Harry Potter Epic Hero Essay

During all of our lives, there are situations and experiences that make us stronger; that give us the character and strength to excel in life. These experiences are unique to every person and make you the person that you are. Some of us are higher born, the upper class that are privileged with ease of life and currency. There are those that are of the lower echelon, that have to face the struggles of life like hunger and poverty; which makes them that much stronger going through life. As a person progress through their life, the might be met with an ultimatum. A choice in which they have to choose the path to which they will direct the rest of their life. For people in the post-modern Era,, this might be getting kicked out of the house or …show more content…
Indeed, there are some that are slightly better known, such as Harry Potter. Now, as you may or may not know, Harry Potter is the mind work of the famous British author, J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter, in hindsight, is one of the most obvious epic hero that I have come across in a piece of literature. The Harry Potter series is an extenuation of Harry’s life and his epic tale in the school of Hogwarts. His story begins when he was only a babe, and a horrible man named Voldemort tried to kill him to fulfill a prophecy that he had overheard a witch spout. However, when Voldemort attempted to murder the innocent baby, his mother, Lily, used herself as a human shield and she instead was killed. The love of a mother allowed young Harry to survive the death curse that Voldemort had set on him, and even went so far as to reverse, and blow Voldemort out of physical existence. And so began the epic tragedy of Harry Potter. The curse wasn’t laid upon him because he was smart, brave or strong, it was merely luck that put him in this precarious position. He was the wrong baby at the wrong time, being struck by a stroke of lucky by some old lady spouting nonsense. Therefore, and by this example, I think that epic heroes mostly attribute their success to luck and nothing else. They are simply the right people at the right time with the …show more content…
For example, Harry is raised by his Aunt and Uncle Dursley, and life with them is absolutely abhorrent. He is treated like he doesn’t exist, he is given all of the chores to complete, and he never gets a birthday present for his birthday. The first eleven years of his life are that of slavery and oppression, mixed in with a good dose of character-building activities. On his twelfth birthday, he gets the shock of his life; he has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As Hagrid would say it, “You’re a wizard Harry.” He astounded and little does he know, his epic journey has just begun. You see, Voldemort didn’t really die that night. He has been hiding in the shadows and plotting his revenge to kill the boy. In his first year at Hogwarts, Harry must venture into a cavern, which contains the menace himself, Voldemort. However, he must pass several tasks before he can reach the end of the chamber. These tasks include those of wisdom (playing a life-sized game of chess), bravery (flying around a room full of keys on a broom stick in close quarters), and strength (overpowering the sinuous vine, Devil’s Snare). The challenges are never in short coming either. During his second year at the school, Harry and his friends must battle a shadow born snake called a basilisk. Together, Harry, Ron and