Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Ordinary World Harry Potter’s ordinary world is his home of number four Privet Drive with the Dursleys. When he crosses the threshold into the wizarding world, the contrasts between the two realms are drastic. “It’s a good idea for writers to make the Ordinary World as different as possible from the Special World, so audience and hero will experience a dramatic change when the threshold is finally crossed”, and it is (Vogler 87). Privet Drive was a dull and miserable existence for Harry. He…

In the 2001 movie Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, based off the novel by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter learns about the magic world while starting his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In doing so, he forms strong friendships with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, two fellow first-years, who together fight for their lives while trying to reach and protect the immortality gem, the Sorcerer’s Stone. Toward the end of the movie, the trio battles through various tests…

“Things do not change; we change”(Henry Thoreau). This quote relates to transcendentalism because in the movie Dead Poets Society each character goes through a change that changes them for the better. The movie Dead Poets Society is about a group of students who have a teacher who is different from the teachers at their boarding school. Mr. Keating uses different methods to teach his students. All the boy’s face a lot of pressure from their parents. Then one day the come across the Dead Poets…

“The Tale of Three Brothers” was first presented in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last book in the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. In the story arc, one of the main character, Hermione Granger, narrates the story from her copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. These tales were commonly read to children as bedtimes stories because they are “told to amuse rather than instruct” (Rowling 409). “The Three of Three Brothers” relates how three brothers cheated Death…

Throughout the Harry Potter series, storylines and plots changed throughout the books, but one thing remained consistent- the personalities of the characters. A reader could always rely on Harry to save the day, Ron to be his sidekick, Mrs. Weasley to be motherly, and Draco Malfoy to be a bully. This is because the characters each had their own archetype, or pattern of behavior throughout the series. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling specifically demonstrated these archetypes.…

Since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Odyssey have been released, they have been popular within the literature community and has been notable in the “Hero’s Journey” trope. Both Homer and Rowling have showed how a person can change mentally and physically after undergoing steps that take heroes different pathways as they progress throughout novels, which makes that hero unique in some way. Some pathways within the two pieces of literature have showed some similarities, but some…

“The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare. Deception radiates throughout the play, driving the plot. Claudio is a young gullible count, who is infatuated with Hero. Hero is a sweet, young, & innocent lady pledged to marry him. Claudio only met Hero by the gracious hospitality offered by…

For my independent reading this month, I chose to read The Outsiders written by S.E Hinton (which she wrote in high school). I would classify this book as a “coming of age” novel, but since that wasn’t an option on the genre list, it also classifies as a realistic fiction novel. I think it can be both of those genres because the protagonist of the book, Ponyboy, emotionally and mentally grows over the book and bonds with people who you wouldn’t expect. At the beginning of the book, Ponyboy is…

Back to Hogwarts”: Fans and Redemption of Antagonists in Harry Potter’s Fanfiction Harry Potter is a literary series that has swept the world with its unique magic filled universe, and as such its fans refuse to let the world created by J.K Rowling be something found only in the pages of the original books, or in our TV screen, so they have take it upon themselves to expand or reshape Harry Potter in many interesting ways. The Harry Potter universe has become a fanfiction phenomenon, its fans…

themselves in the fantastical wizarding world bound by her seven novels. Rowling rewards her versed readers; while the Harry Potter novels are ones easily (and presumably most often) enjoyed by their younger devotees, they craft an allegorical puzzle for an informed audience. Rowling makes brilliant use of the classical tradition to provide the consumers of both canons, classical and Potter-centric, with a repertoire of themes, motifs, and language reminiscent of those in antiquity, allowing…