Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: Essay
Nicole Kasprzynski
3/9/14
Synopsis:
Harry Potter is a mere baby when his mother and father are killed by Voldemort, an evil wizard who cannot understand love. Harry, however, not only survived the attack, but Voldemort’s power was destroyed when he attacked Harry, so Harry suddenly becomes the most famous boy in the wizard world—all for something he doesn’t even remember. He is taken to live with his aunt and uncle and their son Dudley, who are very cruel and unaccepting of Harry; doing things like forcing him to live in the cupboard beneath the stairs and never giving him a word of encouragement, for example. However, Harry has the same magical powers both his parents had, but doesn’t know how to use them, creating interesting scenarios when he’s out of his cupboard (which isn’t often). This all changes on his eleventh birthday, when Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, brings him his letter of acceptance to the esteemed academy. So, he leaves with Hagrid and goes to Diagon Alley, where they pick up his school supplies. Afterwards, Harry gets on Platform 9 ¾ to get to the train for Hogwarts, and meets both Ron and Hermoine, his best friends later in the book. After being sorted into the Gryffindor house along with Ron and Hermoine, Harry is bullied by Draco Malfoy and ends up breaking a lot of school rules, albeit most times to save his friends. The ghosts are also introduced, to add more comic relief to the already humorous Weasleys. Harry is chosen to be the Gryffindor team’s Quidditch Seeker, the most exciting position on the team, after his adeptness at flying is discovered. Then, Harry discovers that the Philosopher’s Stone, a relic similar to the Fountain of Youth or the Holy Grail, is hidden in Hogwarts and someone is trying to steal it. He and his friends find the secret chamber where it is hidden, and after a series of tests, Harry chooses to go alone to face the villain who would steal the Stone. To his great surprise, it is his teacher Quirrell, who is a servant of Voldemort. Quirrell, at Voldemort’s bidding, tries to kill Harry but is unable to due to the love of his parents, who sacrificed themselves for Harry so long ago and prevented Voldemort from killing Harry the first time.

This leads me to my first point: There is a strong theme of self-sacrifice—and the power of love used in such a manner—throughout the story. Harry’s mother dies trying to defend him from Voldemort, Harry and Ron save Hermoine from a troll, Ron sacrifices himself during a game of live chess where they are the players, and Harry is willing to sacrifice himself fighting Quirrell in the dungeon chamber. I believe it represents God’s love for us, (J. K. Rowling is an Angelican) and shows that we can and should be ready to lay our lives down for others in the same way Christ did for us.

My next point is this: Even when others are afraid, we have no reason to fear or not stand up to dark-ness. Harry is one of the few wizards who is unafraid to speak Voldemort’s name, (everyone else calls him You-Know-Who) and is prepared to fight against the darkness alone in the dungeon. I believe a good point was made here: “Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself.” Harry wasn’t afraid of Voldemort’s name, so he wasn’t afraid when the time came for him to defend himself. Christians shouldn’t be afraid of Satan’s name or anything to do with him, as we have overcome him through Christ.

My third point comes into play now: Looks can be deceiving. While not true in the case of Draco (more on him in my coming point), this is definitely a major factor in the story. Professors Snape and Quirrell are as different as can be: Snape is a Slytherin, the Hogwarts house most notorious for bringing up Dark wizards; he seems to hate Harry with no reason, and he is rather shifty and quick to remove points (Hogwarts works on a rewards system, where points are awarded or removed from the four Houses depending on its members’ behavior) from Gryffindor for minor offenses. Quirrell, on the other hand, is a thin, pale, trembling man who stutters and is very mild-mannered. Yet it turns out Snape was protecting Harry during a Quidditch match, was trying to keep Quirrell out of the secret chamber, and trying to keep Voldemort from returning. Quirrell was the real villain, biding his time, skulking around to gather information, and obeying Voldemort’s orders. You can’t judge a book by its cover, or a person by their outward appearance or first impression. I believe this is true, also in Biblical context, like the woman who poured perfume on Jesus’ feet, the Samaritan woman who gave Him a drink, and Zaccheus.

The fourth point I wish to bring up is this: We are indirectly warned against keeping company with arrogant, prideful people. Draco Malfoy is a stellar example of this. He is very rude to Harry when they are getting their robes fitted, however when he finds out who Harry is, he immediately tries to get Harry to be his friend by putting down Ron and Hermoine. When Harry refuses, Draco tries to get at him in other ways, like lying about meeting at midnight and stealing a boy’s Remembrall to get Harry to break school rules. These plans backfire, however, and Harry still refuses to be around Draco. The Bible warns us against keeping company with prideful people, as in Psalm 1:1, where it reads and I quote: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;…”

Yet another topic very well-defined in the tale is the fickleness of fame. Harry goes from being the most famous child on campus to the most despised to the most admired. J. K. Rowling is showing here that fame should be earned, not bestowed. Harry comes to Hogwarts as a celebrity for something he doesn’t even remember, but loses all his unearned respect because of circumstances where he was either in the wrong place at the wrong time, or someone misinterpreted information. By the end of the story, however, he has proven himself as a hero, and the respect and admiration is restored.

