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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Chapter Four: The Keeper of the Keys
“Ah, go boil your heads, both of yeh,” said Hagrid. “Harry–yer a wizard.”
Summary
The events of chapter four pick up immediately from the previous with the great crashing at the door. The door gives way and a giant of a man, with bushy hair and eyebrows, enters the run down hut. Readers will remember this man from the first chapter of the novel as Hagrid, an associate of Dumbledore’s. Hagrid proceeds to make himself at home, chit chatting, while a shocked Harry, a confused Dudley, and an outraged Vernon and Petunia look on. Hagrid begins to talk to Harry about Hogwarts and Harry’s lineage; when it becomes clear to Hagrid that Harry has absolutely no clue what he’s talking about, probably the most famous line in the entire saga is uttered: after three full chapters, the “w” word is finally dropped and we can finally call the young Potter what he is, a wizard. Hagrid hands over the letter Harry has so desperately been longing to read and it’s an acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry is confused at the whole matter and begins to inquire about his parents following a rather loud outburst from Petunia. It is at this stage that Hagrid gives Harry (and us) the bare bones exposition we’ve all been waiting for about who Voldemort is and what happened the night before Harry landed on the Dursley’s front porch. The long and the short of it is that Voldemort was a very evil wizard who, with the help of his followers, murdered any witch or wizard who tried to stand up to them, except Dumbledore. For reasons that are not clear to Hagrid, Voldemort targeted James and Lily Potter and killed them on Halloween, ten years ago. Voldemort then turned his attention to Harry, a baby, but for reasons that Hagrid does not understand, was unable to kill the baby boy. What happened after that remains a mystery to the magical world but Voldemort vanished that night, either disappearing forever or dead, according to Hagrid. Harry is, naturally, rather stunned by all this news but accepts his Wizard status after remembering all the times he did “something” that was rather extraordinary because of his emotional state. The chapter ends on a bit of a question mark with regards to whether or not Harry will go to Hogwarts since the Dursley’s are insisting that he cannot but Hagrid very adamant that Harry must.
Analysis
Bippity Boppity Boo
In a previous response, Matt brought up a very good reference point for Harry Potter which was the classic fairy tale “Cinderella.” Harry has led a rather unfortunate life, just like Cinderella. Both were orphans, raised in abusive situations, kept out of sight and out of mind, and with very little affection or love coming their way. For Cinderella, everything changes on a magical night in which she wishes to go to the royal ball. In spite of her best efforts, the evil stepfamily keep her from going and it is only through the intervention of her fairy godmother that Cinderella is able to flee the dreary life to which she is accustomed and move into the next stage of a decidedly more magical existence.
I would propose the following: Hagrid is Harry’s fairy godmother and JKR is carefully playing with the classic Cinderella story in this chapter. This is not to say that Cinderella is the only construct JKR is playing with; the idea of someone being the so called “keeper of the keys” invokes a lot of imagery, particularly of ferrymen in classic mythology, a being responsible for shuttling passengers from one world or life experience to the next. Hagrid fulfills this role as well, one such example being Charon, the ferrymen in Greek mythology (who works along side Ceberus, the three headed dog). But rather, for this analysis, I’m going to stay away from Greek mythology and focus on the fairy tale Cinderella.
Right away, we would notice that Hagrid does not look like your average fairy godmother. He is male, overgrown, hairy and bushy; his cockney accent stands out with every syllable and he appears to have some anger issues when it comes to the Dursley’s and Muggles in general. He neither sparkles nor sings and instead of a magic wand, he is carrying a ludicrous pink umbrella. He also carries sausages in his pockets that have attracted all manner of creatures.
While normal depictions of fairy godmothers would have an ethereal, clearly otherworldly, nurturing elderly woman cast in the role, JKR goes out of her way to subvert the normal and present the crazy. It’s almost a wonder that Harry doesn’t run screaming from this giant of a man who pulls food out from his pockets; it really says something about the absolute horror of Harry’s situation with the Dursley’s that he doesn’t find Hagrid frightening but rather fascinating and worth listening to.
