J. K. Rowling
Harry
Potter: Its not always just
what it seems
Thus far in Rowling’s predicted
seven book series, all four books can be found to have a number of shared
themes that are rather evident in all of them.
The most evident, however, would be that things in the land of
Harry Potter are not always what they seem, and in order to get along well
in this land, you must accept the differences of others.
Harry’s life for his first few years could be categorized under
both of these themes. Harry, after all, is always having bizarre things happen at
the most inopportune moments; his aunt, uncle, and cousin (the Dursleys)
are definitely less than accepting of this, resulting in a very poor
relationship between Harry and them (The
Sorcerer’s Stone 18-24). Throughout
the other four books this inacceptance of Harry’s differences by the
Dursleys always leaves Harry with a burning desire to get back to Hogwarts.
Harry, as a result of this poor home life, adjusts rather easily to
his newly found life of wizardry. For
him it is finally an explanation for the odd occurrences of before, and
gives him a chance to be among others like him.
The themes present themselves in a
variety of other characters and situations as well. The character of Hagrid, for example, which upon first
description should lead one to believe he is the fiercest creature alive;
he is definitely to be avoided (The
Sorcerer’s Stone 14, 46-47). On
the contrary though, Harry, Ron, and Hermione look past this and find a
friend and protector. Harry’s
godfather is also believed to be a creature, of sorts,
“out to get” Harry. However,
he turns out to be there to protect him, as well.
As for situations, each book revolves around a mystery with so many
twists and turns, that the final solution for it is almost always a
surprise. In The
Sorcerer’s Stone,
for example, the reader is lead to believe that Professor Snape is the one
helping the dark lord, Voldemort, do harm to Harry and steal the stone; in
the end, the reader finds the guilty party in the most unlikely character,
meek, stuttering Professor Quirrell (288).
In The
Chamber of Secrets,
Hogwarts is suddenly plagued by students turning to stone.
The initial belief is that Draco Malfoy is the culprit, then the
blame shifts to Hagrid, and even Harry becomes a suspect.
In the quest to clear his name, Harry discovers once again that an
unlikely suspect has aided in the situation; Ginny, Ron’s little sister,
has set free the memory of Tom Riddle, a.k.a. Lord Voldemort, via his
journal. Thus, she has opened
the Chamber of Secrets allowing Voldemort to unleash another reign of
terror
Even
normally inanimate objects are personified.
The Hogwart’s Sorting Hat, for example, reads the innermost
thoughts of the person whose head it sits upon and from there selects the
house the newcomer is to belong to. There
are also the talking pictures that allow entrance into each of the houses.
Then there is the magic itself.
Without the acceptance of these drastic differences from the world
Harry was use to, it would be easy to see how he may not have adjusted
quite as well as he did.
Through the use of these themes, Rowling teaches her audience some
valuable life lessons. The
want for these lessons to be learned probably stemmed from Rowling’s
childhood where her imagination was not always accepted in school
(Rowling, J.K.). Whatever the
case may be, Rowling is giving her audience, children and adults alike, a
valuable message of acceptance and the need to look deeper for what may
not always be readily apparent.
--Angela
Dorzweiler
Works Cited
Rowling,
J.K. Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone. New
York: Arthur A. Levine
Books/Scholastic,
1998.
---.
Harry
Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
London: Bloomsbury,
1998.
---.
Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
London: Bloomsbury,
1999.
“Rowling,
J.K.” Educational Paperback Association.
17 September 2001
<http://www.edupaperback.org/authorbios/Rowling_JK.html>
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