Assignment on new Literature
Theme of Harry potter
Name :- Hetal chauhan m.
Roll
no : 14
Year :
2017-2019
M. A. : Sem
:4
Paper no :13, New Literature
Email Id: hetalchauhan137@gmail.com
Submitted To:. Department of English,M.K.B.U
Introduction of Writer:
On this day in 1965, Joanne Rowling, better
known the world over as J.K. Rowling, the author and creator of the celebrated
Harry Potter book series, is born near Bristol, England. Beginning in the late 1990s,
Rowling’s seven Harry Potter novels became international blockbusters, selling
over 400 million copies and being translated into more than 60 languages. The
books also spawned a series of movies, video games and other merchandise that
made Rowling one of the wealthiest people in the entertainment industry.
Rowling attended England’s University of
Exeter, where she studied French, and later worked for human-rights
organization Amnesty International in London and as a language instructor in
Portugal. The idea for Harry Potter came to Rowling when she was riding a train
from Manchester, England, to London in 1990. She began writing the first book
that night. Rowling finished the book while living in Edinburgh, Scotland,
where she struggled financially as a single mother and battled depression. Her
completed manuscript was turned down by a number of publishers before she got a
book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing in August 1996
The first Harry Potter book debuted in
Great Britain in 1997 under the title Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone. The book was released in the United States the following year and
renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Children and adults alike
were captivated by the story of the bespectacled boy wizard Harry, his friends
Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, their adventures at the Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry and Harry’s struggles against his enemy, the evil Lord
Voldemort.
On November 16, 2001, the first Harry
Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, opened in America and
was a huge box-office success. It was directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone,
Mrs. Doubtfire) and starred British child actor Daniel Radcliffe as Harry
Potter, Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson in the role of Hermione. A roster
of celebrated actors took supporting roles in the film and its various sequels,
including Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Richard
Harris and Gary Oldman.
The seventh and final (according to
Rowling’s predetermined plan) Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, debuted in U.S. bookstores on July 21, 2007. Like all the
previous Harry Potter books, it is slated to become a movie, to be released in
2010. To date, the Harry Potter films are the most financially successful
series in history, having surpassed both the Star Wars and James Bond
franchises.
Love
Love plays a crucial role in "Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," as well as all of the remaining
books in the series. Rowling demonstrates the power of love from the very
beginning of the narrative by explaining that Harry's ability to
survive Voldemort's killing curse is a direct result of his mother's love.
By sacrificing her own life to save that of her son, Lily Pottergave Harry
an magical form of protection that shielded him from Voldemort's curse and
nearly destroyed the dark wizard. As Professor Dumbledore asserts,
Voldemort is incapable of understanding love, particularly in comparison to the
strength of his own dark power, and so he was taken entirely by surprise when
it came to Lily's sacrifice.
Harry's own ability to love and be loved
are the key traits that distinguish him from Voldemort and ensure that Harry
will never be seduced by the Dark Arts. Harry's love for his parents instill
him with an earnest determination to defeat Voldemort and rebell against
anything associated with the Dark Arts (thus, Harry's refusal to be sorted into
Slytherin House). Harry's ability to love also provides him with a support
system of friends that Voldemort can never hope to match.
Choice
One of the most important themes that
Rowling discusses in the book is the concept of choice and free will. From the
start of the book, Rowling describes many uncanny similarities between Harry
and Voldemort: their twin wands, their connection to snakes, even their some
aspects of their appearance. In some respects, Harry seems fated to follow in
the footsteps of Voldemort, a destiny which is demonstrated in the Sorting
Hat's initial intention to sort Harry into Slytherin House. Yet, Harry refuses
to take a passive role when it comes to his own future, particularly when it
means following the path marked by the dark wizard who killed his parents.
Thus, instead of accepting the Sorting Hat's decision, Harry refuses to be
placed in Slytherin House and is placed in Gryffindor House instead.
As Professor Dumbledore later explains to
Harry, it is the choices made by an individual that determine what kind of
person they are and why kind of person they will become. Nothing is cut in
stone when it comes to an individual's future, but, as Harry demonstrates, each
individual has the opportunity to change the direction of their life through
significant, as well as insignificant, choices.
The Importance of Rebellion
Over the course of "Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone," Harry, Ron, and Hermione break many school rules in
pursuing their adventures. Harry, in particular, is always willing to break a
Hogwarts rule if it means taking action or doing something that he believes is
right. Although Rowling does admit that the rules imposed at Hogwarts are meant
to keep the students safe, she also presents Harry's disregard for these rules
as a heroic quality of his character. He is able to think for himself and,
depending on the situation, making judgment calls that have the potential to
save lives. Moreover, Harry is perfectly willing to accept the consequences for
his rebellion, just as long as he is able to take action when he can.
It is significant to note that Harry never
breaks the rules simply for the sake of breaking them: he breaks rules only
when he truly believes that his actions are necessary. His selfless and
compassionate nature (contrasting sharply with that of Lord Voldemort) is also
highlighted in his reasons for breaking the rules. For example, one of the
first rules that Harry breaks is during the flying lesson with Madam
Hooch when Harry flies after Malfoy in order to retrieve Neville's
Remembrall. Harry does not disobey Madam Hooch's direct orders in order to show
off; he breaks the rules in order to retrieve the gift that Neville received
from his grandmother.