However, in spite of these differences in appearance, Hagrid’s main role as fairy godmother is to inform, and moreover, to change the fortune of his charge, Harry. Look at Cinderella as the classic example. The fairy godmother only appears briefly and then it’s to change Cinderella’s life, to get her to the ball. This involves changing Cinderella’s wardrobe, changing other non-magical creatures into something else to aid Cinderella, and gifting Cinderella with a pair of glass slippers that become the ultimate sign of who Cinderella is later in the story. Hagrid, essentially, does all of these. I’ll take them one at a time.
The wardrobe is the hardest to pin down since Hagrid does not dress Harry in a new frock (or the male equivalent) but I think JKR wants something deeper here. Instead of the outward changing, Hagrid helps enlighten Harry’s insides. Instead of Harry thinking himself useless and unimportant, Hagrid lays Harry’s history bear and the fact is, Harry is incredibly important. Neither Hagrid nor anyone else in the wizarding world seem to know why Harry is important, but Hagrid insists over and over that Harry is not only famous but revered in the magical world.
The second item in my list is changing non magical items into magical ones. Throughout the chapter Hagrid does what would be, for him, normal everyday magical things, but that are abnormal and odd for Harry and his family. He lights a fire without any matches, he pulls an owl out of his pocket, and in the clearest Cinderella parallel for this criteria, he changes Dudley (half) into an animal.
He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley–there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig’s tail poking through a hole in his trousers. Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.
Notice a difference, though. Whereas the fairy godmother in Cinderella transforms animals into humans (or horses) to help Cinderella get to somewhere, in this case Hagrid transforms Dudley–a human–into an animal in order to get Harry away from something. The Dursley’s exit stage left and are not seen in this chapter again.
Finally, the trinket that is the ultimate sign of self. For Cinderella it is her glass slippers. For Harry, I would argue, it’s the letter. The Hogwarts letter has been the object that was always just out of reach for Harry before Hagrid showed up; now that he’s there, Harry gets to read the full contents, at last. This letter leads to a long discussion about who Harry is, who his parents are, and the other world that he never knew existed. Like Cinderella’s slippers, the object is dear to Harry and proves who he is (a wizard) just like the slippers are confirmation that Cinderella is who she says she is (the girl from the ball). In both cases, the object in question is gifted to the hero by their magical fairy godmother figure.
Finally, one other difference and it’s an important one. There is in both Cinderella and Harry Potter the importance of time. For the former, the stroke of midnight is her cue that the magic and spells are at an end. She is expected to be back home by this time or else face her dress, her coach, and her entourage turning back into what they once were–unmagical and normal. For Harry, it’s the opposite. At exactly the stroke of 12, on his 11th birthday, the magic begins. Instead of facing life back in the abusive household of his stepfamily, Harry’s fairy godmother shows up to whisk him away to a land of enchantment. This also goes back to a point I brought up in the Chapter 1 analysis about the magical world existing when the mundane has gone to bed and turned out the lights. Harry will still be 11 come sunrise, but the magical world operates best in this liminal stage of yesterday and today.
Harry Potter: This Is Your Life
Obviously the big denouement here is Hagrid revealing that Harry Potter is a wizard but we also get a (semi) full exposition on Lily and James Potter and Voldemort. To some extent this is knowledge that most had gleaned from the first chapter, though Hagrid goes into more detail. There are a few things to pick up that are important thematically.
First, Voldemort isn’t just bad–he’s “worse than worse.” He’s as bad as a wizard could ever possibly go. Down the road a bit we should discuss the nature of evil in JKR’s world and whether or not Voldemort is pure evil or if we can ascribe OUAT’s famous “evil isn’t born, it’s made” theory to the Dark Lord. For now, it’s enough to have Hagrid’s subjective (though clearly popular) opinion that Voldemort is just evil. Something that is also made more clear here is that Voldemort gained a number of followers in his time roaming the wizarding world. Again, the conversation should turn to what is the nature of evil in this world. Are these followers, many of whom we will meet down the road, evil or just misguided? How does JKR conceptualize evil in her novels?
