Week 7: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This week I had a chance to revisit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. It was quite the nostalgia trip, as I read some of the books in elementary school and enjoyed watching the movies as they were released in theaters. By rereading this first book, I was once again reminded just how impactful the Harry Potter series has been on society.

     One very popular element of the series is the concept of the four houses. These alignments are so well known that even people who have never read the books may have a “house” they identify with. I believe this in part due to peoples’ love of categorization and belonging. To know your house is to know what kind of person you are and who your family is. In this first book, all the characters are sorted into their houses by the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat is a magical, talking witch hat that inherently knows where its wearer belongs. When Harry Potter puts on the hat, the two have a bit of a deliberation. While the hat seems to believe Harry would thrive in Slytherin, Harry begs it to reconsider. This is due to his preconception that Slytherin is an evil house. Regardless of the truth to that belief, Harry is put in the house of his parents, Gryffindor. As the series goes on, we learn that many of the stereotypes seem to be true. Gryffindors are almost always heroic, and in turn Slytherins are often wicked.

     For the most part, this is a series heavily based on the concept of good versus evil. There are a few characters who blur this line, such as Severus Snape. Harry himself struggles with his connection to evil. As we have discussed in our class, good and evil are not nearly as clear cut as many stories present them. Just like in the real world there are more than four personality types. This simplification makes sense to children, as it does to Harry and his friends at the beginning of the series. However, as readers grow older we are forced to recognize the nuance of human behavior and traits. No one in real life can be completely classified as good, evil, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. There are dynamic layers and motivations behind all of our personalities and actions, and that is someone we all must recognize.