Wizards, magic, adventure, and fun is what everyone thinks of when they hear the name “Harry Potter”. But underneath all of the enjoyable, hilarious parts, there is a more meaningful theme. The theme of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is that friends are always there for you, even in the worst times. J.K. Rowling communicates the theme through the characters and the plot throughout the book.
The beginning of Harry Potter starts out with an eleven-year-old boy living in a cupboard under the stairs. After his parents had died ten years before, he moved in with his mom’s sister, her husband, and their spoiled son. In the first few chapters, we see that Harry’s life here is unpleasant and meaningless. Then a hero comes and saves the day, telling Harry that his life so far has basically been a lie. Hagrid, the “hero” and a half-giant, barges into Harry’s house, and informs him that he is a wizard. He also gives Harry an invitation letter to attend a wizarding school called Hogwarts. So, Harry packs his bags and goes off to this school. There, Harry meets a red-headed boy and an intelligent brunette. This book tells of their friendship and loyalty towards each other, including hardships along the way.
The author uses sequence events to build the Golden Trio’s friendship. After their first meeting on the Hogwarts Express, Harry and Ron became inseparable. Hermione then joined the bunch, but will always be seen as the “know-it-all” whose knowledge tends to get on everyone’s nerves. However, her intelligence will serve the trio well in the end. Their next step to becoming friends after the train was when they are all sorted into the bold house of Gryffindor. Being in the same house, the three of them had all the same classes, further bonding them together.
The first life-risking event was when a troll was found in the girls’ bathroom. Hermione was actually inside the bathroom, and when Harry and Ron heard about the troll, they raced down to tell her. But little did they know that the troll was in the bathroom. When they got there, they saw Hermione trying to hide from the huge troll. Harry came to the rescue and fought the troll, hitting it and making it mad. Ron made the final move, using the spell Hermione helped him with: “Wingardium Leviosa!” Already we can see how their friendship was life-threatening, but they helped each other out and solved the problem.
All of the little things that happen are actually leading up to the big event at the end of the book. Harry learns that the man who murdered his parents and gave him the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead, Voldemort, is a dark wizard who wants to kill Harry. Harry gets random pains in his forehead as the book goes on, right where his scar is. The Trio also figures out that there is something being kept at Hogwarts and someone is trying to get it. They put their minds together to figure out what this object is, and how they are going to stop anyone from getting it. Later they figure out that some guy named Nicolas Flamel made an object called the Sorcerer’s Stone; “a legendary substance with astonishing powers”. The Stone also “produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, page 220). This is the object that they have been trying to figure out, and thanks to Hermione’s brains, they did. One thing leads to another, and the Golden Trio find themselves going after Snape (the Potions professor who also hates Harry). Their goal is to get to the Stone before Snape does. When the three of them get inside the door leading to the room, they find themselves among a series of obstacles. First, there is a giant three-headed dog blocking their way, then a plant which tries to suffocate them, then a room full of keys with only one correct one. The three use their wits to get past these, and are then faced with one final task. The last obstacle is a giant chess game. If you win, you go to the Sorcerer’s Stone, but if you lose, you get thrown out. Ron guides the Trio in playing the game, even sacrificing his own knight so that Harry can call checkmate and get the win. In the end, Harry defeats Voldemort and returns the Stone to Professor Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Headmaster. Harry beat the villain, but not alone. Ron and Hermione stood by his side through it all, continuing to support him even when they were faced with dangerous things. The Trio sacrificed their lives to protect Hogwarts and the wizarding community from Voldemort, and end up saving the world. J.K. Rowling uses these plot events to communicate the theme.
If the theme is of friendship, then why does Harry Potter start out with a feeling of loneliness? The author also uses character development to communicate the theme. When you first open the book, you see Harry living a sad life. His parents are dead, his aunt, uncle, and cousin hate him, he has no friends, and he lives in a tiny room under the staircase. It seems like all hope is lost, but these circumstances gave him strength. When Harry goes to Hogwarts, he meets lots of wonderful people who support him. Hogwarts opens Harry up to what life could/should be, and suddenly Harry finally feels like he has a life worth living. Harry’s life at home even strengthens him when he is faced with rude kids at school and the attention he didn’t want or ask for because he survived from an encounter with Voldemort. This way, he learns to ignore the stares and whispers even as he just goes through school like everyone else. Giving Harry a lonely life at the beginning of the story makes his friendship with Ron and Hermione seem that much stronger. It shows us that friendship is empowering, and can help fix any brokenness we had before. It also shows that when people go through hard times together, friendship brings them closer. Throughout the occurrences in the book, Harry’s character is developed from a weak, lonely boy to a hero willing to die for his friends and classmates.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a fun book full of adventure and magic. The main theme is that friends are always there for you, even in the worst times. The author, J.K. Rowling, portrays this theme through the order of events and characters. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are three friends who stuck by each other from the start, supporting and not abandoning each other even when times got bad and dangerous. In this book, we really can see how important friends are. J.K. Rowling very effectively communicates this theme in her amazing book.
Works Cited
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Scholastic Inc., 1997.
By: Rachel