Harry Potter and the Philosopher's

Stone

INDEXABOUT THE AUTHOR

SUMMARY

CHARACTER SKETCHES

CONCLUSION

AUTHOR

J. K. Rowling

J. K. Rowling J.K. Rowling is the creator of the Harry Potterfantasy series, one of the most popular book andfilm franchises in history.

Born in Yate, England, on July 31, 1965, J.K. Rowling came from

humble economic means before writing Harry Potter and theSorcerer's Stone, a children's fantasy novel. The work was aninternational hit and Rowling wrote six more books in the

series,which sold hundreds of millions of copies and was adapted

into ablockbuster film franchise.

A graduate of Exeter University, Rowling moved to Portugal in

1990 to teach English.

Rowling worked on a book, the idea for which had reportedly

occurred to her while she was travelling on a train from

Manchester to London in 1990. After a number of

rejections, she finally sold the book, Harry Potter and the

Philosopher's Stone (the word "Philosopher" was changed to

"Sorcerer" for its publication in America), for the equivalent of

about $4,000. The book, and its subsequent series, chronicled

the life of Harry Potter, a young wizard, and his motley band of

cohorts at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

SUMMARY

Rowling, now Britain's 13th wealthiest woman, wealthier than even the Queen, does not plan to write any more books in the series, but has not entirely ruled out the possibility.

Although J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is finished, the author continues to work on more written works. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a collection of five fables mentioned in the Harry Potter book series, was released on November 4, 2008—at a tea party for 200 schoolchildren at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. Rowling donated all royalties from the book to the Children's High Level Group (which has been renamed Lumos), a charity that Rowling co-founded to support institutionalized children in Eastern Europe.

At the beginning of the novel, Harry Potter is living in a cupboard under the stairs, suffering appalling maltreatment at the hands of the Dursley family.

On his eleventh birthday, however, it is revealed to him, despite the Dursleys’ best efforts, that he has inherited magical abilities and is scheduled for education in wizardry at Hogwarts Academy

While still preconscious in his cradle, he survived a magical assault by the infamous dark wizard Voldemort (whose name is so terrible in its effects that only Harry and Hogwarts’ headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, dare pronounce it), deflecting a killing spell back upon its sender and reducing Voldemort to helplessness.

Harry finds life at Hogwarts idyllic and makes two more firm friends in the bookish Hermione Granger and the hapless but willing Ron Weasley.

Voldemort, however, is in hiding at Hogwarts, beginning to recover his powers and enthusiastic to get rid of his nemesis. Voldemort also wants to get hold of the philosopher’s stone, which was entrusted by the famous alchemist Nicholas Flamel to Dumbledore.

With the aid of Hermione and Ron, and encouragement from Dumbledore and Hagrid, Harry contrives to thwart Voldemort’s ambition in a tense climax, but he realizes that he is engaged in a contest that is likely to be long and desperate.

CHARACTER SKETCHES

HARRY POTTER

The son of James and Lily Potter and nephew of Vernon and Petunia Dursley. At the beginning of the book, Harry is an unimpressive figure: skinny, sloppy, isolated from his family, the constant victim of his cousin's bullying, and marked with a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead (the result of Voldemort's failed attempt to kill him during his infancy).

Harry is particularly affected by the deaths of his parents and much of his behavior is informed by his loneliness and desire to avenge their wrongful deaths.

Harry also distinguishes himself with his unexcepted brilliance at Quidditch, his loyalty to his friends, and his modesty, a trait is particularly surprising in the figure lauded as "the boy who lived" across the wizarding world.

Hermione Granger

Harry and Ron's best friend at Hogwarts. A first-year in Gryffindor House, Hermione is Muggle-born, meaning that neither of her parents has magical ability.

Despite her background, Hermione gains a reputation of being one of the brightest witches in her year, particularly because of her unfailing work ethic and determination to succeed

Her adventure with the troll in the girl's bathroom with Harry and Ron reveals more grit than mere academic prowess, and her willingness to take the blame for the situation cements her friendship with Ron and Harry.

Ron Weasley

The youngest son of the Weasley family and Harry's best friend.

Ron proves himself to be a loyal friend to both Harry and Hermione and a brilliant player of wizarding chess.

As a wizard, Ron is mediocre, often needing Hermione's help for spells and homework assignments, but he is able to scrape by academically and never fails to perform during dangerous situations

Professor Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts and Voldemort's only feared enemy.

Professor Dumbledore also encounters Harry while Harry is visiting the entrancing Mirror of Erised and urges Harry to maintain his grasp on reality rather than a world of dreams and desires.

Although Professor Dumbledore remains a mysterious figure for this book and the majority of the series, it is clear that he has a deep affection for Harry and wishes to protect him at all costs

In the attempt to protect the Sorcerer's Stone from Voldemort, Professor Dumbledoor creates the final challenge with the Mirror of Erised.

Professor Snape

• Snape is an exceptionally skilful wizard who primarily teaches Potions at Hogwarts school. In the sixth novel, he teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts, a position which he was known to have desired throughout the series. For much of the series, Snape's actions seem to serve Harry's nemesis, Lord Voldemort, although Harry's mentor, Dumbledore, often advises Harry that – despite his actions and animosity – Snape is trustworthy and his true loyalties can be relied upon. He ultimately becomes Headmaster of Hogwarts in the final novel, after killing Dumbledore at the end of the sixth book. Snape himself dies at the hands of Voldemort in the final chapters of the seventh book, revealing his memories and true back story to Harry (and therefore to the reader) in his last minutes. In the book's epilogue, Harry describes Snape as "probably the bravest man I ever knew".

• The character was widely acclaimed by readers and critics; Rowling described him as "a gift of a character"[1] whose story she had known since the first book. Actor Alan Rickman portrayed Snape in all eight Harry Potter films, released between 2001 and 2011.

Voldemort

Also known as Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, and He-Who-Must-Be-Named, whose real name is Tom Riddle Voldemort rose to power in the 1970s with a faithful following of dark wizards called Death Eaters.

When Lily Potter sacrificed herself to save her son, she created a protective shield over Harry and, not only was Voldemort unable to kill the child, he nearly destroyed himself in the process.

Voldemort is characterized by his ambition, resourcefulness, manipulation of weaker minds, and determination to regain his former power.

CONCLUSION

So now we have finished reading the first book in the series about the famous Harry Potter. The theme of the book is fantasy, magic, adventure and friendship. A good quote about friendship is ”There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them”. The book is basically about a boy who had a miserable childhood. He had to live with his aunt and uncle, which both hated him because he was different. He was poor and lonely, without friends and most of the time he got treated like a dog. But suddenly one day he gets a letter which changes his whole life. (I still wait for my letter…). He finds out that he is a very famous wizard, that he’s going to Hogwarts and that he has a fortune on a bank. His life goes from being boring and normal to being a great adventure.