We are also informed that Voldemort has vanished–some believed dead and some believe that he is just biding his time, waiting to come back. Even if you have not read the series before, Voldemort being gone for good seems highly unlikely. After all, the hero needs someone to fight!
Opposed to Voldemort’s “worse than worse” are Lily and James Potter who, according to Hagrid: “your mum and dad were as good a witch an’ wizard as I ever knew.” Again,the conversation that could be had, along side the Voldemort one is, how does JKR conceptualize good in her world? What makes LIly and James good while Voldemort bad? Is it that Lily and James never gave in to the Dark Side? Is it possible that Hagrid is romanticizing Lily and James given that they are now dead? It’s a common thing to do; a human thing to do. When someone dies we don’t want to see the bad in them. We want to remember them in the best possible light, especially if they died tragically and young, as Lily and James did.
The scar on Harry’s forehead is explained by Hagrid as the mark of an evil curse hitting you. Hagrid says:
“No one ever lived after he decided ter kill ’em, no one except you, an’ he killed some o’ the best witches an’ wizards of the age–the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts–an’ you was only a baby, an’ you lived.”
It’s a lovely sentiment but it puts an ungodly amour of pressure on Harry. So far as Harry is concerned, he is nothing special. He’s just Harry, the lanky boy with the too big clothes, the rough home life and no family. He isn’t some magical savior or great warrior. He can’t even properly defend himself against the abuse at home.
There is a stage in the heroes journey known as the refusal of the call in which the hero doesn’t want to burdened with whatever quest has been laid before him, normally because it’s dangerous. Harry’s refusal is brief but everything Hagrid has said to him does give him pause.
Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He’d spent his life being clotted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn’t they been turned into warty toads every time they’d tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he’d once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?
Harry’s refusal is more of an internal one and has nothing to do with the dangers of the quest or the weirdness of the now revealed magical world. It has to do with Harry’s own extremely poor self confidence and the fact that no one has ever treated him kindly or with any measure of love and respect. His refusal to answer the call is short-lived. Harry is ready for adventure, but more than that–Harry is ready to escape.
Possible Foreshadowing
1. Hagrid’s umbrella and his expulsion from Hogwarts
2. “Not enough human in him [Voldemort] to die…”
Conversation Questions
1. Petunia has quite the outburst in this chapter. Normally her resentment and anger at Harry are cold and kept bottled up, but this is probably the loudest we’ve ever heard her. What do you think of her tirade?
2. Harry accepted that he was a wizard rather quickly. Is it because he’s known all along that there was something different about him or is it because, at this point in his life, he’ll accept anything that gets him away from the Dursley’s? Comparing him to other mythical heroes, does it scan with other archetypes?
3. Why did Dumbledore send Hagrid and not go himself? It likely would have been a less thunderous meeting had it been Dumbledore.
[adrotate group="5"]"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Quite an interesting comparison with Cinderella. Rowling draws from so many fables, fairy tales, lore, etc, (and has been often criticized for it) but Harry really does have a bit of Cinderella to him. In the previous chapter, he was happy to escape to the dreaded ‘Stonewall High’ because the alternative was being with Dudley. But this is like hitting the lottery, like being handed a whole pile of ‘get out of jail free’ cards.
Hagrid’s revelation of Harry’s wizardry will be the biggest turning point of his life, and he will have many, many, MANY major ones. But this one, in my opinion will forever be the biggest. It’s like a blind person being able to see for the first time, or a deaf person gaining hearing. He finally has an escape, a rationalization for the strange things that happen, a reason for the Dusleys’ true dislike of him. The scales have been lifted from his eyes. Like was mentioned, there is no wonder the ‘refusal of the call’ is so short lived. The alternative is just unthinkable. You can’t close the Pandora’s box once it’s opened. The Dursleys can’t hold back Harry from his destiny just because they despise magic.
