HP Book Analysis I

Aranel Flammae

ar383

Slytherin



Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone



In her first book JK Rowling introduces her hero and Harry has to live through his first adventure. She also introduces the most important characters that will play a role in every new book: Ron, Hermione, McGonagall, Snape and naturally Dumbledore.

She concentrates on Harry, though, and we only know about the other characters, what Harry knows about them. Harry isn't a happy child and first finds his happiness at Hogwarts, where is first accepted for what he is.

Hermione and Ron are also not the typical, popular characters. Hermione is the smart and studious girl and Ron a poor and not very successful boy in school. But they are friends and so they manage in the end to stop Quirrell.

Snape is from the beginning the bad guy, even though he is NOT the bad guy in the end. Also Harry doesn't change his opinion of him, after he learns that Snape has protected him the whole year from Quirrell. We later learn Snape's reasons for his hatred of Harry.

Dumbledore is always present. even though he's not often mentioned during the story. He stays the bearer of Harry's hope during the book, though.

McGonagall, as Harry's Head of House, takes the position of the watchful mother: fair but strict.



In the first part all of Harry's prejudices (I call them prejudices… you can call them opinions) against Slytherins are formed and they influence all his actions throughout the book.



Summary:



The Dursleys are a normal English family, proud, that never anything odd happened to them and that no one could call them queer or strange. One day, though, everything changes. Mr. Dursley is watched by a map reading cat, hugged by a stranger and a baby boy is lain at his doorstep that night. The boy is the son of Vernon Dursley's wife's sister, who has been one of the worst folk in their eyes – a witch.

Ten years later Harry, the boy, still lives with his relatives, although he is more of a slave to them than a nephew or cousin. He has to cook and work, is always daunted and beaten up by Dudley, his cousin, and has to sleep in a cupboard. That is, because with Harry around always strange things happen.

And a strange thing also happens on Dudley's 11th birthday. He is 'assaulted' by an escaping boa constrictor, when they go to the zoo.

One day, Harry gets a letter from a place called Hogwarts, that Uncle Vernon doesn't allow him to open and takes from him. But the next days more and more letters start to arrive and Uncle Vernon decides, as if gone mad, to fly from the letters. They drive around the country until they reach the shore. There they get onto a small boat and set off towards a small island with nothing more than a shack on it. At night Harry isn't able to sleep, because outside a storm is raging and his eleventh birthday is approaching fast.

Suddenly, when Dudley's watch strikes twelve, the door of the shack is thrown open and a giant person is stepping in. Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley are wide awake in an instant and Vernon even gets a gun against the intruder. But Hagrid, the giant, isn't impressed, introduces himself and goes over to Harry, who has gotten up from the floor. He hands him one of the letters Harry wasn't allowed to open and he finally reads his letter. He is accepted at Hogwarts the school for witchcraft and wizardry. First Harry doesn't want to believe anything, but Hagrid tells him the whole story: his parents were a witch and a wizard and that Harry himself is a wizard too. Harry finally understands and follows Hagrid, not listening to the threats and curses of Vernon and Petunia.

First thing they do is, that Hagrid leads him to Diagon Alley to go shopping. To get to Diagon Alley thay have to pass through the Leaky Cauldron, an inn. In there everybody seems to know Harry when they see his scar in the shape of a lightning bolt on his forehead. In the wizarding world he is famous for something he doesn't know, yet. In Diagon Alley they first go to Gringotts, the wizarding bank, where Harry finds out, that his parents have left him a small fortune in wizarding money. He withdraws some money and then accompanies Hagrid, who also has to withdraw a secret parcel for Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.

Afterwards they go and buy everything Harry will need for the coming school year. Harry also gets a pet, a snowy owl, that he calls Hedwig. Finally he still needs a wand. The go to Ollivander's, the best wand shop in England. When Harry finds his right wand, Ollivender tells him, that the brother of this wand is the wand of 'He who must not be named', a very cruel but brilliant wizard.

