Honors Modern Fiction / Mrs. Walsh
Questions to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Note: Feel free to add your own questions, as you read.
Chapter 1
1. At the beginning of Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling shifts perspective several times.
a. Through whose perspective do we “see” when we read the first sentence of chapter 1?
b. From whose perspective do we begin to “see” on pages 2-8?
c. According to the fourteenth century alchemist Petrus Bonus, “To look with the eyes and see with the heart is the key to the Philosopher’s Stone.”
i. Does Mr. Dursley “look with his eyes” or “see with his heart”? Explain and specifically support your response.
ii. Rowling is likely making a rather upsetting commentary here. In general, are we (humans) so very different from Mr. Dursley? Discuss.
d. How are we supposed to feel about the Dursleys? Cite specifics to support your opinion.
2. How are we supposed to feel about Harry Potter? How does the author make us feel this way? List at least three (3) details to support your response.
a.
b.
c.
3. What benefit does Dumbledore see in giving Harry into the keeping of Muggles, and, in particular, to such magic-hostile Muggles as the Dursleys?
4. What is the significance of a lightning bolt shaped scar? Why would a scar be useful? If Dumbledore’s is a map, could Harry’s be so, as well? And if so, a “map” of what?
Chapter 2-4
5. The main method Rowling uses to manipulate her readers is called narrative misdirection, and her primary means of creating narrative misdirection is through her use of point-of-view. For, although she briefly shifts perspectives at the beginning of Sorcerer’s Stone, she maintains the same point-of-view throughout all seven novels.
a. What point-of-view does she use?
b. What do we, as readers, gain from this point-of-view? What do we lose?
c. From whose perspective do we begin to “see” beginning in chapter 2?
(over à)
6. Number symbolism appears frequently---and deliberately---in Rowling’s Harry Potter novels. We’ll make more of this once we’ve done a lesson in Arithmancy, but for now, begin keeping track of the numbers as you see them. I’ve given you an example for the number “3,” but you should definitely add numbers as you read. The most significant numbers will be repeated often. (Hint: Access the pdf text, and enter the word form of a number (example, three) into the “Find” box.)
Number / Where the Number Appears in HPSS2
3 / Example: The Dursleys (Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley)
4
11
12
(over à)
Chapter 5-7
7. Since the beginning of the novel, but especially in the chapter entitled “Diagon Alley,” Rowling incorporates the archetypal idea of “two worlds.” What are her two worlds? Why would Rowling----or any of us---need two worlds?
8. As we’ve previously discussed, Harry has been marked for greatness from birth. In “Diagon Alley” and “Platform Nine and Three-Quarters” Harry begins to see what this portends for his life. How does Harry feel about his new “position” in the magical world?
9. Unlike Harry, Ron is not special, being but one of 6 Weasley boys. Still, how is he in much the same position as Harry? In what other ways are he and Harry a “good fit”?
10. In general, heroes have two births, and birth images are often represented by water, which symbolizes a transformation. What, then, is Harry’s second birth early in the novel?
11. In the chapter entitled, “The Sorting Hat,” students are placed into one of four Houses, depending upon their major personality traits. What other types of social divisions---some of them less positive---have we seen thus far in the novel? What social commentary is Rowling making with these divisions?
Chapter 8-10
12. Harry’s potions class in the dungeon with Professor Snape (chapter 8) is actually a “preview” of sorts for his final task in the novel. When you think of a dungeon, what images come to mind? Also, Snape makes a sinister yet alluring speech about potions on page 137. What is the gist of his speech? Why would liquids be so powerful to the human imagination? (It is, after all, somewhat difficult to imagine the same speech being made about solids or gases, isn’t it?)
13. In “Midnight Duel,” Harry and his friends first encounter flying. Harry is a natural, but Neville is badly injured. What does flying symbolize? What are the dangers of such “flight,” if you are frightened of and/or unprepared for it?
14. Harry faces another danger in an enclosed, dungeon-like space---which again makes reference to liquid (i.e., water)---in “Halloween.” He is more successful against this problem than he will be against Snape. Why does he attempt this particular danger? What talents does he use to overcome the troll? Also, by overcoming this obstacle, the boys not only save Hermione’s life. What else do they show/prove to her that makes her their friend?
Chapter 11-13
15. Why is it appropriate that Harry play the position of Seeker in Quidditch? And what does the Golden Snitch represent? (Think in terms of its shape, size, color, etc.)
16. In “The Mirror of Erised,” Rowling incorporates two highly potent psychological devices: an invisibility cloak and a mirror. One “erases” the person, and the other reveals his innermost desires. What are the dangers to Harry in this chapter?
Chapter 14-15
17. In “The Forbidden Forest,” we meet centaurs, creatures from ancient Greek mythology who incorporate both human and animal aspects into one being. Ronan and Bane refuse to openly aid Hagrid or Harry, as they will not put themselves against the heavens, i.e. at odds with Fate. However, they do provide a strange clue in their repetitions that, “Mars is unusually bright tonight” (253). How is this significant? What does Mars represent?
18. “The Forbidden Forest” introduces a well-known and ages-old archetype. The Forest or Dark Woods represents a place where the child must face his fears, his Shadow, and make important choices on the path to adulthood. What must Harry face in the Forbidden Forest? Why is it important that Harry’s scar hurts when Voldemort is near?
19. Other than numbers, flight, and forests, what other archetypal (or alchemical) symbols have appeared so far?
Chapters 16-17
20. Look back at your responses to questions 10, 12, and 14. How were Harry’s trials with “the Potions Master,” his natural ability to fly, and his battle with the troll actually “previews”/”preparation” for his final task in the novel?
21. The theme of Fate versus Free Will is a persistent one throughout the Harry Potter series. Where do we see it in this novel? Which one seems to win out for Rowling? Support your response.
22. In “The Man With Two Faces,” Harry asks Dumbledore why Voldemort would want him dead, to which Dumbledore replies, “Alas…I cannot tell you. Not today. Not now. You will know, one day…put it from your mind for now, Harry. When you are older…I know you hate to hear this…when you are ready, you will know” (299, my italics).
a. In the italicized piece, Rowling takes language straight out of psychoanalysis. If Harry delves into the depths of his unconscious mind before he is ready, what might happen to him? What physical evidence does he carry that already suggests this possibility?
b. How does this response highlight Rowling’s uses of point-of-view / narrative misdirection?
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