in suspense as to what will happen to Harr when he goes back to London to his cold relatives. A suspense is also created as we are not told how the stone will be destroyed and what will be its repercussions. One cannot help but get attracted to this style of writing which will leave them wanting more of other books in the series.
References
Rowling, J. (2012). Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. Valley View: Pottermore.
Top of Form
Rowling, J. K., Weinstein, A., Henriksen, J., & Rowling, J. K. (2002). Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone. New York: Spark Pub.