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The essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the character development of Harry Potter in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone." The writer skillfully outlines Harry's challenging upbringing with the Dursleys and how it impacts his self-esteem and beliefs about himself.
J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter Character Analysis. Protagonist Harry Potter has green eyes, disheveled black hair, and a distinctive lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. Harry is orphaned as a baby when the dark wizard Voldemort kills his parents, Lily and James. Curiously, Lord Voldemort is unable to kill baby Harry, making him famous ...
Tools of Characterization Characterization in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Clothing. Muggles in the movie dress in very ordinary ways—kind of like how we'd dress if we lived in a dull rainy climate without a lot of color (cough, England, cough, cough).
- The Warrior/Hero (Also The Orphan): Harry Potter
- The Jester/Trickster: Fred and George Weasley
- The Friendly Beast: Hedwig
- The Ruler: Cornelius Fudge
- The Caregiver: Molly Weasley
- The Shadow/Villain: Voldemort
- Threshold Guardians: The Dursley Family/The Death Eaters
- The Herald/Child/Mentor: Hagrid
- The Mentor/Sage: Albus Dumbledore
- The Mentor/Outlaw: Sirius Black
In a typical Hero/Shadow pairing, the Hero faces seemingly insurmountable odds because the Shadow is better equipped and just as motivated. This is certainly true of Harry Potter, who starts his Hero's Journey an orphan child living in a closet with a scar and no training. Harry has no knowledge of his past and is already targeted for assassination...
The entirety of the Weasely family becomes embroiled in the fight against Voldemort early in the series. In reality, all of them could be considered Allies - those who help the Hero in their quest - but Ron's older twin brothers play another role during the stories set at Hogwarts as well. The Jester or Trickster is often the comic relief. They mak...
Fans could probably argue that there are numerous species outside of wizards that Harry meets on his journey who could fill this role. The Friendly Beast is often a non-human creature who helps lead the Hero in their quest. While Hedwig doesn't speak, she does provide Harry with some of his first steps into the world of wizards. She's Hagrid's gift...
The role of The Ruler is exactly what the name implies: an authority figure that holds sway over other characters. The Ruler can be either a help or a hindrance to the Hero on their journey, but they often find themselves out of touch with the reality of their situation. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magicfor much of Harry's formative years is j...
Those familiar with classic archetypes in literature might also reference The Caregiver as The Good Mother, but a Caregiver doesn't have to be a mother, or even a woman, to fill this specific role. It's someone who helps to provide structure in the Hero's life, someone who helps care for them but doesn't necessarily go on their journey with them. R...
A common thread among well-defined villains is that they are often meaningfully connected to the hero, and it's very much the case with Harry and Voldemort. Their wand-cores each come from tail feathers of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes (and they both in their own ways die and resurrect like phoenixes themselves). They share a magical connection thro...
The function of Threshold Guardians is to thwart the progress of the hero, though they aren't always serious obstacles. The Dursleys are quite abusive toward Harry, especially early on in the series. But as Harry gains confidence, the Dursleys get their comic comeuppance (more than once) and we get the satisfaction of feeling karmic balance in the ...
Herald characters typically appear at the beginning of the hero's journey as part of what Campbell calls the "Call to Adventure." Hagrid liberates Harry from the Durselys at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, informs Harry of his true wizard nature and origins, and acts as a mentor for the first few chapters (at least until Har...
One of the richest mentor characters in the history of middle-grade fiction must be Albus Dumbledore, whose steady guiding hand is a powerful argument for the premise mentioned above. When all the wizards around him refuse to speak Voldemort's name in favor of the much darker "He who must not be named," Dumbledore counsels Harry to do differently, ...
Harry's Godfather, Sirius, is the main Mentor for Harry's inner journey because he emotionally connects Harry to his dead parents. Dumbledore helps Harry navigate his actions, while Sirius helps Harry navigate his feelings. Sirius also represents the outlaw archetype in a very literal sense, having broken out from Azkaban prison and spending much o...
Harry Potter is the hero of the story. Orphaned as a baby, he is brought up by his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys, maltreated by them, and tormented by their obnoxious son, Dudley. Neglected and disdained, Harry grows up to be a timid boy unsure of his abilities. His sudden fame as a wizard at Hogwarts comes not just as a total contrast to his ...
Harry Potter, the protagonist of the Harry Potter book series is a very interesting character in a wide variety of ways. Firstly, as is later revealed in the book series, Harry and his legacy are both a result of choice rather than a deterministic path that led from one event to another.
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a seminal work in contemporary fiction, laying the foundation for the immensely popular series of books by J. K. Rowling. The book not only introduces the protagonist, Harry Potter, but also establishes the magical world of witches and wizards in which Harry’s character develops.