Another very strong message is being loyal to your friends. This ties in with my first point of self-sacrificial love. Hermoine tells a teacher that it’s her fault Harry and Ron were out of the Gryffindor tower, thus sacrificing her character and proving her loyalty to them. The trio become very close-knit through the trials in the book, and their loyalties are tested and proven. This lines up with the Biblical standard in Ecclesiastes 4:10: “For if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man with no-one to help him!”

My next point is this: We are encouraged to share our problems with those close to us. Harry has difficulty opening up about his pain, whether from his past or his scar, but it is proven that this secrecy is harmful to him as the story progresses. I know from personal experience this is the case; if I have an issue or another problem, I want to tell a trusted person, whether it be a pastor, my parents, or God.

I’d like to draw your attention now to the Sorting Hat. This hat is the mechanism used to put each student into their respective House. I really liked the way that Harry was sorted, however, because he was given a choice: Slytherin or Gryffindor. I believe we are each presented with a similar choice: Good or evil. Slytherin is known as the House most notorious for Dark wizards, while Gryffindor is the house known for the most good. Harry is given the choice of either light or darkness, and he chooses light. That signifies that no matter how tempting the darkness is, we’re always presented with the ability to choose the good.

Also on the point of the Houses: We should be in fellowship with others who have similar abilities so we can grow physically and spiritually. True, we do need others with other talents, (like when Hufflepuff and Gryffindor take Herbology together) but we need the close companionship of others who have similar interests and skill sets as our own.

Another good point brought up is this: We should not dwell on dreams that can never be, for Proverbs 12:11 says and I quote: “Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” After Harry gazes three times into the Mirror of Erised, he is unable to think of anything except his desire to see his parents. It is something that he cannot get his mind off of, and his grades begin to drop as all he longs to do is see himself standing in the Mirror, surrounded by the family who would have loved him. This is clearly a fantasy that can never be, which Dumbledore tells him.

Now we come to the issue of the witchcraft and wizardry involved. The Hogwarts school even has those terms in its name. However, the wizardry itself is actually very minimal, and is comparable to things in The Magician’s Nephew, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, or Enchanted. The actual method of wizardry is never mentioned. The ability of the wizards and witches is entirely genetic, and they never delve into sorcerous or questionable methods of magic. The contents of their schoolbooks are never brought up. They do say spells, which are usually one- or two-word Latin phrases, but the meanings behind them are rather simplistic, and there is no evil or crafty sort of power behind them, as with the uneasy feeling one gets when Eragon channels energy to create magic in the Inheritance cycle. The Bible clearly states that we are to put sorcerers and wizards to death; however, the people called wizards/witches in Harry Potter do not practice sorcery, and in fact do not seem to be witches/wizards at all. They are like the X-Men, who go to a school/rehabilitation center for mutants, or Loki, whose power is magic. It’s a very similar prospect.

All in all, I believe it was a very well-crafted story, with good morals. Aye, Rowling could have used terms different from the ones she chose, but the story in and of itself is very innocent and exciting, yet still manages to maintain subtle and strong morals to influence the reader.

Great job! Here are just a few pointers that I think would make it a bit more cohesive.

I would suggest tacking on an introductory paragraph before the synopsis, one that tells the reader what you plan to say through the course of the essay.

I liked the transitions between paragraphs much better without the point disclaimers before them. It distracted from the flow to stop and say you had a point when the whole paper is the point. I can see were it might work for a spoken argument where one may want to take notes, but for a written essay, I liked the transitions of the other paragraphs much better.

As arguments go, I think the point of loyalty would have been strengthened by mentioning Neville standing up for himself. It helps to balance against the belief that the book is all about getting into trouble and getting away with it.

I liked that you drew on Scripture to make your points, not in a way to make avoiding Harry Potter seem wrong, or even specifically focusing on the magical aspect, but making points based on the ethics presented in the writing. It makes the writing much more persuasive and strengthens your argument.

I would suggest dividing that synopsis beginning into at least 3 or 4 paragraphs, instead of that large block of text.

People like short paragraphs; they feel that they get somewhere.