Charakterisierung des Harry Potter in "Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen

Outward appearance
Harry Potter′s outward appearance changes little in the course of the novel. In the ten years Harry has to live with the Dursleys, he has to sleep in the cupboard beneath the stairs, which might be one of the reasons for him being skinny and small. Another reason is probably that Harry only gets to wear Dudley′s old clothes, which make him look "even smaller and skinnier than he really was" (page 20)¹. Apart from that Rowling also describes Harry as a boy with "a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair and bright green eyes" (page 20). He needs to wear glasses, which are broken from Dudley′s many attacks on Harry and have to be "held together with Scotch tape" ( page 20). A particularly significant feature of Harry Potter is the scar on his forehead, which is shaped like a bolt of lightning. Asking Aunt Petunia about the scar Harry is told that he got it in the car accident in which his parents allegedly died . Later Harry learns from Hagrid that the scar is a result of his first encounter with Lord Voldemort: "That was no ordinary cut. That′s what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh(...)" (page 55).
When Harry goes to Hogwarts, only his clothes change: he finally gets his own clothes, namely black robes.

Harry′s parents
At the beginning of the novel, the reader learns that Harry′s parents died in an encounter with Lord Voldemort: "The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are- are- that they′re - dead."
This fear is expressed by Professor McGonagall. She then goes on: "They′re saying that he tried to kill the Potter′s son, Harry. But- he couldn′t. He couldn′t kill that little boy." (page 12). Herein lies the reason for Harry′s fame in the world of magic.
Lily and James Potter met at Hogwarts, where they were head girl and boy. They were a very good witch and wizard. This fact and Harry′s survival of Voldemort′s attack are reasons for the high expectations Harry is faced with when coming to Hogwarts. It is not easy for him to meet those expectations, still he does not blame his parents and Harry′s wish is that of probably all orphans, namely to meet his parents just once. This wish becomes reality in chapter twelve, "The Mirror of Erised". In that mirror Harry can see his whole family for the first time. His excitement about the mirror shows clearly that Harry is nevertheless just a little boy, in spite of his fame and fortune.

The Dursleys
After the death of Harry′s parents, Dumbledore gives him to his aunt and uncle, the Dursleys. Petunia Dursley is Lily Potter′s sister, but has always hated her sister for being different: "How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? (...)I was the only one who saw her for what she was- a freak!" (page 53). The Dursleys greatest fear is the discovery of their involuntary involvement in the world of magic. These two facts might be the reasons for their behaviour towards Harry. He only gets what is absolutely necessary and learns to behave as if he was invisible. The Dursleys′ son, Dudley, treats Harry badly from the day he arrives at Privet Drive, at the Dursleys′ house: "(...) and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours′ time by Mrs. Dursley′s scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley..." ( Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the sorcerer′s stone, page 17). But Harry soon learns to show Dudley and his parents that he is far more intelligent than the Dursleys:"" No thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet′s never had anything as horrible as your head down it-it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he′d said." (page 32).
In the time between Harry′s visit to London and his departure to Hogwarts the whole family treats him in a different way. They stop talking to him completely: "Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while." (page 88).
After his first year at Hogwarts, Harry has to return to Privet Drive to spend the summer holidays with the Dursleys, but he has a completely different attitude towards them by then, he is no longer afraid or dependent on the Dursleys, which gives him a very superior position.

Hermione Granger
Hermione and Harry meet for the first time on the Hogwarts Express. Harry and Ron Weasley, who have already become friends by then, do not like her because of her "bossy, know- it- all" way (page 164): "Whatever house I′m in, I hope she′s not in it,(...)" (page 106).
Their relationship changes when Harry and Ron save Hermione from the troll at Halloween: "But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. 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. " (page 179)
After the encounter with the troll the three of them spend a lot of time together. Hermione uses her intelligence to help her friends: "It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn′t know how he′d have got through all his homework without her, what with all the last- minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do." (page 181). She also stops being so adamant about the rules and therefor Harry and Ron think she is "much nicer" (page 181). Hermione proves her friendship after the troll encounter by lying to Professor McGonagall: "Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and there she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. " (page 178). Hermione fits perfectly into Ron and Harry′s friendship, because she has her own specific thoughts and opinions, which are different from the boys′ and help to get the three of them through some dangerous situations.

Ron Weasley
Harry′s other close friend at Hogwarts is Ron Weasley. Ron comes from a big family, he has five brothers and one sister. This makes it difficult for him to stand out, as everything he does has been done by his brothers before. Ron never gets new things, he always has to use his brothers′ belongings. All these facts make his background similar to Harry′s, which might be a reason for their friendship. Ron is like a brother for Harry, and the Weasley family, especially Mrs. Weasley, quickly accepts Harry as one of them: " Hey, look-- Harry′s got a Weasley sweater, too." - "Harry′s is better though, (...) She obviously makes more of an effort if you′re not family." (page 202).
Ron helps Harry whenever he can, he even sacrifices himself in the giant chess game room and lets himself be knocked down by one of the chessmen: ""That′s chess!" snapped Ron. "You′ve got to make some sacrifices!"" (page 283).
Ron has got the family Harry always wanted, whereas Harry has the fame and fortune Ron always wished for. This is the base for a very deep friendship. Harry′s character grows and evolves next to Ron, he is able to do things he could not have done on his own.

Draco Malfoy
Not all students at Hogwarts make life easier for Harry, but one of them tries to make it as hard as possible: Draco Malfoy. Harry and Draco meet for the first time in a shop in Diagon Alley and Harry instantly thinks of another boy he does not like: "Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley." (page 77). Draco and Harry become enemies during the year at Hogwarts, Draco always trying to make Harry break rules. Draco knows that Harry has a strong sense of justice, which Draco provokes in their first flying lesson: he steals Neville Longbottom′s remembrall to make Harry get it from him and by that breaking the rules, as they are not allowed to fly without a teacher being present. The fact that Harry does not get expelled annoys Draco and makes him challenge Harry to a wizard′s duel, where the Slytherins do not turn up but send Filch instead. With his attempts to get Harry expelled, Draco in fact helps Harry: without him he would not have been accepted to the Quidditch team, and they would not have found out about the Fluffy in the forbidden corridor: ""A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy′s face. "And it′s really thanks to Malfoy I′ve got it," he added." (page 165).

Severus Snape
Severus Snape, head teacher of Slytherin and Harry′s Potions teacher, is the teacher Harry has the most problems with: "At the start- of- term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he′d been wrong. Snape didn′t dislike Harry- he hated him." (page 136). Professor Snape′s antipathy towards Harry has its origin in the difficult relationship James Potter and Snape had during their time at Hogwarts. It seems as if the teacher begrudged Harry his fame and success. Harry thinks that Snape is after the Sorcerer′s Stone and this is the reason why Harry does not like Snape. The boy does not know that his teacher is trying to keep him safe: "Harry didn′t know if he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they′d found out about the Sorcerer′s Stone?" (page 221).
Snape, like Draco Malfoy, brings out Harry′s strong sense of justice. This makes life even harder for him as Snape unfairly favours Slytherin, the house Harry hates: "Perhaps it was Harry′s imagination, after all he′d heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot." (page 119). This goes to show that Harry is not free of prejudices, he judges the students and teachers of Slytherin by their looks and by what he has heard about them from others, he does not make up his own opinion.

Albus Dumbledore
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, takes a special place in Harry′s life. He is a link to Harry′s parents, who were very close to the brilliant wizard: "Suppose the myst′ry is why You- Know- Who never tried to get′ em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin′ ter do with the Dark Side." (page 55). Dumbledore helps Harry in a special way: he does not try to stop him from meeting Lord Voldemort, but gives him all the knowledge Harry needs for this difficult mission: " He′s a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don′t think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It′s almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..." (page 302). This quote shows very clearly how important and helpful Dumbledore′s presence is. With the headmaster near him, Harry is more confident and can achieve great things: "Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. He was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching." (page 222). With Dumbledore behind him, Harry manages to win the most important Quidditch game of the year in record time.

The death of Harry′s parents
Even though Harry′s parents died when he was only one year old, he can still remember some things about their death: "He started having nightmares. Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter." (page 215). Until Harry learns that he is a wizard he does not know how his parents actually died, since the Dursleys always told him they had died in a car crash. Hagrid tells him the truth about them losing their life encounter with Lord Voldemort: "How could a car crash kill Lily an′ James Potter? It′s an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin′ his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" (page 53). Harry has to enter upon a difficult inheritance, because everybody in the wizarding world knows how he survived the encounter and expects him to become a great magician.
When Harry′s mother died, she left him with a very powerful protection: "Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn′t realise that love as powerful as your mother′s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign... to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us protection forever. It is in your very skin." (page 299). This protection is maybe the greatest impact the death of Harry′s parents has on his life, because it saves his life twice, and it certainly makes him miss and love them even more.

Letters from Hogwarts
Harry′s life with the Dursleys begins to change dramatically when the first letter of his life arrives: "Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life had written to him." (page 34). The Dursleys show a strange fear when they read the letter, which they have taken from him as soon as they saw it. Harry does not understand their odd behaviour, but he gets to move out of the cupboard into Dudley′s second bedroom: "Yesterday he′d have given anything to be up here. Today he′d rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it." (page 38). He is being treated as a person by his aunt and uncle because of their fear of the letter. The situation gets out of control when more letters arrive every day. They even do not stop coming when the family move to a little hotel. All this happens a few days before Harry′s eleventh birthday. The night before the birthday Uncle Vernon even goes as far as going to a deserted little hut. Harry still has no idea what is happening but knows that these letters are very important for him: "Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. Harry privately agreed, though that thought didn′t cheer him up at all." (page 44). Harry and Uncle Vernon are both wrong as at midnight Hagrid enters the hut to change Harry′s life to the better in a few minutes. That night Harry learns about his parents, his scar and Lord Voldemort. He learns that he is a wizard and will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is the best moment in Harry′s life so
far and he cannot believe his luck at first. He always dreamed about someone coming to take him away from his relatives: "When he was younger, Harry had dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family." (page 30). Now, on his eleventh birthday, his dream finally comes true.

Life at Hogwarts
Hogwarts is a castle in Scotland which is protected by magic. It is one of the safest places in the world: "One o′ the only safe places was Hogwarts." (page 55). Here Harry finds his real home: " Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he′d already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had." (page 170).
At the sorting ceremony Harry is close to being put in Slytherin, but he desperately wants to go to one of the other houses: "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it′s all in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that-no? Well, if you′re sure-better be GRYFFINDOR!" (page 121). Harry′s friend Ron and his brothers are particularly happy about the Sorting Hat′s choice: "He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"" (page 122).
The Gryffindor common room, the first year dormitory and the Quidditch ground become the home Harry never had and here he finds the friends he never had when living with the Dursleys: "At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley′s gang hated that odd Harry Potter with his baggy clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley′′ gang." (page 30). It is easier for Harry to find friends in the wizarding world, where he is famous and has got something in common with his fellow students. All the features the children at his old school did not like are no exception at Hogwarts. In fact, they are quite normal, as everything about Hogwarts itself is special and out of the ordinary: "It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts. " (page 307).

Quidditch
Quidditch, the wizards′ sport, turns out to be something Harry is surprisingly good at without practicing. From the first flying lesson he loves being on his broom:" (...) and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he′d found something he could do without being taught-this was easy, this was wonderful." (page 148). Being chosen for his house team, Gryffindor, as the youngest player in a hundred years certainly gives Harry a lot of confidence. He plays seeker, the most important position in the team, the one player who can decide the whole game. Although Harry does not have too little self confidence, it is good for him, because he has never in his life been special because of his skills. He is famous for being the child who survived an attack by Voldemort, but now, as a Quidditch player, he gets the attention because of his flying skills: "He couldn′t remember feeling happier. He′d really done something to be proud of now-no one could say he was just a famous name any more." (page 225). By saying this, Harry expresses insecurity and the need for encouragement. It is Harry who wins the first game of the year for Gryffindor, even though at that moment, having won the game does not seem to interest him much: "(...) Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though." (page 191).

Encounter with Lord Voldemort
The second meeting between Harry and Lord Voldemort takes place at the end of the year in Hogwarts. It is very different from the first time they met. Voldemort was powerful and strong then. Now he is weak, he cannot live without help of his servant, who turns out to be Professor Quirrel. This comes as a surprise to Harry, who had thought Snape was the one trying to find the Stone.
Although Harry does not know much magic, he knows exactly the right things. His friends, Hermione and Ron, help him with their specific skills, Ron with his talent for chess and Hermione with her ability to think logically. Here they prove their unquestioning friendship and loyalty, and Harry realizes that he can always rely on his friends.
Harry acts incredibly brave in the whole course of the event: "I must lie, he thought desperately. I must look and lie about what I see, that′s all. (...) Harry screwed up all his courage." (page 292). Even when Harry feels an incredibly strong pain he does not give up but still thinks imperturbable: "Quirrell rolled off him, his face blistering, too, and then Harry knew. Quirrell couldn′t touch his bare skin, not without suffering terrible pain-his only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keep him in enough pain to stop him from doing a curse." (page 295). Fortunately, Professor Dumbledore comes to rescue Harry, but only after Harry put up a very courageous and outstandingly brave fight all by himself, only accompanied by his friends up to a certain point. This courage even helps to win the House Cup for Gryffindor: "Third-to Mr. Harry Potter..." said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "...for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor house sixty points." (page 306).
Harry knows that this is neither the first nor the last time that he had to face his greatest enemy, Lord Voldemort, but he is relieved that he survived this second encounter and is being reassured by Dumbledore: "Nevertheless, Harry, while you may only have delayed his return to power, it will merely take someone else who is prepared to fight what seems a losing battle next time-and if he is delayed again, and again, why, he may never return to power." (page 298).

Possible reasons for the "Harry- Potter- Mania"
The Harry Potter books not only helped the author, Joanne K. Rowling, out of her financial problems by making her one of the richest women in Britain, but they also changed the world of thousand of little readers. The fantastic world of Harry Potter with all its charms, curses, magical animals and unbelievable events stimulate the children′s imagination, they can imagine being a student of Hogwarts as well and encounter great adventures. It is important in a children′s book that it entertains the reader. But not only should it entertain but also teach. Among the values taught in the Harry Potter book are the importance of friendship, the need for help from adults and also the need for a strong will to believe in your dreams.
Harry, Ron and Hermione have a friendship so powerful every one of them would make great sacrifices for the others. They help each other in every way they can and do not ever let each other down. Children sometimes do not understand that, although they might do lots of things on their own, they still need assistance and guidance from their parents and other adults. Professor Dumbledore gives the students the freedom to go after Voldemort on their own, but, when they need him most, he is there in just the right moment. The probably most prominent theme in the book is believing in your dreams. The students achieve their aims, they all pass the tests, they learn how to do magic and, most importantly, they even defeat one of the greatest wizards of all time. All his life, Harry dreamed of being taken away by some relative, and when Hagrid finally comes to get him, he cannot believe his luck. He has to work hard to get what he wants, but in the end everything turns out fine.
All these facts add up to the great fascination which the book has on the young readers.
Furthermore, there must be mentioned that the Harry Potter book not only attracts children, but also seems to fascinate adults. This magic world is described in such vivid and hilarious words even adults cannot resist the temptation of diving into this sea of imagination.
It is, after all, a very good thing that with these books young children are brought to read books and adults and children join in into a fantastic travel to a faraway world.

Summary
In J. K. Rowling′s book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer′s Stone", her hero Harry is characterised directly and indirectly. His outward appearance is described directly by the author in the second chapter. Some general facts about Harry are made clear in the first few chapters of the book: he lives with his aunt and uncle, because his parents allegedly died in a car crash.
But all of a sudden Harry′s life changes dramatically on his eleventh birthday. For days, letters for Harry have been arriving and have been taken away from Harry by his uncle for a reason that is not yet clear to Harry. Yet, in the night of his birthday, Harry meets Hagrid, who becomes a good friend of his. Hagrid tells him how his parents really died and that he is a wizard. He learns that he will be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the beginning of the next school year.
At Hogwarts, Harry finds everything he has been missing before. He makes friends, the most important are Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. To them and everybody else from his house, Gryffindor, Harry is a very loyal friend who would give his own life to safe others. But Harry does not only find friends but also enemies: the student Draco Malfoy and the teacher Severus Snape. These two bring out Harry′s strong sense of justice. On the relationship between Harry and his enemies it becomes clear that Harry is a normal little boy who is not free of hate and prejudice. However, the person Harry hates most is Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry′s parents. In the encounter with Voldemort, Harry shows his heroism and courage. He shows what a clever and brilliant wizard he is. He is, however, rescued by Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, is a very important person in Harry′s life. The professor is a link to his parents and gives Harry all the attention and encouragement the boy needs. In Harry′s life there is one other, very important feature: Quidditch. It is an honour for him to be chosen as the youngest player of the team and here Harry can show that he is not only famous for his spectacular survival of the encounter with Voldemort. He proves that he can really do something on his own.
The reason why Harry Potter fascinates many young and older readers may lie in the fact that they can identify easily with a hero who is not perfect and has his own little deficiencies.

Bibliography

Primary literature:
1. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer′s Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1998

Secondary literature:
1. Fraser, Lindsey: An interview with J. K. Rowling. London: Mammoth, 2000
2. Schneidewind, Friedhelm: Das ABC rund um Harry Potter. Berlin: Lexikon Imprint Verlag, 2000

Schlusserklärung

Ich erkläre hiermit, dass ich die Facharbeit ohne fremde Hilfe angefertigt und nur die im Literaturverzeichnis angeführten Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet habe.

________________, den ____________ __________________
Ort Datum Unterschrift

1 This and all following quotes are taken from: J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer′s Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1998