Harry Potter Series Book Review: Analyzing Books 1-3 for Rereading and New Readers
Harry Potter is a beloved series by all, be you a fantasy reader or not because J.K Rowling spins cathartic themes through her characters, making it a universal tale. In this analysis, we are covering books 1-3: exploring themes, symbolism, metaphor, and character development for new readers and those rereading with a critical eye.
Disclaimer: This post may include affiliate links. If you purchase through my link, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. See my full disclosure policy, here.
A Book Analysis
309 Pages | Fantasy | J.K. Rowling
Published in October of 1998 with Scholastic
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Book Summary:
Harry Potter is an orphaned eleven-year-old boy who discovers he is a wizard. He is taken to Hogwarts school for witches and wizards to harness the power within him. But while he’s there he discovers more about himself than he ever knew, and must face his destiny.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Theme Analysis: Death
There are a few symbols of death within this first novel:
The Dursley’s rejection
The Mirror of Erised
Voldemort
Harry’s scar
Rowling strategically plots out multiple encounters with death Harry faces throughout the book. Not only does he deal with it at the beginning of his life through his parents’ passing, but ultimately he is reminded of it every day. Living with a family that rejects his mere existence: The Dursleys. They remind him that he is a burden brought to them by his parent’s demise.
This first novel is about grief: how to deal with it and coming to terms with its presence. Harry’s whole life the Dursleys hid who he was and what his parents were. They didn’t want anything to do with the wizarding world: they concealed it from Harry. So when strange things start happening to him, instead of telling Harry the truth, they discipline him. Stashing him under a staircase along with the truth, but that ultimately doesn’t work.
When Harry arrives at Hogwarts, he and his family are known by everyone. Their tragedy is famous. Naturally, Harry is curious about his parents, and hearing the true stories of who he came from, he begins to feel closer to them.
Then, he encounters the Mirror of Erised; this tool allows Harry to speak with his passed-on parents— his ultimate desire. Harry is finally facing what he hasn’t his whole life to this point: grief. He is getting in touch with his fear and pain, which leaves him vulnerable. This openness brings him to the ultimate symbol of death within this novel: Voldemort. He is the antagonistic force who made Harry endure the tragedy.
Lastly, Rowling also uses Harry’s scar to symbolize death. In the wizarding world, Harry is identified with that scar as the night he escaped death. And what are scars but a story of what didn’t kill us?
Yes, the novel is entrenched in death, but Rowling wrote the characters so well, that we come to love Harry. We are rooting for him by the end of this novel, dying to read the second book.
“After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”
For new readers, you all have heard the story. It was a wild phenomenon. Many of you have watched the films; truthfully, that’s exactly how I was introduced to this magical wizard world. As an adult, I’ve gotten to read the text for which it was born, and it’s been such a gift. If your concern is that you’re too old to read this series or that you’ve seen the movies and it’s not worth it—I assure you that is false. Reading these novels gives you insight into the world that the film couldn’t show, and a deep appreciation for classically magnetic storytelling.
A Book Analysis
341 pages | Fantasy Fiction | J.K. Rowling
1998, Published by Arthur A. Levine, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Character Analysis
Book Summary:
Young Harry is liberated once again from the Dursleys' care and returns to Hogwarts for his second year. All goes well until he discovers a magical diary. This diary becomes the object that awakens a beast deep within a chamber in Hogwarts, and Harry is once again face-to-face with his rival Lord Voldemort. Harry has to face mortality, save the innocent, and prove to himself he is a Gryffindor.
This second novel is about choosing good or evil.
The most prominent parallels in this series are between Lord Voldemort and the protagonist Harry Potter. Their most fundamental similarity is their will and courage to fight for what they believe. Another similarity is their ability to speak Parseltongue (they can talk to snakes). Because they share these instincts within themselves, Harry can’t help but wonder if he could become Voldemort.
Harry is frightened by these similarities, wondering if he could choose evil, just like Voldemort did. This novel dives deep into the dark lord’s past. We get insight into who he was, and how evil grew within him. We also discover that he was an orphan, just like Harry.
This novel reveals that we all have both light and darkness within us. But it’s what we choose that defines us.
Every day Harry chooses love, friendship, and hope. Whereas Voldemort chooses power, greed, and destruction. Harry chooses to stay pure and brave even if his greatest fear is becoming dark like Voldemort.
Harry shows that he is valiant and has goodwill; he is not evil, nor is he a Slytherin. This is proven in the climax of the story, deep within the chamber when the phoenix presents Harry with a gift only a Gryffindor can use. This is the proof Harry needs to believe what he already knows.
“It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
For many of you rereading the Harry Potter series, specifically books 1-3, I hope this analysis brings insights to you with a revitalizing joy to explore these books again.
A Book Review
435 pages | Fantasy Fiction | J.K. Rowling
First edition, October 1999 published with Scholastic Inc.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Analyzing Metaphor
Book Summary:
Harry leaves Privet Drive after blowing up his aunt into a balloon who disrespects his parents. Afraid of an expulsion likely to come for using magic outside of Hogwarts, the Ministry of Magic suspiciously overlooks it. Meanwhile, Harry discovers a man who has escaped Azkaban (wizard prison), Sirius Black, is looking for him. Black whispered in his sleep in search of someone at Hogwarts, so now hooded dementors prowl the magical school grounds in search of his soul, but they don’t distinguish between their prey.
The Ministry needs to recapture him before Black hurts anyone else because he was accused of assisting Lord Voldemort the night Harry's parents and many other wizards were killed. This book is full of twists and secrets that will leave you gripped for more.
“An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart…”
This whole book is about destroying our fears. There are two metaphors to explore within this novel:
The dementors
The boggart
It’s no secret that Rowling uses the dementors as a metaphor for depression.
Each time Harry is affected by the cold, dark, hooded dementors' presence, he feels cold and falls faint. Within those dark moments, he is met by the most painful memory of his life so far— his parent’s death. His mother's scream echoes inside his head, and he hears his father. The dementors feed off any joy, bringing one to despair until they are a shell of a human.
Resembling the grim reaper these creatures suck out souls, it's known as, The Dementor’s Kiss. Depression is similar to a dark, deadened reality that inhibits the faintest glimmer of joy. Within those caverns, one dwells on some of the most traumatic experiences.
The boggart is closely linked to the dementors as they both cause fear. However, the dementors represent a darkness that doesn’t leave us, the boggart reveals what our greatest fear is. That is why the only way to get rid of it is to shout “Riddikulus” with their wands, this is how Rowling expresses we move through our fears. Not by dwelling in them but by turning them into something we can laugh at: laughter is fears inverse and destruction.
If this hasn’t convinced you to either start reading or reread this series, then I don’t know what else will.
I cannot praise J. K. Rowling’s writing enough. Every element of storytelling is flawless: character development, theme, pacing, rhythm, diction, and world-building.
We are always given just enough to stay hooked — these books are unputdownable. The characters are so well-developed, you would know what they could have eaten for breakfast. Her writing has a wonderful rhythm as if listening to a song. Lastly, her detail is unmatched, which did come from the ultimate outline. If you’ve watched her interviews, you will notice how meticulous she is about the world-building.
Comment below and tell me some of your discovered insights from reading these books.