Foreshadowing
About Hagrid’s umbrella. Swinging it around is causing some major damage.
He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley–there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clapped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig’s tail poking through a hole in his trousers.
—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling. U.S. edition, pp. 59
We’re told Hagrid was expelled and can only do approved magic on certain terms but yet is wand is broken. Is it just his anger and magic spontaneously occurring or is that umbrella more special than we think?
As for Voldemort’s remains, as we’ve been saying in regards to Once, no body equals no death (although we have issues there, too). We can’t disregard the fact that Voldemort is very likely not dead and therefore very much alive in some form or fashion.
Questions:
1. I think Petunia’s tirade makes me dislike her even more. Even if her sister was a horrid person, you’re casting the sins of a parent onto the child. Vernon’s contempt can be rationalized. You don’t agree with it but can see where it’s coming from. Petunia’s is from a petty, jealous place. Lily got the specialness, the adulation of their parents, the talent. I think Petunia felt that nothing she could do would ever compete with her sister. Success really did bread contempt. It’s sibling rivalry at it’s worst. Instead of dealing with her issues, she bottled them up and became the nastiest version of herself she could. She held that inside her and took it out on her nephew in a way she could never do with her sister. I find myself having the most visceral reaction to the characters in the series whose sins are more realistic than magical. Petunia is one such character.
2. I think Harry is so ready to accept his fate because he knows he doesn’t belong in his current environment. He wants to get away from the Dursleys but I also think he knows he never belonged there. He’s not like them. So to be told he’s something other makes it easy to accept. The strange things that have occurred to him reinforce these feelings that he’s known all along.
3. Dumbledore trusts Hagrid completely. We’re told that in the first chapter and having Hagrid approach Harry as his guide to the wizarding world is just another piece of evidence that suggests this is absolutely true. It seems from what we know that despite Dumbledore being the “leader” he has a very hands-off approach physically with the boy. Does he not want to be close to him? Is there a reason for the standoffish manner with the boy? We have a supposed ‘mentor’ who as of sixty pages into the story hasn’t yet interacted with the ‘hero’. It’s an interesting thing to exam as we go on.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
Is there a reason for the standoffish manner with the boy?
Looking at this through the “Sneaky Dumbledore is sneaky” filter, I think Dumbledore might have wanted to stack the deck: let the kid have an awful life in the muggle world so that his dangerous destiny in the wizarding world will seem preferably when the time comes.
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Quite an interesting comparison with Cinderella. Rowling draws from so many fables, fairy tales, lore, etc, (and has been often criticized for it) but Harry really does have a bit of Cinderella to him
I find the criticism of Rowling and her pulling from tons of fables, fairy tales, lore, ect to be baffling. As if no other author has done that. I mean…what? Do they think CS Lewis just created all the things that were inserted into his book? I know his is an allegory (and again, we’ll have to talk about to what extent JKR’s works are an allegory) but it’s not as if Lewis wasn’t heavy handed. So was Tolkien. We consider him to the be Grandpapa of fantasy literature in the modern world, but it’s not as if he didn’t borrow extremely heavily from religion and tropes. The Similarion is just a lot of Bible tales told in Middle Earth, for pity’s sake.
There is a debate to be had (and I had it once with my classics professor) about whether there are truly any new ideas in the world, or whether we are just rehashing the same stories over and over again– the oldest stories, the first stories. All we do is change the lyrics a bit, but the song remains the same, in other words. What the debate boiled down to was that there is only one story worth telling: light vs dark, good vs evil. What changes is how that fight, that story, manifests itself in the world you create.
So the criticism against JKR might be a correct one, but you have to be fair…it’s the same thing everyone else does, from Tolkien, to Lewis, to George Lucas, to Michael Morcock, to George RR Martin to Adam and Eddy.
