Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

IntroductionHave you ever imagined living in a world filled with magic or wizards? Or can you imagine playing a game where you need to fly with a broom? That’s amazing, isn’t it? If you want to experience magic, comedy, excitement and adventure, you must read ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’. When you are reading the book, you will feel like you are in a mysterious magic world, overcoming challenges with Harry Potter.

‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was published by Bloomsbury on 30 June 1997. It was written by a British writer called J.K. Rowling. It was the first book of the Harry Potter Series. The series has sold a tremendous 400 million copies and versions for sixty-five different languages are available. It enabled her to gain myriads of awards and become a world-renowned woman. You may be surprised to know that Rowling decided to write the Harry Potter series for children only initially.

English: Created by modifying this image Italiano:...

English: J.K. Rowling reads from Harry Potter and ...

Platform 9-3/4 Entrance tribute to Harry Potter at...

But up to now, People ranging from children to elderly, Chinese to American, have become fans of Harry Potter. So what has made the book so popular? In this report, I would like to grasp this opportunity to share with you the mysterious magic behind the book. (‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone’)The Harry Potter story first appeared on Rowling’s mind when she was traveling from Manchester to London in a train in 1990. She claimed that Harry Potter "just strolled into my head fully formed". (“J. K. Rowling Biography”)She still remembered that she felt amazed when first thought of the characters. (“J. K. Rowling Biography”)Main charactersThere were few major characters in the book. Harry Potter was the leading character. His parents were killed by the powerful Dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort when he was only one-year-old. He was renowned as the only known wizard to survived Voldemort's Killing Curse. Therefore, he became an orphan living with the Dursley family. He entered Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after his eleventh birthday. There he made friends with classmates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, they helped save the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry finally overpowered the evil Voldemort. (“Harry Potter (character)”)Ron Weasley was the first friend that Harry made. He was an expert at wizard’s chess, he has done a great job in helping Harry to pass the chess chamber. (“Major Characters”)Hermione Granger was a rare wizard who came from a regular muggle family, she was pround, intelligent and knowledgeable in wizard skills. Due to her outstanding wizard knowledge, she helped a lot in assisting Harry to get past the Chambers of Hogwarts. (“Major Characters”)Voldemort was an evil man in the book, every wizard was afraid of him. He was the murderer of Harry's parents. He failed to kill Harry and since then, he lived his life in Quirrell’s body. He used Quirrell to steal the Philosopher’s Stone in order to keep him alive. (“Major Characters”)Professor Quirrell was one of the teachers at Hogwarts. He appeared to be a shy and cowardly man, but he was in fact a follower of Voldemort. He helped Voldemort to steal the stone and tried to kill Harry. (“Major Characters”)Rubeus Hagrid was a simple-minded giant who was the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. He helped Harry to escape from the Dursley family and introduced the wizards’ world to him. (“Major Characters”)Minor charactersThere were also a few minor characters that we should not overlook. The first was the Dursley family, they were the only remaining relatives of Harry. They were muggles who hated wizards a lot. They were cruel to Harry and stop Harry from entering Hogwarts. (“Major Characters”)Professor Snape was one of the teachers at Hogwarts. Harry at first misunderstood him as an evil teacher following Voldemort, but he was the one who tried to save Harry from Quirrell. (“Major Characters”)Draco Malfoy was one of Harry’s classmates, he came from a rich wizard family and looked down on muggles. He always teased Harry, Ron and Hermione. (“Major Characters”)Summary of the bookThe leading character, Harry Potter, was an unfortunate boy, just after he was born, his parents were killed by an evil man named Voldemort. Besides, he lived with his undesirable aunt and uncle, who made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs and treated him cruelly. Although he was born to be a wizard, he was unaware of this before his eleventh birthday. Surprisingly, a giant of a man named Hagrid bought a message to him from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and told him that he was accepted by the school. (Rowling)Things in the magic world were definitely new and strange to Harry at first. Fortunately, he met a few friends, Hermione and Ron Weasley and Neville, at Hogwarts. He also learned magic and even won Quichdditch (a game like football but you need to fly with a broom). The magic world seemed to be fantastic and amazing for Harry, but there were also evil things behind it. One day, he learned about the Philosopher’s Stone accidentally, it is a stone with magical power, people will never die if they own it. (Rowling)It may lead to serious consequences if it was used evilly. Therefore, Harry tried his very best to stop Voldemort stealing the stone. Harry faced lots of obstacles and nearly lost his life when opposing Voldemort. Eventually, with the aid and encouragement of his friends and due to his braveness, he got final success. (Rowling)My favourite characterMy favourite and unforgetable characher in this book was the girl with “bushy brown hair, brown eyes, and large front teeth”. (“Hermione Granger”) Guess who was she? Yes, She was Hermione Granger. Her most outstanding features were her extraordinary intellect, cleverness and knowledgeability. She was born in a regular muggle family, but surprisingly, she was one of the top students at Hogwarts. I really think that youngsters nowadays should learn from her. In fact, I do believe that the major cause of her brilliant wizard knowledge was not her talent, but diligence. Since she was not born to be a wizard, she paid much more effort to learn. She read a lot wizard books and she was a very hardworking students. She already knew many magic even they have not been taught. She is a really good example to show that if we are willing to endeavor, nothing is impossible. Do not grouse that you are not smart enough or you have no talent, everyone can be successful if you can try your best to achieve your goal. Although Hermione was a little bit arrogant at first, she was in fact a kindhearted person, she was willing to help others. She has helped Harry a lot with her quick braininess and encyclopaedic wizard skills. Without Hermione, I believe that Harry cannot pass the Chambers of Hogwarts. So she is a very important character in the book. (“Hermione Granger”)ConclusionI believe that readers at different levels and of any age groups will enjoy reading the book, so I recommend the book to everyone to read. The story is really amazing. You can never know the ending till the last few pages of the book and you will get excited by the well-knit plots. Besides that, it also brings positive messages to the readers. For example, Harry, Ron and Hermione can sacrifice for their friends. In order to protect their friends, they will not consider their own interest. Also, Harry was so brave to stand up to his enemies and finally, he succeeded to save the stone. Therefore, the spirit of friendship and courage is what we should admire.

Works Cited“Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 April 2009. 16 April 2009 .

“Harry Potter (character)”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 April 2009. 22 April 2009 “Hermione Granger”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 22 April 2009. 22 April 2009“J. K. Rowling Biography”. Biographyonline. 16 April 2009. 16 April 2009.

“J. K. Rowling”. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 16 April 2009. 16 April 2009.

“Major Characters”. Book rags. 2008-2009. 22 April 2009Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London:Bloomsbury, 30 June 1997.

Harry Potter (character)

The Weasley family as shown in Harry Potter and th...

The player as Hermione Granger in the sequel.