Harry Potter and
the Philosopher's Stone is a story of a young hero, Harry
Potter, who suffers from the actions of the story's villain,
Lord Voldemort. When Harry is only fifteen months old,
Lord Voldemort murders his parents. However, unexpectedly
Harry survives with only a scar on his forehead and is
sent to live with his odious relatives, the Dursleys.
The story begins with strong and opposite values: hate
and love to attract readers' interests. Harry's parents,
with the strongest love in the world, sacrifice their
lives to try to save their son. At the same time, an intense
hate is developed due to the murder. The powerful and
contradictory mix emotions produce curiosity to attract
readers' attention.
Harry is forced
to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs and has never
had a birthday celebration. Upon his eleventh birthday,
he receives mysterious letters which are delivered by
owls. He learns who he is after the appearance of the
giant Hagrid, a gamekeeper of a magical school, Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which Harry is about
to attend. Harry starts learning the true happenings of
his life and the magical world where he really belongs.
At the magical school, he starts a new life with new friends:
Ronald Weasley, who is from an old wizarding family, and
Hermione Granger, who is from a non-wizarding family (called
"muggle", a new word created by Rowling).
This fantasy is
created relatively to the real world; it contains all
the values and issues which human beings hold in today's
society such as bravery, loyalty, racism, gluttony and
so on. The magical world includes material values such
as "wizarding money", the "wizarding bank",
and various products with their own famous brand names.
Since any society contains its own sports and games, a
magical sport - Quidditch is invented in the book. These
techniques help readers relate themselves to the story
and create a connection between the story and themselves;
thereby making it more real.
The centre of
the story in this book is circled around the philosopher's
stone, which gives the gift of immortality to its users.
Harry has to follow clues and discover who is behind the
numerous incidents that have taken palace at the school
during his first year. He must also find out what he himself
is capable of doing and being. Logical connection is extraordinarily
important; it creates a great adventure and constructs
significant lessons and values for not only young Harry
but the readers as well. It also leaves readers with the
desire to find out more.
The story ends
with a great victory, Harry, the young hero, stops Voldemort
from coming back to take over the world. He leaves Hogwarts
on the train with a desire of coming back for his second
year. Through this technique, Rowling leaves readers looking
forward to Harry's future adventures.
Meet Harry Potter's
friends and enemies here
(a description of majour characters)!
What motivation does
the author have behind the story? Click on Author's
Intention for details.
Story Analysis
Reference