Harry Potter: Character Analysis

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone begins with Harry as an orphan, living with his foster family.

He receives a mysterious letter on his 11th birthday but unfortunately, his uncle destroys it before he gets a chance to read it. The best thing about this creation is that it explores the power of choice and its effect on the lives of the audience. More so, it gives repeated examples of this theme by focusing on the life of Harry and the difficulties he goes through while living with the Dursleys. All these events show that endurance is an important virtue in real life.

Despite Hurry’s uncle hiding the letters, they keep coming and therefore the family decided to run into hiding in a remote island.

It happens that the letters were coming from a school for the young witches and wizards and Harry is expected to turn up for the training of the witches. In the train, on his way to the training school for the witches, Harry meets his soon to be his best friends Ron and Granger (Rowling 2018).

When the school starts, things start to get interesting for Harry, taking part in defense against the dark classes.

As times goes by, Harry gets used to his magical life and also starts to a different way of life; the infamous wizarding world (Williams et al 2001). This time of his life gives him a different perspective on loyalty and courage, to face the dark side of life and remain loyal to that close.

Themes

1. Family: this theme may seem a little bit controversial, looking at Harry’s life at the beginning of the narrative. The family he is stuck with does not treat him as one of their own. However, the Dursleys feed, clothe and offer him a place to live. He misses a family that cares for him and this leads him to make friends that he considers very close to him. He sees his friends as the family he never had.

2. Friendship: making friends becomes the first greatest thing that happens to Harry. Although some of the friends Harry has made have been separated by their magical capabilities, it has become possible for him to continuously make real ones even with the falling out that later happens between him and some of his friends.

3. Courage: this virtue is realized by taking a closer look at the behavior of the major characters, who are mostly his friends. All of them are seen to be having extreme brevity, which helps them emerge heroes at the end of the book. Having the ability to make feathers fly by themselves is a show of great works of magic, but what really matters is being able to face their fears.

4. Good against evil: this is illustrated by many acts; not fully dependant on magic. In the beginning, the reader cannot help but wonder who else in the narrative could be worse the Dursleys. However, Harry still encounters bullying from other wizards like the worst of them all, Voldemort. The goodness floats all around the novel. Ranging from the love he gets from his closest friends to how good Harry is. Despite all the life struggles that he goes through, Harry stands out by paying evil with goodness and also never losing his personality.

5. The theme of home: Harry considers Hogwarts his home because this is the place where he feels the love. The is the first place he has made real friends, unlike the Dursleys family that brought him more hard time than happiness. Harry finds grown-ups who are ready to take good care of him, give him good meals and great friends; something he had been waiting to happen to him.

Character analysis

Harry

Harry is the major character in the book and also in the movie. He is an 11-year old boy with a weird scar on his forehead. Through the narrative, he is brought out to having both ordinary and extraordinary capabilities that define the kind of a person he is and who he becomes. He is raised by a family that cares too little about his well being. Harry is a mysterious person and knows one seems to even begin to learn why Voldemort’s magic does not work on him (Brown 2002). Defeating this villain makes him a celebrity among other wizards. Harry is dependant on his friends as they seem to make him more confident and happy. Every hero needs a few friends and so does Harry.

Ron

Ron is one of the first best friends Harry has. He too does not come from a very nice family but he has a long background of wizardly. This makes him a pureblood, which normally gives him an upper hand in the ranks of wizardly. Despite him not having brought up in a rich family, he gets friends and remains loyal to them. Ron plays a very important role in redefining Harry as a character and a wizard.

Hermione Granger

Apparently, Granger is a bright kid and has all the answers to each question in class. She helps both Harry and Ron from a jam they are in. as a friend, she is very loyal and will to help out whenever she is needed. In return, she is ready to defend her friends when they rescue her. She is both very intelligent and brave at the same time which forms a good part of the narrative.

Hagrid

This is the most trusted character. However, he is a bit slippery when it comes to keeping secrets and Harry knows this already. Apart from that, he has been painted as the most loving and authoritative of them all. He is a good friend also and forms an important bond of friendship.

Conclusion

This book is a great narrative for both kids and the grown-ups as we all have something to learn from it. The movie of the story has been developed using the book, but unfortunately, some of the excerpts may not have been directly translated from the book. The movie version also works for those that may prefer to watch rather than reading. Whichever version one decides to use, the message remains the same.

Works Cited

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).” IMDb, 16 Nov. 2001, www.imdb.com/title/tt0241527/.

Brown, Stephen. ”Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” (2002): 126-130.

ROWLING, J K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. S.l.: ARTHUR A LEVINE, 2018. Print.

Williams, John, and Victor Lopez. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Clarinet. Place of           publication not identified: Warner Barham, 2001. Print.