Harry is curious now and he asks Hagrid about his parents' death. Hagrid reluctantly tells him that his parents were killed by Voldemort and that only he has survived. That is also the reason why everybody knows him because after the attempt to kill Harry Voldemort lost all his power and vanished. The scar is the only reminder of that evening.

Afterwards Hagrid sends Harry back to the Dursleys, but gives him his ticket, that he will need for the Hogwarts Express.

On September 1st Vernon drives Harry to London. At King's Cross Harry first doesn't find the platform 9 ¾ but a nice witch, that is just leading her children to the platform helps him. Harry befriends himself with the youngest boy of the boys, Ron, who is also a first year.

They ride together on the train, and Ron is amazed to finally meet the famous Harry Potter. During their ride they also meet Neville Longbottom, a clumsy boy that has lost his toad, Hermione Granger, a quite bossy girl, and Draco Malfoy, who insults Ron and offers Harry his friendship. Harry refuses, though, and Draco goes off angry.

When they arrive, the first years, all wearing their school uniforms, are led by Hagrid to boats, that bring them over the lake to the castle. Inside the school they have to wait in front of the Great Hall for the sorting. In Hogrwarts there are four different houses: Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Every house represents different character traits and values.

Harry is sorted into Gryiffindor, same as Ron, Hermione and Neville. Draco gets into Slytherin. Harry learns, that in Slytherin are only dark witches and wizards and that this house is the biggest rival of Gryffindor. At the welcoming feast Harry also sees his professors for the first time. He recognizes Quirrell, whom he has seen before inside the Leaky Cauldron, a very nervous man. Beside him another professor, Severus Snape, the Head of Slytherin, is sitting. Suddenly Snape looks at Harry and he feels his scar hurting. He also learns, that it is forbidden to go into the forbidden Forest and to go to the third floor corridor, because there danger is waiting. After the feast all the students are led to their houses.

The next day the term starts and Harry is the new attraction of Hogwarts. His first lessons pass pretty well until Potions. Snape teaches Potions and he seems to already hate Harry and starts to be nasty to him right form the beginning.

In the afternoon Harry and Ron go to Hagrid, who lives in a hut near the forest. In Hagrid's hut Harry finds an article about a robbery in Gringotts and wonders if it is somehow related to the secret withdrawal Hagrid made back then.

At the day of their first flying lesson Harry is nervous, because they would have it with the Slytherins. Harry and Draco have become real enemies. The flying lesson passes quite well, though. In fact Harry proves to have a talent for flying and Professor McGonagall makes him the new Seeker of Gryffindor's Quiddtch team. Malfoy hates him even more now and dares him to a wizarding duel at midnight. Hermione Granger hears them and warns Harry and Ron not to go.

At midnight Harry and Ron go anyway, but Hermione follows them and also gets to go with them. When they finally reach the appointed place and Draco doesn't show up, they know they have been led into a trap and run away. But Filch, the caretaker, and Mrs. Norris, his cat, are already at their tracks. They run and somehow end up in the third floor corridor. There they want to hide from Filch and scramble into a room. Right after they got in they notice, that it is already occupied – by a three headed dog. They again have to run and manage to get back to Gryffindor Tower unseen.

The next day Malfoy is downright pissed off to see that Harry hasn't been caught. Moreover Harry gets a broomstick, even though first years normally aren't allowed to have one. The same day Harry starts his Quidditch training. Meanwhile Ron hates Hermione more and more because of her bossiness.

On Halloween Ron again talks to Harry about Hermione, but this time she hears his nasty words and runs away crying. At night she isn't at the feast and when suddenly Prof Quirrell announces, that a troll has entered the school she doesn't know about it. So Harry and Ron go to warn Hermione, who is still crying in the girl's toilet, but also the troll goes there. In the toilet Harry and Ron manage to get the troll unconscious before McGonagall, Snape and Quirrell turn up. Hermione takes the blame and the three become friends. But Harry notices that Snape limps from that night on and finds out, that Snape has been bitten by something. He thinks, that Snape wanted to get past that three headed dog.