As for Voldemort’s remains, as we’ve been saying in regards to Once, no body equals no death (although we have issues there, too). We can’t disregard the fact that Voldemort is very likely not dead and therefore very much alive in some form or fashion.
With regards to this, did no one every try to go after Voldemort? Was an effort made to try and really figure out if he was alive or not? Did everyone just celebrate (in fact, we know they did. See, chapter 1) but not secretly wonder if he was really and truly gone. And again, I come back to Dumbledore and ponder if he didn’t smooth talk most of the Wizarding Community (like the Wizarding Gov’t) and assure them that all was well so that they wouldn’t go after Voldemort.
1. I think Petunia’s tirade makes me dislike her even more
I agree. We mentioned last chapter that Petunia stands out amongst the Dursley’s as our least favorite. Vernon is almost cartoonish in his villainy, but Petunia is the real “bad” here. It takes a special level of malice to treat your own blood this way and her outburst is clearly a lot of pent up rage and anger finally exploding–and the rage shows that she truly hates Harry.
We have a supposed ‘mentor’ who as of sixty pages into the story hasn’t yet interacted with the ‘hero’. It’s an interesting thing to exam as we go on.
It is odd because the wise old wizard is supposed to be the foremost helpmate of the hero. Giles coaches Buffy and takes over her training once appointed her Watcher. Obi Wan oversees Luke’s initial Jedi training. Gandalf safeguards Frodo, going so far as to battle a Belrog (you shall not PAAAAAS—I had to) to get the ring-carrying Hobbit to safety. Thus far, so far as we can tell, Dumbledore has just let Harry live a mundane, abusive life and even when it comes time to rescue him, Dumbledore acts in the shadows. We get references to him in this chapter–Hagrid clearly loves the man–but to some extent the admiration of Dumbledore from Hagrid doesn’t quite scan for the reader. If Dumbledore is this great, then why the elusive nature?
Is there a reason for the standoffish manner with the boy?
Looking at this through the “Sneaky Dumbledore is sneaky” filter, I think Dumbledore might have wanted to stack the deck: let the kid have an awful life in the muggle world so that his dangerous destiny in the wizarding world will seem preferably when the time comes.
Wow that’s diobolical. And yet somehow in line with the way we’ve seen Dumbledore presented thus far and certainly the way we’ve discussed him. Dumbeldore is presented as the finest wizard in the word, Hagrid basically calls him that in this chapter. What that means is that Dumbledore is probably insanely smart, gifted, talented, whatever. He probably knows how the human mind and the human condition works. I think it’s very probable that he knew and understood that if you allow Harry’s life to be as bleak as possible, then any alternative–however absurd–is relief and bliss.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Also, here’s a question. Obviously this is a re-read project so we won’t touch on the movies tooooo much, but probably the most famous–and often quoted–bit of dialogue from the movies is “Yer a wizard, Harry.” (I’m a…wut?)
Except that’s not what JKR wrote. I was actually startled reading this chapter again to remember that she wrote it “backwards” from how it appears in the movie. The power of visual media, I suppose. I remembered the movie line more than the novel.
Thinking about the first four chapters so far and how they are presented in the movie, did the movie do this call to adventure, Harry’s beginning life justice or not?
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"You know, I was thinking the same thing. “You’re a wizard, Harry”. I think it’s also because it was used as a soundbite so much in the promos and even currently on commercials for the movie’s airings on TV. Did you also Hagrid is a bit more…angry and mean in the book than in the movie. He’s this big lovable hulk in the the movie but we do see bits of true anger on the part of Hagrid on the pages.
Looking at this through the “Sneaky Dumbledore is sneaky” filter, I think Dumbledore might have wanted to stack the deck: let the kid have an awful life in the muggle world so that his dangerous destiny in the wizarding world will seem preferably when the time comes.
In essence, making it the less objectionable option of the two. Hmm, that is sneaky and underhanded. I didn’t realize how interesting it would be to examine Dumbledore as we go through the series, but it is fascinating to see his character in a different light.