Humility
One of the primary traits that
differentiates Harry from the more malevolent characters in the book, such as
Voldemort and Draco Malfoy, is his humility. Despite his reputation as the
boy-who-lived and his skills in Quidditch, Harry maintains a modest persona
throughout the novel. If anything, the extra attention that he receives because
of his background makes him uncomfortable and insecure; he feels that he can
never be extraordinary enough to be worthy of such an esteeemed reputation.
Harry's humility is, in part, a direct result of his neglected childhood with
the Dursleys. Because he was never treated as someone who was special, Harry
grew up with the understanding that respect is not readily given and must be
acheived. When Dumbledore left Harry with the Dursleys, he knew that Harry
would be mistreated. Yet, he also realized that, by growing up away from the
wizarding world that would put him on a pedestal, he ensured that Harry would
grow up without being spoiled by pride and arrogance.
Harry's humility becomes p articularly
significant as a theme of the book when he faces Voldemort in the dungeons of
Hogwarts. Neither Voldemort nor Professor Quirrell is able to
retrieve the Sorcerer's Stone from the Mirror of Erised because they are both
thinking of ways that the Stone will benefit themselves. Harry, on the other
hand, thinks only of retrieving the Stone in order to save other people from
Voldemort's tyranny: with his humble nature, it would never occur to him to use
the Sorcerer's Stone for his own selfish purposes
Friendship
Throughout the book, Rowling expresses the importance of
friendship, particularly when it comes to overcoming challenges and difficult
tasks. Before coming to Hogwarts, Harry is completely isolated. Not only does
he not have a loving family environment, but he does not have any friends to
serve as a support system. After becoming a student at Hogwarts, however, Harry
quickly creates a large group of friends but, more importantly, a close
relationship with Ron and Hermione. For most of the students at Hogwarts, a
strong group of friends helps with homesickness and difficult classes. Yet, in
Harry's case, Rowling draws a more obvious parallel between friendship and
difficult life challenges: the only way that Harry is able to reach the Mirror
of Erised in the dungeons of Hogwarts is with Ron and Hermione's help. Hermione
and Ron both tackle specific challenges that Harry would have been unable to
face on his own, specifically Professor McGonagall's
challenge of the giant wizarding chess and Professor Snape's
challenge of the potions. In this case, Harry's friendship with Ron and
Hermione saves his life and allows him to keep Voldemort from finding the
Sorcerer's Stone.
Harry's friendship with Ron and Hermione is also significant in
the way that it further distinguishes Harry from Voldemort. Although Voldemort
is far more powerful than Harry, he prefers to be isolated and independent from
those around him. Even Professor Quirrell, who drinks unicorn blood for him, is
nothing more than a servant to Voldemort. Because Voldemort lacks the ability
to form lasting friendships, he is always alone and has only himself to rely
on. Harry, on the other hand, is able to rely on himself while still drawing
upon the support system and exceptional magical talents of his close friends.
Death
Near
the end of the book, Professor Dumbledore tells Harry, "Death is but the
next great adventure." Rowling does not describe death as something to be
feared or dreaded, but rather a part of the natural cycle of life that should
be embraced as part of an individual's humanity. Death can also be viewed as
something beautiful. For example, by sacrificing her own life for Harry, Lily
Potter gave him the wondrous protection of her love and a chance at a life free
from Voldemort's tyranny. Her death also provided Harry with purpose in his
life and the determination to stop Voldemort from harming other innocent
people.
Although none of the main characters die over the course of the
book, Rowling still makes a clear distinction between the natural process of
death and Voldemort's warped attempts to "defeat" it and attain
immortality. After his failed attempt to kill Harry, Voldemort spent the next
ten years existing only as "shadow and vapor," neither dead nor
alive. Voldemort acheives a twisted form of immortality, but his refusal to
accept the natural order of life and death demonstrates his evil nature and
further distinguishes him from the pure-hearted Harry.
Power
The
theme of power serves as another distinguishing trait between Harry and
Voldemort. Voldemort's primary goal during his reign of terror over Britain was
to acheive absolute power in both the wizarding and Muggle community. Even
after he is nearly destroyed by his backfiring killing curse, Voldemort's
objective is still to acheive absolute power, first by stealing the Sorcerer's
Stone and using the elixir of life to construct another body and second, to
reach the same height of tyranny that he had enjoyed before his downfall.
Harry, on the other hand, has no interest in acheiving absolute power. His
modest and pure nature leads him to desire nothing more than the company of his
lost parents, as well as a little less attention from those around him. In fact,
it is because Harry does not desire power that he is able to retrieve the
Sorcerer's Stone from within the Mirror of Erised: Professor Quirrell and
Voldemort both want to use the Stone to gain power.
In the theme of power, Rowling notably provides Professor
Dumbledore as a foil to Voldemort. Professor Dumbledore is a highly-skilled
wizard and, Rowling points out, is the only wizard that Voldemort is truly
afraid of. Yet, instead of using his vast magical knowledge to seize power and
dominate those around him, Dumbledore is incapable of being corrupted by power.
The only power that he desires is the power to shape young witches and wizards
to use their magic safely and for the benefit of society.
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