The next great event is the Quiddtch match against Slytherin. Harry is nervous because it is his first match as a Seeker. During the match suddenly his broomstick starts to act strange. Ron and Hermione watch the scene and see Snape mumbling something. Hermione thinks that he jinxes Harry's broom and sets his robe on fire. Suddenly everything is normal again and Gryffindor win. After the match they talk to Hagrid about Snape and their suspicions, but Hagrid tells them, involuntarily, that Snape would never want to do such a thing and that this is only the business of Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.

Right after that they start to research about Nicolas Flamel, but they don't find out anything and also Hagrid doesn't want to say anything anymore.

On Christmas Day Harry gets his first presents in his life. The strangest present he gets is an invisibility cloak, though. The same night Harry tries out his gift and sneaks into the Restricted Section of the library to research on Nicolas Flamel. But Harry has bad luck and opens a book that starts to scream as if tormented. He runs out of the library and flies inside a room with a big mirror in it. When he looks inside the mirror he sees himself with his parents. He is fascinated and shows the mirror to Ron, who also likes it, but tells him, that he should not return to it. Harry nevertheless goes there again and meets Dumbledore, who tells him, that he will take the mirror away.

After the holidays they finally find out about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone by accident.

The next Quidditch match arrives, but even though Snape is refereeing nothing out of the ordinary happens and Gryffindor win. After the match Harry follows Snape into the Forbidden Forest, though, and overhears a conversation between Snape and Quirrell. Snape seems to intimidate him. Now it's clear for Harry that Snape wants the Stone and he tells Ron and Hermione about it.

One day Hagrid calls Harry, Hermione and Ron into his hut. Harry asks him again about the stone and he tells them, that some teachers, also Snape, have contributed something to protect the stone. Hagrid then shows them his newest 'project' and they watch the hatching of a dragon. Hagrid wants to keep it even though it's illegal and calls him Norbert. They are spied, though, by Draco. So Hagrid has to give Norbert away. Ron organizes a place for him to stay and Harry and Ron see him off one night. When they go back to the common room, they forget the invisibility cloak, though and are caught. Malfoy has told McGonagall about the dragon and Neville is also caught when he wants to go and warn them. All four lose 50 points each and have to serve detention in the Forbidden Forest. Even Malfoy.

Quirrell seems to get weaker every day. In detention they go into the Forest to search for an injured unicorn. Harry and Draco go off alone and find the unicorn with a figure bent over it, drinking its blood. Harry's scar starts to burn as the figure draws near and he wants to get away, but can't. Finally he is rescued by Firenze, a centaur. He tells Harry, that the figure was Voldemort.

When he gets back, Harry finds his cloak on his bed. After the exams Harry, Ron and Hermione go to Hagrid. Harry has had an idea and he tricks Hagrid to tell him, if he has told a stranger how to get past Fluffy. He tells them a disturbing story and they are alarmed. They go to McGonagall, who tells them, that Dumbledore has just left the school. At night they decide to stop Snape themselves. After stunning Neville, who tried to get in their way, they take the cloak and sneak off. At the third floor they find Fluffy and play a song to him, so that he falls asleep. they go through the trapdoor and find themselves lying on a plant, that closes around them. They manage to escape and solve all the other riddles: searching for the right key out of a thousand flying ones, playing real life wizarding chess, getting by an already unconscious troll and passing a potions riddle. In the end Harry is the only one left. He enters the last chamber, where he doesn't find Snape, but Quirrell standing in front of the mirror Harry discovered during the holidays.

Quirrell reveals himself as a Death Eater and tells Harry everything. Harry also finds out, that Voldemort shares Quirrell's body. He is forced then to look for the stone. He finds it inside the mirror but he refuses to give it to Quirrell. In a fight Quirrell is turned into ashes and Voldemort vanishes.

Harry awakes in the Hospital wing and there Dumbledore explains everything.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville are awarded lat minute points and Gryffindor wins the House Cup. After the leaving feast they all pack and go home the next day.



3 1/2 pages; 2516 words; 189 rows;

Good work, good summery... Little bit of Analysis did help you earn more points...

45 points...