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
In essence, making it the less objectionable option of the two. Hmm, that is sneaky and underhanded. I didn’t realize how interesting it would be to examine Dumbledore as we go through the series, but it is fascinating to see his character in a different light.
Definitely. I remember really loving Dumbledore when I first read the series. In fact…when the whole story is laid bare in book 7, I was very angry because I felt like JKR had done an abrupt 180 on his character. BUT now that we’re really digging into the series slowly and piecemeal, Dumbledore has had some shades of sneaky and gray about him all along–or at least is more than “kind old wise wizard.” It’s interesting to see, especially since he has only appeared once in our narrative thus far.
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"Chapter Five: Diagon Ally
Summary
Harry wakes up scared to open his eyes, thinking the previous night was just a dream. He keeps his eyes closed despite the tapping he hears. Thinking it’s Aunt Petunia knocking on his door, he reluctantly gets up and discovers that it wasn’t a dream after all. What’s really tapping is an owl carrying a newspaper. With Hagrid sound asleep on the sagging sofa, Harry doesn’t know what to do so he lets the owl in and wakes Hagrid to find out why the animal is pecking the man after it drops the paper. Hagrid informs him to go through his coat and pay the owl “five knuts“. Happy with payment, the owl flies away.
After Hagrid reminds him they have to be off to buy school supplies, Harry looks at the wizarding money and worries because he has none and his relatives said they wouldn’t pay for anything. Hagrid quickly puts this worry to rest and informs Harry he has more than enough in the Wizarding bank, Gringotts that he inherited from his parents. The couple then take the Dursleys’ boat and with a bit of unapproved magic speed across the water where they go to the station to catch a train to London.
In London, despite it being his first time in the city, Harry sees nothing out of the ordinary until they stop before a small pub that appears to be seen only by Harry and Hagrid called ’The Leaky Cauldron’. When they enter, swarms of people dressed strangely approach Harry and greet and thank him like a hero, including a professor he will have for a subject called “Defense Against the Dark Arts”. Hagrid pulls Harry from the crowd and out a backdoor to an enclosed courtyard. After a few taps on a brick, the courtyard wall opens to reveal a bustling street filled with exotic establishments.
Before they can do anything, they must get money from Gringotts. When they approach the wizards’ bank, Harry discovers the entrance guarded by a goblin who is a bit shorter than he is but with long feet and fingers. At various points in the bank, it’s also revealed the penalty of trying to steal from the bank. Dire consequences with rumors of dragons guarding treasure and no means of escape. Inside the bank, Hagrid informs the Goblin clerk that he needs to access Harry’s vault, which he has a key for and also a vault or Professor Dumbledore on “official Hogwarts business.” The trek to the vaults involves a roller coaster-like rail cart ride of which Hagrid is not a fan. Meanwhile, Harry tries to take everything in, including looking for evidence of dragons. When they arrive at Harry’s vault, the key is used to open it and Harry discovers piles of coins and realizes how much money he actually has. After grabbing some coins to cover his needs “for a few terms”, they move on to the Hogwarts vault, Seven Hundred and Thirteen. Unlike Harry’s vault that needed a key, the goblin opens the vault with just a stroke of his finger upon the door. Griphook, the goblin, informs Harry that if anyone besides a goblin tries to enter they will get sucked into the vault with no way of escape. Harry expected a ton of treasure to be inside the vault when he peaks in but is surprised it only contains a small box which Hagrid takes and puts in one of his many inside coat pockets.
With money in hand, the pair head off to Madam Malkin’s to buy Harry’s robe. While Harry is being measured Hagrid drops back in on the Leaky Cauldron for a ‘pick-me-up’ to get over the disagreeable Gringotts ride. Inside the shop, Harry meets another boy who is being fit for Hogwarts robes. The boy, going on about smuggling a racing broom into Hogwarts despite the rules, reminds Harry of Dudley. When questioned, Harry reveals that he doesn’t have a broom, play Quidditch (which he has no idea what it is), or anything about Hogwarts houses. The boy goes on to insult Hagrid and questioned about his parents and whether they are “our” kind, but is saved from answering by his fitting being finished.
