Harry Potter... Wizardly Or Wimpy

7 Pages 1759 Words

In J.K. Rowling’s book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, we meet a meek, shy boy named Harry. He is the product of two parents who loved him very much but were killed earlier on in his life. He was sent to live with the Dursleys, his only relatives who are horrible to him. After numerous strange encounters with Hagrid (a visitor from the wizard world), Harry learns that he too is a wizard. He bounds off to wizard school and realizes that he has a great reputation to live up to. It seems as though everybody already knows of him everywhere he goes! People everywhere whisper behind him or those more brazen speak to him openly about his wizardly powers. Harry realizes that living up to this immense reputation will be a very difficult task. Not only does he have all of the typical fears that a regular boy would have of going off to a new school, but also has all of these abnormal fears about his reputation to conquer.
After reading this book, it is clear that Harry Potter does not live up to his wizardly name while studying at Hogwart's, yet does contain the potential to do so. When Harry was wearing the sorting hat to decide what house he would be joining, it whispered that he did contain courage. “ ‘Hmm,’ said a small voice in his ear. ‘Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting … So where shall I put you?’” (Rowling, p90) The sorting hat realizes that there is potential to become a great wizard, but it does not say when. Harry may go on to become a great wizard, but does not do so during this novel.
Harry is coy and timid and does not yet have the confidence that is portrayed by all of the other successful wizards in the story. “Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn’t a teacher to cross. Strict and cl...