ZANELE MASILO:   MAIN THEMES

Hi ladies this are the themes that we have discussed :

Love

Harry's own ability to love and be loved are the key traits that distinguish him from Voldemort and ensure that Harry will never be seduced by the Dark Arts. Harry's love for his parents instills him with an earnest determination to defeat Voldemort and rebell against anything associated with the Dark Arts (thus, Harry's refusal to be sorted into Slytherin House). Harry's ability to love also provides him with a support system of friends that Voldemort can never hope to match.

Friendship

Throughout the book, expresses the importance of friendship, particularly when it comes to overcoming challenges and difficult tasks. Before coming to Hogwarts, Harry is completely isolated. Not only does he not have a loving family environment, but he does not have any friends to serve as a support system. After becoming a student at Hogwarts, however, Harry quickly creates a large group of friends but, more importantly, a close relationship with Ron and Hermione. For most of the students at Hogwarts, a strong group of friends helps with homesickness and difficult classes. Yet, in Harry's case, Rowling draws a more obvious parallel between friendship and difficult life challenges: the only way that Harry is able to reach the Mirror of Erised in the dungeons of Hogwarts is with Ron and Hermione's help.

Power

The theme of power serves as another distinguishing trait between Harry and Voldemort. Voldemort's primary goal during his reign of terror over Britain was to acheive absolute power in both the wizarding and Muggle community. Even after he is nearly destroyed by his backfiring killing curse, Voldemort's objective is still to acheive absolute power, first by stealing the Sorcerer's Stone and using the elixir of life to construct another body and second, to reach the same height of tyranny that he had enjoyed before his downfall. Harry, on the other hand, has no interest in acheiving absolute power. His modest and pure nature leads him to desire nothing more than the company of his lost parents, as well as a little less attention from those around him. In fact, it is because Harry does not desire power that he is able to retrieve the Sorcerer's Stone from within the Mirror of Erised: Professor Quirrell and Voldemort both want to use the Stone to gain power.

 Death

Near the end of the book, Professor Dumbledore tells Harry, "Death is but the next great adventure." The book does not describe death as something to be feared or dreaded, but rather a part of the natural cycle of life that should be embraced as part of an individual's humanity. Death can also be viewed as something beautiful. For example, by sacrificing her own life for Harry, Lily Potter gave him the wondrous protection of her love and a chance at a life free from Voldemort's tyranny. Her death also provided Harry with purpose in his life and the determination to stop Voldemort from harming other innocent people.

The book still makes a clear distinction between the natural process of death and Voldemort's warped attempts to "defeat" it and attain immortality. After his failed attempt to kill Harry, Voldemort spent the next ten years existing only as "shadow and vapor," neither dead nor alive.

Choice

One of the most important themes in the book is the concept of choice and free will. Harry refuses to take a passive role when it comes to his own future, particularly when it means following the path marked by the dark wizard who killed his parents. Thus, instead of accepting the Sorting Hat's decision, Harry refuses to be placed in Slithering House and is placed in Gryffindor House instead.

 

 As Professor Dumbledore later explains to Harry, it is the choices made by an individual that determine what kind of person they are and why kind of person they will become. Nothing is cut in stone when it comes to an individual's future, but, as Harry demonstrates, each individual has the opportunity to change the direction of their life through significant, as well as insignificant, choices.

Finding 'who I am'

One of the important themes in the book is finding who you are. Harry did'nt know who he is until he met Hadrig at the island and told him that he is a wizard. The muggles kept it a secret that Harry was a wizard. After discovering himself, he seemed to be happy and enjoying himself at Howgarts compared to the life he lived with the Muggles. He even got presents while he was at school during Christmas holidays.

  Humility

One of the primary traits that differentiate Harry from the more malevolent characters in the book, such as Voldemort and Draco Malfoy, is his humility. Despite his reputation as the boy-who-lived and his skills in Quidditch, Harry maintains a modest persona throughout the novel.Harry's humility is, in part, a direct result of his neglected childhood with the Dursleys. Because he was never treated as someone who was special, Harry grew up with the understanding that respect is not readily given and must be achieved. Harry's humility becomes  particularly significant as a theme of the book when he faces Voldemort in the dungeons of Hogwarts.