Harry questions Hagrid about the things the boy talked about and he fills the boy in on things as they go on to their next stop to buy the rest of his supplies. Books, cauldron, and potions ingredients are purchased during the visit. Then Hagrid decides to buy Harry an owl, which is a permitted pet at Hogwarts and handy because it can deliver mail, for his birthday. Harry protests but comes out of the shop with a snowy owl.
The last stop on the trip is to buy Harry’s wand. The shop they go to is nondescript and small. The proprietor, Ollivander, immediately knows who Harry is and quickly informs him about his parents’ wands and even the wand that gave him his scar. Ollivander remembers every wand he ever sold and says that the wand picks the wizard. Harry then tries out a variety of wands, but none see to work. The more they try the more excited Ollivander becomes. Finally, he pulls out a wand and wonders if it will work as it’s an unusual choice and hands it to Harry. A warm feeling parks immediately fly from the wand as he waves it around. Ollivander is taken aback and tells the two that the Harry’s wand contains a phoenix feather from a phoenix that gave only one other feather for a wand. That wand belonged to Voldemort.
The day is now at an end and Hagrid takes Harry back to the train station so he can travel back to the Dursleys. They stop for dinner and Harry confides in Hagrid over his worries of being famous for something he doesn’t remember and not knowing anything about magic. Hagrid reassures him he will do fine and gives him a ticket with instructions to be at King’s Cross Station on September 1st to take the train to Hogwarts.
Analysis
How Ya Gonna Keep Them Down On The Farm (After They’ve Seen Paree)?
It’s safe to say none of you know the reference above. It was a famous song post-WWI about a real life concern. How do you get soldiers to return to the rural lifestyle post-war after they’ve seen the culture and excitement of Paris and other European destinations? A rather obscure reference, but it was reminiscent of Harry’s trip to Diagon Ally. In this instance, how does Harry return his Muggle life after experiencing the wonders of the Wizarding world?
When Harry awakens he can’t imagine that the delight of the night before actually happened and believes it was all a dream. He quickly realizes it wasn’t a dream at all and is soon off to experience this new world he was told about only hours before. He’s fascinated with everything from Gringotts to the various strange businesses littering Diagon Alley.
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once; the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.
–SS, p. 71
Diagon Ally has become the candy store for this kid. He’s enamored by everything: the cart ride in Gringotts, the unusual books at the Flourish and Blotts, the owls at Eeylops Owl Emporium. This trip is a major stepping stone for Harry. The opening of the bricked barrier signifies the opening of his life to something else. Something more. He can never go back to being Harry who slept in the cupboard under the stairs. Walking through that archway was walking into a new life. And while we know he will return to his Muggle relatives’ house, it’s no longer home and never will be again.
The Song Remains the Same
Harry may be in a new world, but in a larger sense it’s the similar to the one he’s leaving behind. Diagon Ally may be full of exotic creatures, brooms that fly, and interesting shops, but on another level it’s the same as the mundane world of the Muggles.
It’s discovered in the quick trip to Diagon Ally that wizards have infrastructure, commerce and society not unlike that of Muggles. Banking institutions, for example, might look vastly different have the same function in either world. Both worlds place value on currency and rely on the exchange of goods and services to keep society functioning. Although we don’t know for certain, it would be safe to assume the phrase that ‘the only sure things in life are death and taxes’ would apply to the Wizarding community, too.
Harry’s first introduction to a fellow student at Madam Malkin’s emphasizes the point fact that society, for good or bad, is not that different after all, either.
“My father’s next door buying my books and mother’s up the street looking at wands,” said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. “Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it in somehow.”
