Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone: 1/3 book summary/reflection

Pascual Ender

Character Conflict Reflection

Harry Potter is the only survivor in his family after a "car accident." Both his parents are dead. He is brought to his closest relatives, the Dursleys. They take care of Harry, but they treat him as if he didn't belong or was 'different' to them. It turns out that the Dursleys know what really happened to his parents, (they had nothing to do with it, by the way) and are holding the truth from him.

One day, Harry is visited by Hagrid, a person from a magical world. He informs Harry of the truth that had been held from him all his life: His parents were wizards, they were killed by an evil wizard, Harry is also a wizard... Confused, Harry doesn't know what to believe; but it seems that he trusts Hagrid because of all the good and interesting things that have happened since his arrival. 

It actually turns out that the Dursleys really hated magic. So it would appear that Harry is stuck between two conflicting forces: magic and non-magic. The Dursleys want to take care of Harry but rid the idea of magic from his head, since they do not believe in it, or think it's bad. On the contrary, Hagrid wants to take care of Harry, and show him the truth about his history.

Reflection Question:

The conflict between Hagrid and the Dursleys is quite profound, and so it led me to ask this question:

 Do you think it would be a good or bad thing to hold the truth from somebody? 

Let's say for example, somebody's memory is wiped blank. They had a 'dark' past in which they have no recollection of memories from. Imagine that you knew their whole story...

Would you tell it to them, thinking that it is right to know the truth?

 (Imagine you believe that if they did realize their history, they may be doomed to repeat it.)

...Or would you keep it from them, thinking that it's all for their own good?

Philosopher's Stone (Chapters 1-5)

Harry Potter and The Philospher's Stone - Chapter Summary (1-5)

This is a chapter summary, summarizing the main events that have occurred in the novel, 

chapters 1 through 5.

Harry Potter is the main character. His parents have been killed. He is only a baby at this point. Strange people from the magic world recover Harry from the wreckage and bring him to his closest relatives, to look after him. It turns out, these folk actually despise magic.

Harry's new family (Surname: Dursley), Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and their spoiled son, Dudley treat Harry as if he 'didn't belong' or was 'strange to them.' He sleeps in a closet under their staircase. Dudley and his friends constantly bully him. He seems to be the target of them all; blaming him for everything. At this point, Harry is almost 11 years old. 

One day, when Harry goes to fetch the Dursleys' mail, he finds a letter addressed to him. No one has ever written to him before. Before he gets a chance to read it, Uncle Vernon snatches it, keeping it secret from him. However, many more copies of this letter mysteriously keep showing up; and Uncle Vernon makes a huge effort to take them all away before Harry can read one. Eventually, the amount of letters being delivered becomes overwhelming, and in a fit of madness, Uncle Vernon gets the whole family to run away from their current address, hoping the letters will stop coming. 

On Harry's 11th birthday, he is visited once again by the strange magic people. A giant, (about twice the size of a normal person) Hagrid comes to Harry, wishing him a happy birthday. Hagrid notices the cruel treatment the Dursleys had been giving Harry his whole life. He tries to knock sense into them but it doesn't seem to work. Finally, Hagrid pulls out one of the copies of the letter and gives it to Harry. It's a letter from Hogwarts, informing him that he has a place in their school when it starts. Hagrid informs Harry that he's actually a wizard, and his dead parents were too. From Hagrid, Harry learns a bit about his past, future, and the magic world.

Hagrid takes Harry to go get school supplies for Hogwarts. After they get everything Harry needs, Hagrid says farewell to him and Harry goes back to the Dursleys. He is to continue living with those horrible people until it's time for him to depart to Hogwarts.