“ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” is a series of novels written by J.K Rowling in his Harry Potter series. He features Harry Potter as a protagonist and a young wizard. The focus of the book focuses on Harry Porter as the main character where he practices wizardry making both enemies and friends at the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft. The antagonist of the novel is a wizard by the name Voldemort, who happened to have killed Harry Porter’s parents when he as barely a year old. However, with the help of his friends, Harry manages to thwart this wizard.
Many authors have agreed that it is difficult to classify the novel as a single genre. The primary classification of the book primarily stems from the fact that it appeals mostly to a younger audience. As such, it has widely been regarded as a Children’s Literature. The protagonists are youthful and most of the themes depicted are age-appropriate to mostly children and teenagers (Caramelo, 2014).Secondly, the text is filled with magical contexts and contents hence giving it a second classification as a fantasy. Combining the children elements and fantasy makes further introduces the third genre known as the quest.
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In building the story, the author uses several literary elements to enhance his themes. The main setting where most events unfold in the essay is the school of witchcraft and wizardry known as Hogwarts. The author uses this to illustrate the differences between the Muggle and the Wizarding worlds. The book has a simple plot which primarily centers on the main protagonist, Harry Porter. He is portrayed as an underdog character, an orphan without any friends. However, his fortunes change after developing his magical skills thus enabling him to replicate a life that his parents had lived. However, this does not signal his end these troubles especially after meeting Lord Voldemort, who rejects Harry’s position as a magician by asserting that only “pure-blood” witches and wizards should have an opportunity to practice magic (Waters, 2014). Harry also has another major conflict with his guardians, the Dursleys, who fear his entrance into the world of magic and thus engage in acts of oppression against him.
The author also uses the symbolism, imagery, and allegory as a way of developing the plot of the novel. The wands are used allegorically to represent the character or personality of an individual. All magically talented individuals in the novel possess a wand that acts as an extension of an individual’s personality. Harry Porter’s wand particularly has a phoenix feather that symbolically represents rebirth. It therefore shows that a despised child raised in the Muggle world has experienced a rebirth that has seen him occupy a heroic role in the magical world. The author also uses imagery to greater extent in drawing comparisons between the magical and Muggle worlds.
Furthermore, the audience is in a position to draw educational merits from the moral of the story. Conflict is a major characteristic people living within a social context. The conflict between Harry and Voldemort finally ends with the latter coming out as the victor. Harry also realizes that love and friendship are two of most important magic that one should be able to have. It therefore helps the audience to relate to the real life issues how people such as Adolf Hitler who had evil intentions of wiping a group of people based on purity claims eventually failed (Zipes, 2013). Furthermore, the audience appreciate that evil will at all times fall and that people who have odds against them eventually emerge winners.
Lastly, children and teenagers have an opportunity to relate to the character of Harry Porter including his determination and willingness to live his parents’ dreams. Such an audience will also feel attracted to his magical aspects which make him great amongst his peers.
References
Caramelo, J. (2014). Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries: Proposing a Cycle of Tasks on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for secondary school learners. Unpublished Undergraduate Dissertation). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil .
Waters, G. (2014). Ultimate Unofficial Guide to the Mysteries of Harry Potter (Analysis of Books 1-4) . SCB Distributors.
Zipes, J. (2013). Sticks and stones: The troublesome success of children's literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter . Routledge.
