An Appreciation on the Novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher

J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J.K Rowling. It is the first novel in the Harry Potter series and Rowling’s debut novel, first published in 1997 by Bloomsbury. It was published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by scholastic corporation in 1998. The plot follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage as he makes close friends and a few enemies in his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. With the help of his friends, Harry faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry’s parents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.

J.K Rowling was born in Chipping Sodury, July 31st 1965. From an early age, Rowling had an ambition to be a writer. She often tried her hand at writing, although little came from her early efforts. Aged six she wrote a book about a rabbit with measles. In her own autobiography she remembers with great fondness, when her good friend Sean became the first person to give her the confidence that one day she would be able to make a very good writer.

J.K Rowling studied at St. Michael’s primary school in Gloucestershire, before moving to Chepstow, South Wales at the age of nine. After finishing school, her parents encouraged her to study French at the University of Exeter. She slightly regretted choosing French, saying she would have preferred to study English. After having spent a year in Paris, J.K Rowling graduated from university and took various jobs in London. One of her favourite jobs was working for Amnesty International; the charity, which campaigns against human rights abuses throughout the world.It was in 1990, that J.K Rowling first conceived of the idea about Harry Potter from a long train journey from Manchester to London. In the same year Rowling lost her mother, who died of Multiple Sclerosis. She was very close to her mother, and she felt the loss deeply. Her own loss gave an added poignancy to the death of Harry Potter’s mother in her book. She says her favourite scene in the Philosopher’s stone is, The Mirror of Erised, where Harry sees his parents in the mirror.

In 1991, J.K Rowling left England to get a job as an English teacher in Portugal. It was here that she met her first husband, Jorge Arantes and together they had a child Jessica. However, after a couple of years, the couple split after a fierce argument; where by all accounts J.K Rowling was thrown out of the house.

In Dec 1993, Rowling returned to UK, moving to Edinburgh where she tried to finish her first book. Eventually, she finished her first copy of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, and sent it off to various agents. It was rejected by 12 major publishing houses. But, finally, a quite small publisher, Bloomsbury agreed to take the book on. And on 21st Dec 2006, Rowling finished her final book of the Harry Potter series- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.

On 27 Sep 2012, Rowling released the Casual Vacancy an adult novel. In 2013, The Cuckoo’s Calling was published. Initially, the author was started as being Robert Galbraith. But this was a pseudonym used by J.K Rowling. After her authorship was discovered, sales went through the roof.
The book became a smash success, winning the UK National Book Award (1997), and the Gold Medal Smarties Prize (1997), and being named a Best Book of the Year (1998) by both the New York Public Library and Publishers weekly. The book reached in the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in August 1999 and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and 2000. It has been translated into at least seventy three other languages and has been made into a feature-length film of the same name, as have all six of its sequels.
People were amazed that a small “children’s book” was so popular, even among adults. Six book later, the series has won tons of snazzy book awards, it’s had major sales, and made mountains of money.
Ten-year-old Harry is an orphan who lives with his uncaring Aunt Petunia, loathsome uncle Vernon, and (worst of all) his spoiled cousin Dudley. Always in trouble for things that are not apparently his fault, condemned to a life of drudgery and forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs, Harry is astonished to receive a letter from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before he can open the letter, Uncle Vernon takes it, but the house is soon plagued by letters and surrounded by owls. On Harry’s 11th birthday, a giant called Rubeus Hagrid appears with another copy of the letter. Harry rapidly discovers that it is an offer of a place at Hogwarts, that he is a wizard himself, and that he acquired the lightning-bolt scar on his forehead in the fight when his parents were killed by the evil wizard Voldemort. Hagrid deals with Uncle Vernon and with Dudley, and soon Harry finds himself in the magical world of Hogwarts under the care of headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Harry’s eventful first year at the school- with its successes and failures, friendships and enmities, broomstick-stick-riding Quidditch matches, and potions lessons- is overshadowed by dark thoughts of his parent’s murder and the dawning knowledge that one day he may have to meet Voldemort, too. Harry’s curiosity is destined to lead him and his friends into trouble, even danger, before they discover the truth about the mysterious Philosopher’s stone.
One of the coolest aspect of harry potter series is its setting. We get access to beautiful worlds.  The settings of Harry Potter and Philosopher’s Stone are The Muggle and Wizarding Worlds, England, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

A huge theme within Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is that of the power or concept of choice and free will and its impact on the wellbeing, on our lives, and on the lives of others. Another crucial theme in the novel and the remaining book series is the theme of love. Rowling demonstrates the power of love from the very beginning of the narrative by explaining that Harry’s ability to survive Voldemort’s killing curse is a direct result of his mother’s love. The importance of rebellion, humility, friendship, power and death are another major themes which can be seen in this novel. The Sorting Hat, Wands, and The Philosopher’s Stone are the symbols used by J.K Rowling in the novel.
Of course, like many pop culture icons, the Harry Potter series has both big fans and big haters. The arguments back and forth between lovers and haters end up resembling a wizard’s duel. Some religious fundamentalists have criticized the series for its portrayal of magic and wizardry. Some literary critics have problem with the series and wonder whether being popular is the same as being quality literature. The famous literary critic Harold Bloom in his article “Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes” commented that “the book is not well written” and the Harry potter lacks an “imaginative vision”. The New York Times review of Philosopher’s Stone says that Rowling has “soared beyond her modest Muggle surroundings to achieve quite special”. The author Ted Goia also said tons of goodness on the novel.
This enthralling start of Harry’s journey towards coming to terms with his past and facing his future is peopled by believable characters with whom it is easy to identify. By turns funny, sad, mysterious, and a bit scary, this story, and its film version, engaged audience of all ages.