Preview

Motifs and Symbols in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2532 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Motifs and Symbols in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Themes,Motifs and Symbols of Harry potter and the Scorers Stone. Throughout the British novel Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone there are many themes , motifs and symbols that show up as the novel progresses from chapter to chapter. Which was written by J.K Rowling in mid nineteen- ninety seven about a boy who discovers he is a wizard and somehow his fate is to defeat and evil wizard that he encountered when he was younger and that had killed his parents. Themes in the novel are clearly found within the first few pages and one of the most important themes is found in the first few pages, The battle between good and evil . Harry potter,the protagonist, is the embodiment of good in the book and lord Voldemort, the antagonist, is the embodiment of evil. As soon as the novel starts we learn that Harry's parents are killed by lord Voldemort and Harry was almost killed but his mother saved him. As the book progresses Harry learns he is the chosen one . The chosen one to destroy lord Voldemort and his “evilness” . With that in mind lord Voldemort is a vile, deceiving, unicorn killing, half- alive, no soul bearing monster of pure evil and hate. On the other hand Harry is a humble, kind, gentle, helpful loving wizard . He is the complete opposite of lord Voldemort. Another theme that is evident is humility . Harry who is a very humble young wizard was ingrained with humility after years of misery ,neglect and cruelty with his uncle Vernon , his aunt Petunia, and his cousin Dudley Dursley . Even when Harry finally discovers he is the boy who lived when Hagrid tells him about what really happened to his parents"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then -- an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing -- he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    - Themes: There are three noticeable themes within this story. The first is the general abuse of power from people of higher authority. Though it may not be evident many high authorities may abuse their powers. Another theme that is definitely showing is that of racism. In the story, Frank would only take advantage of his Native American patients, and many people in the book disregarded Native Americans. One final theme that ran throughout the story was that of whether family loyalty or justice was more important. Wes was forced to choose between these two topics and in the end he chose justice, which was not supported by his own father.…

    • 669 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eng 125, Week 2

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The theme of a story is the idea behind the story. Every author begins writing a book, article, short story, or whatever because of an idea they had. Every story or piece of literature has a theme to it. The readers, however, may come to a conclusion about the theme that the author never meant. In Little Red Riding Hood, one might come to the conclusion that the theme is to portray the consequences of the loss of one’s virginity at an early age.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbols In Fahrenheit 451

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is about a future where the government and technology has taken over people's life. In this future books have been banned and anyone found with a book will have their house house burned by the firemen and be thrown in jail. In the book the main character’s name is Guy Montag he is a fireman who loves his job and thinks he is happy. Until one day while he is walking home from work he meets strange girl named Clarisse. She approached and ask “are you happy” this made him think and relize that he was not happy. This one encounter change his life forever and open his eyes as to what was happening around.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    I first read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when I was eight years old. It immediately became one of my favorite books. Over the next several years, I read the rest of the series many times, and I watched the entire series of movies almost as many times. However, I’ve never grown tired of re-reading and re-watching the first book and movie. The book, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone upon initial release in 1997, was re-titled later that same year as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for its US release. J.K. Rowling’s 310 page masterpiece was published by Arthur A. Levine Books, a branch of Scholastic Inc. The movie, also titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was released in 2001 by Warner Bros.…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harry Potter Book Banned

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages

    J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter, started the series in 2000. Harry Potter is a book series about seven years of a young wizard's life. This book is detested because of the witchcraft and adventure. These books have sold million of copies world wide. Not only is it a New-York Best Seller, there are even essay contests on how Harry Potter Books have changed peoples' lives. Tyler Walton wrote that the series helped him through his leukemia treatments. Another contest named Ashley, wrote that the series helped her cope with the constant change of different foster cares. She believed that her and Harry Potter have a lot of copy, such as they both have horrible scars to remind them of their past. Something that is so inspirational, why is it so frequently challenged? Macbeth, written in the eighteenth century is taught nation wide. Shakespeare, the author, wrote of a man that was told prophecies and acted on them through a wide variety adventures, including in his death. This story is yet not as inspirational as the Harry Potter series and almost impossible to read without side notes. These two tolerably stories are the same in context, but yet one is banned and one is taught nation wide as an example of great…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When reading a novel, there is generally a theme. A theme is the central idea of the novel. Normally, the author of the novel is trying to teach readers a life lesson. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses multiple themes throughout his novel. Steinbeck uses his theme of hopes and dreams to show motivation, unlikeliness, and anger.…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Out Of My Mind Theme

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Remember that the theme is the big message that the author wants to convey to the reader.…

    • 641 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    To examine this idea, I will compare and contrast Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and see how they differ…

    • 890 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets start off with Harry spending the summer with his horrible but only remaining family, the Dursleys. The Dursleys are not a very good family. On Harry’s birthday the Dursleys throw a dinner party that isn’t even for Harry. Harry is visited by a house-elf named Dobby. Dobby warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts because something bad is going to happen. Hogwarts is the magical school for wizards that Harry is attending. Harry doesn’t listen to the warning and Dobby starts to wreak havoc in the kitchen. The Dursleys end up angry and imprison Harry in his room for the rest of the summer. Harry's friend Ron Weasley takes Harry away in a flying car, and they go to the Weasley home where Harry ends up staying…

    • 1783 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Question: “The need to belong marks us as human and it is such connections that lead to fulfilment.”…

    • 1219 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Symbolism is a literary technique used in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to give a deeper significance to the plot. The poem is littered with symbolisms. The symbols juxtapose one another and provide structure and symmetry within the story. The symbolisms also have specific historical context that adds to the story line and influences how the reader interprets the poem. Sir Gawain’s pentangle on his shield and the acceptance of the girdle from Lord Bertilak’s lady are two of the most prominent symbols presented to us in this author 's tale.…

    • 3592 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is greatly amount of themes that could come to mind when people talk about Fahrenheit 451. The definition of a theme would be overall moral of the story. One person may say one thing another person might say something a whole lot different theme than that person. Everyone would not have the same theme. It might be on the same route but not the same thing. The theme in this story is that knowledge can change the way life is lived. Two literary elements to support this theme is conflict and figurative language.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harry Potter Allusions

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies and is currently translated into almost every language on the face of the earth. Millions have faithfully followed the story about this magical world and have fallen in love with the many enchanting characters, but most do not know the prominence of classical Greek mythological allusions found in the beloved Harry Potter characters. J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, does a fantastic job with cleverly connecting most of her main characters to classical Greek/Roman mythological figures that share very similar personality traits (and even sometimes the same name) to their wizard counterparts.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Theme Of Perseverance

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Well My Question is what is the theme of the novel thus far,and I would have say The theme of the novel thus far is perseverance.And perseverance is a type of thing that someone would persevere through something huge they have to face,but then that obstacle can almost anything.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Prince and the Pauper written by Mark Twain is another phenomenal novel that revolves around two boys, Edward the Prince of Wales and Tom who is a pauper, switching their lives. As many other successful novels, Mark Twain includes a countless amount of literary devices. One of the literary devices Mark Twain uses in The Prince and the Pauper is symbolism. In this story, Mark Twain uses three symbols that deal with the plot. The three symbols are the Great Seal of England, the clothing of the characters, and Offal Court. Through these three symbols, Twain provides the readers with both the background setting and the conflict of the story.…

    • 975 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays