-
Essay / Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling: book review
The novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, written by JK Rowling is the first book in a seven-part series. Harry Potter's heroic journey through the Muggle world to the wizarding world shows growth in himself and his spirit. Potter follows the steps introduced by Joseph Campbell's Monomyth, learning new wizarding skills and challenging himself. Harry demonstrates the three steps; separation, initiation and return, which are further divided into seventeen stages. Harry Potter's heroic journey can be traced by readers throughout the novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayThe first step in Joseph Cambell's seventeen-step monomyth is separation, in five steps: call to adventure, refusal of call, supernatural help, crossing the threshold and belly of the whale. The call to adventure is the original alarm given to the hero, moving him from normality towards an unknown journey. Harry Potter lives with his uncle, aunt and cousin who hide from Harry that he is a wizard. His uncle, Mr. Dursley, exhibits the characteristics of the ruler archetype by trying to have the most successful family. He displays his strength by constantly harassing Potter. Dursley takes drastic measures to keep letters indicating that Harry has been admitted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry closed, such as moving the family of four to a secret cabin. The first two steps of Joseph Cambell's monomyth are actually reversed because curiously, the refusal of the call is not made by Potter himself, but by his own uncle before the call to adventure. The refusal of the call is when the hero opposes the company. Fortunately, Mr. Durley was unable to keep the mail a secret and Potter eventually received a letter informing him that he was admitted to Hogwarts School. Harry seems excited and ready to explore the magical world. A supernatural aid is often a figure who guides the hero on his new journey. Harry's supernatural helper is a "giant man" who delivers the letter on Potter's eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid (Rowling 46). Hagrid can be classified as an explorer in all twelve common archetypes. The explorer's motto is "don't lock me in" (Golden 3). Throughout the book, he enjoys living alone and barbarically as the guardian of the place. Hagrid first introduces Harry to the world of witchcraft and helps him and his friends decipher the Wizard's Stone. In the next step, Harry crosses the threshold leaving his world of normality for an alien experience. This is done by Potter at the "famous" Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid (Rowling 68). Potter is greeted with "chair-scratching" of excitement and instantly "...shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron" (69). He will then cross another threshold into Diagon Alley where he will encounter "dragon's liver" and the "Gringotts" (72). The last threshold crossed is on platform 9 ¾ with another family of wizards named the Weasleys in the wizarding world. It was then that Harry met a young boy named Ronald, a pureblood. Harry and Ronald are descended from the magic of both their parents, which leads them to bond on the eleven o'clock train to Hogwarts. The fifth and final stage of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the hero's last stage before entering into his true vocation; it is depicted in the novel when Harry is confronted with the sorting hat. He's nervous because he might be sorted into Slytherin house, the house of evil. In his head he chants “not Slytherin, not Slytherin” in which the hat responds by giving in to hischoice (121). In finally choosing Griffindor, the room gave "the greatest cheer ever seen" (121). This shows his test of character and at this point Harry leaves the Muggle world and enters the unknown. The second stage of Joseph Cambell's seventeen-step monomyth is the seven-step initiation: the road of trials, encounter with the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasy, ultimate blessing, and refusal of return. This is generally the longest, most eventful, and most entertaining stage of the Cambell monomyth. The routes of trials are trials that the hero must complete in order to transform. Harry faces many minor problems during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major trials is an evil and "smelly" troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he still uses it to save his friend whom he accidentally trapped, Hermione. It was at this time that he became closer to Ron and Hermione and a long friendship was born. Another thinks Professor Snape is the thief behind the magic stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry neglects the real traitor at Hogwarts. The encounter with the goddess affects the hero by making him feel eternal love. This stage is sometimes represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry's mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord Voldemort. Even after his death, she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him when he was a baby. Whenever Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands "seemed burned, raw, red and glowing", because of the love of Harry's mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are defined as an object given to the hero to deviate from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father, allows Harry to roam the school without being seen. One night during winter break, he locates the Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows viewers "'the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts'" (213). Looking in the mirror, Harry sees people who are not in the room. A woman who has "dark red hair" and eyes like him looks through the mirror with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his deceased family. This image he desires drives him to return to the mirror every evening for about a week. The Mirror of Erised is known as Harry's temptation because the visits distract him from his goal of discovering who stole the Sorcerer's Stone. The father's atonement occurs when the hero confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father figure, Harry must defeat him to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be classified as a ruler among the twelve common archetypes because he believes that power is the only aspect of life. With Voldemort defeated, Harry discovers the world corrupted. Apostate is when the hero dies, physically or spiritually, and takes him away from basic knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a divine scene. During the final chapter, Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, not knowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that the stone “has been destroyed” (297). He now knows what it means to be a good wizard because he has experienced and dealt with danger. A weight has been lifted from his shoulders as he enters the end-of-year feast. The novel's ultimate boon actually occurs in front of the apostate. The ultimate benefit is goal achievement. Lord Voldemort, Quirrell and Harry fight for the magic stone. Potter wants.