Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – Discussion #AVeryHarrySummer

As I’ve stated before, I am joining in on #AVeryHarrySummer, and I finished The Sorcerer’s Stone a few hours ago and here is my discussion post for it! If my thoughts are a bit jumbled all together or something like that, bear with me, for this is my first discussion post for a book. I’ll do my best though!

I think most of you know what this book is about, but I will try to give a brief synopsis for those who don’t.

This follows a boy, Harry Potter that lives with his aunt, uncle and cousin, the Dursleys. One day, he finds out that he is a wizard, and that he’ll be attending Hogwarts, a magic school. He also finds out that the Dark Lord Voldemort had tried to kill him as a baby, but he surprisingly survived, which gave him the title “The Boy Who Lived”. When at Hogwarts, he befriends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and they notice something is not right at Hogwarts… That’s all I’ll say because I don’t want to spoil anyone that hasn’t read this, so if you haven’t read this, go and do that and then come back and discuss with me!

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***

The Dursleys. The first time I read this series, I hated them with a fiery rage. However, I do believe the first chapter in this book, which was focused on Vernon, was so cleverly placed. It actually really gave me an insight on the family. Actually try to be in their seat, being regular humans, and then living with Potter, who has something, magical power, that they do not quite understand. I could see their viewpoint in that, but of course, they are a really flawed family in many other ways.

Snape. If you haven’t read the rest of the series or watched the films, do not read this part. But why is he this way? I mean, he obviously loves Harry, which we see in the last book, and I just don’t understand why he doesn’t show that. So far, I have a theory. This may seem obvious to some, but I believe that he is either too into the role of being a spy, he’s trying to not get too close, or Harry reminds him too much of his father. The latter seems more possible but I can’t be sure. I believe that Snape’s character is the only thing I would have loved to have changed, and a loving relationship between Harry and Snape would have been absolutely lovely.

Characters. We just have so many different characters in this one. Hermione, the extremely smart, Harry, the brave, Ron, the witty but loyal friend, Malfoy, the evil kid, and so on and so forth. This is what made me absolutely love the series, because they were so diverse, and I think it was so obvious especially when they were trying to get to the stone. Ron played the chess, Hermione used logic to solve the riddle with potions, and Harry figured out how to get the stone from the mirror. It was amazing to see their heads put together.

Humor. The twins are just too funny. I loved when it said: “’You haven’t got a letter on yours,’ George observed. ‘I suppose she thinks you don’t forget your name. But we’re not stupid-we know we’re called Gred and Forge.'” I seriously laughed out loud at those two. Or when they wanted to send him a toilet to his hospital room? I just couldn’t stop laughing. There is humor spread out throughout the entire novel, and it is such a great addition. It is a novel that is packed with so many elements, like love, friendship, family, action, some that are darker or tougher than others and the humor just lightens everything up so nicely.

Snape or Quirrell? No one suspects Quirrell to have Vodlemort plastered to the back of his head. I believe it was done so well, because when Harry is in the dungeons, he can slowly see all the threads that lead to Quirrell, but that no one would have thought of before. There is that he was at Diagon Alley the same day Gringotts was broken into, that Snape put the countercurse on Harry’s broom, and that Snape wanted to be judge during the Quidditch game in order to guard him. But there was also so much more foreshadowing, that he seemed to smell weirdly, he was always fixing his turban, and he was sometimes heard talking to himself. The subtle hints that J.K. Rowling drops that Quirrell is the one are enough for us to see the foreshadowing when it has been read before or when we know he is the one, but if it is a first time read, the reader will most likely suspect Snape until the end and be surprised, which I love.

Build-up. At the end of this book, there is so much great build up for the next books. When Harry and Dumbledore are discussing Dumbledore before the feast, Dumbledore admits that Voldemort is not yet gone. I know that some of my friends have found that to be annoying, because they felt they were tricked into reading a book were nothing was solved at the end. But I love the honesty. It’s not trying to convince the reader that the story is over, and that the later books are just dragged out, but it is honest, and we can be sure, from the first book, that the story will go on. How do you feel? That you are being tricked or that there is honesty lying beneath?

And I believe that’s all I have to say! This was probably a huge mess, I’m so sorry Angela and Andriana, but I truly did my best. How do you feel about the points I just made? I would love to discuss with you, after all, that’s why we’re here! If you agree, disagree, or have more points that you find of interest, comment and we’ll discuss them further. Also, If you have any feedback for me personally, I would love to hear it all!

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!