Forum Response #1:
One of the adults who appears as an heroic figure in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, without overshadowing Harry’s own growth in the novel, is Albus Dumbledore. While it is a given that Dumbledore is a more advanced magician than Harry and has considerably more power than Harry does, at this stage in his development, Rowling keeps Dumbledore from taking the limelight away from the young Muggle. One way in which she does this is through the use of self-deprecating humor. As Dumbledore laments, “’One can never have enough socks[a]nother Christmas has come and gone and I didn’t get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books’” (Rowling p. 292). By suggesting that Dumbledore does not even have the power to get what he wants for Christmas, he humorously points out his own weaknesses. Another use of humor to take the limelight off Dumbledore comes in his conversation with Harry near the story’s end: “What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally the whole school knows’”(Rowling p. 327). As the head of school, Dumbledore is in charge of making rules; however, he knows what rules do not get followed. His equanimity with this fact allows him to be both strong and sympathetic, allowing others to be glorious as well. Finally, Dumbledore shows a belief that there are things more important than magic: “’Ah, music! A magic far beyond all we do here!’” (Rowling, p. 88). The implication that magic is not the end-all, be-all of existence in Hogwarts means that Dumbledore is willing to allow beauty in other areas to exist alongside his own prowess. The implication is that Harry will also be allowed to stand alongside Dumbledore in his own strength.
Forum Response #2:
Despite the fact that Harry is a white male, he exhibits traits that appeal to readers from all cultures. The presence of Voldemort as a threat to the entire community of magic, if not to the entire community of humanity, is just another instance of evil that has lurked throughout human history, and human literature, from the beginning of time. When Harry loudly establishes that he is “going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing [the other two] can say is going to stop [him]” (Rowling, p. 270), he shows a passionate determination that goes back to the days of Odysseus and continues through every heroic tale since. The notion that “there is no good and evil; only power and those too weak to see it” (Rowling, p. 118) is not a transcendent idea as far as passing through history, but it is a cultural phenomenon that is being considered by most cultures in the world today. The fact that it is Harry’s mother’s love who saved him also makes him a culturally transcendent hero: the idea that “love as powerful as [one]’s motherleaves its own mark” is something that almost all people can understand.
Forum Response #3:
The power of the friend is a theme that goes far back into the history of literature, even to the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the ancient Babylonian epic Gilgamesh. Friends do help us find our best side and push us through our own fears. However, in the case of Haroun, he has no friends who stick around and help him; he must “go and face the music alone,” because Iff and Butt have left his behind. Harry’s experience in defeating the troll cements his friendship with Hermione, because “knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll” is just one of the things that brings friends together, apparently. Haroun succeeds in spite of his friends, while Harry succeeds with his friends. The end result is one hero who knows the power of connection, and another hero who knows his own strength but still longs for the greater strength of that connection.
Works Cited
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Raincoast Books, 2000.
Rushdie, Salman. Haroun and the Sea of Stories. New York: Penguin Books, c2010.