–SS, p. 77
The boy’s greed and spoiled nature immediately remind Harry of his cousin Dudley. As the conversation goes on during the fitting Harry likes him less and less as he insults Hagrid for being just a “servant” and a “savage” and then reveals his prejudice against others.
“I really don’t think they should let the other sort in, do you? They’re just not the same, they’ve never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What’s you’re surname, anyway?”
–SS, p. 78
Discrimination occurs in everywhere. They may have magic, but wizards and witches are not immune to human emotions such as greed, hatred, or jealousy.
Foreshadowing
–Gringotts and how hard it is to break into the bank.
“Yeah–so yeh’d be made ter try an’ rob it. I’ll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest places in the world fer anything yeh want to keep safe–’cept maybe Hogwarts.”
–SS, p. 63
“Like I said, yeh’d be mad ter try an’ rob it,” said Hagrid.
–SS, p.73
“If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they’d be sucked through the door and trapped in there,” said Griphook.
“How often do you check to see if anyone’s inside,” Harry asked.
“About once every ten years,” said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.”
–SS, p. 76
Questions
1. How do you think the “student” in Madam Malkin’s would react if Harry had had time to finish the conversation and revealed his surname?
2. How do you think Harry feels about having funds of his own for the first time ever?
3. What do you think Harry’s opinions are on having a wand that shares a common core with the wand that killed his parents and did great evil in the wizarding world?
Knitting Reference:
And because I am knitting nerd and HP is full of knitting, I shall count all the knitting references in the series and post each. So here is the first.
1. Hagrid knitting on the train on the way to London to get Harry’s supplies.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
“Still got your letter, Harry?” he asked as he counted stitches.”
–SS, p. 65
Keeper of Rumplestiltskin's and Neal's spears and war paint and crystal ball.
I remember really loving Dumbledore when I first read the series. In fact…when the whole story is laid bare in book 7, I was very angry because I felt like JKR had done an abrupt 180 on his character. BUT now that we’re really digging into the series slowly and piecemeal, Dumbledore has had some shades of sneaky and gray about him all along–or at least is more than “kind old wise wizard.” It’s interesting to see, especially since he has only appeared once in our narrative thus far.
Could it also be that the use of other characters describing Dumbledore in their opinions as “The greatest wizard that ever lived” also coloured your opinion of him? Was your opinion of Dumbledore swayed by how other characters viewed him until the truth came out?
All magic comes with a price!
Keeper of FelixI remember really loving Dumbledore when I first read the series. In fact…when the whole story is laid bare in book 7, I was very angry because I felt like JKR had done an abrupt 180 on his character. BUT now that we’re really digging into the series slowly and piecemeal, Dumbledore has had some shades of sneaky and gray about him all along–or at least is more than “kind old wise wizard.” It’s interesting to see, especially since he has only appeared once in our narrative thus far.
Could it also be that the use of other characters describing Dumbledore in their opinions as “The greatest wizard that ever lived” also coloured your opinion of him? Was your opinion of Dumbledore swayed by how other characters viewed him until the truth came out?
To the question of other characters and their influences on my take of Dumbledore: absolutely. Take a look at what we’ve got so far: McGonagall refers to Dumbledore as “noble’ in direct contrast to Voldemort’s (baby wanna-be killer) “un-noble” acts. We’ve got Hagrid beaming with pride that Dumbledore trusts him so much and refers to him as a great wizard and a great headmaster. Hagrid, while saying this, is literally rescuing our boy wonder from a life of abuse thereby making Hagrid “more right” in the eyes of the reader. The letter itself has Dumbledore listed as Headmaster but also lists a slew of awards like “Order of Merlin, First Class” something that instantly gives a sense of grandeur to this man. I think JKR was doing this deliberately.
It’s a heady mix of archetype (wise old wizard who becomes a sort of father/grandfather figure to the Hero) and what everyone one believes/is saying about Dumbledore.
@Jo I will read your analysis here shortly and respond!
"He was a lot of things to me" "The only conclusion was love"
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