Week 7: Ta-may-tos and Ta-mah-tos in Young Wizards' Tales (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

This week I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first of the Harry Potter series. I thought that it would be nice to read a physical copy of the book as all of the other Novels and stories I’ve read for this class have been either an audiobook or an e-book. It was a lot of fun when I went to the Ringling library to find it as I got to see a lot of other children’s literature that I remember my mom reading me before bedtime as a child.

            However, I’ve never actually read any of the Harry Potter books before and I didn’t watch the films until maybe two years ago. I remember Harry Potter’s popularity increasing when one of the books was released, but at the time I wasn’t allowed to watch or read anything from the series based on my family’s religious beliefs at the time. Due to this, I think the story lacks most nostalgic effects that I believe many other people my age experience when reading, listening, or watching them.

            I really enjoy some of the films, but Sorcerer’s Stone is probably the least interesting to me. I think that the film adaptation actually held really well to the story in the book and was almost completely word for word in areas. It was interesting thinking about the differences between how they described some things that Harry saw or experienced and how that was visualized for the medium of film.

            There were a couple different noteworthy differences in the book version. I think that in a way, the Dudleys seemed even more toxic towards Harry. I also never understood why Harry was put through staying with them when I saw the movies. I was really grateful for the book's explanation that “He’ll be famous for something he can’t even remember.” That seemed reasonable enough. I do think Harry would have had identity issues and probably behavioral issues if he had grown up in an environment where everyone was constantly in awe of him, telling him he’s special. If this was in the movie, I just don't remember and it may not have been prominent enough for me.

I still don’t know if I agree that those reasons justify him being left with such a horrible family. It’s heartbreaking at points. “Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.” (p.25) It was also difficult to read some of the lines after he was transitioning to actually having friends at Hogwarts “’Go on, have a pastry,’ said Harry who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with.” (p. 102) This was hard to read. It seems like his lack of friends did make him a good person that wants to share. But the way that he got to that point leaves me bitter.

            The next thing I noticed was that Harry’s conversation with the snake at the zoo was actually translated in a way that we understood. In the movies, there was a sense of mystery as to what was happening whenever Harry spoke in Parseltongue. It seemed like they wanted to use this to make the audience wonder if Harry was evil.

            The way that the book presented things truly gave Harry’s point of view most of the time. He understood the snake so the reader understands the snake. When Harry had a nightmare, we knew what it was about and how he felt about it. Unless I’m remembering incorrectly, I don’t think the movie included his dream of being put in Slytherin.

            Almost all of my favorite moments in the story involved Hagrid. I thought it was adorable at the beginning of the book when Dumbledore said: “I would trust Hagrid with my life.” I also adored the way that Hagrid’s accent and way of speaking. Rowling cleverly used Contractions and changed words to represent the phonetic way he speaks. A great example of this is, “Harry – yer a wizard.”

            I want to read some of the later books as I’ve heard their films diverge to a greater degree from the written versions. Also, my favorite character, Luna Lovegood, isn’t in the first few books. I’d really love to see how she’s depicted in her literary form and if it goes into more depth about her character in the books.

            I also read the short prequel or “chapter 0” I thought it was cute but I don’t think I gained much from it. I thought it was interesting that Harry dreamt of a flying motor cycle as that’s what his dad was riding in this short.

            I think that’s part of what makes the Harry Potter universe so interesting. There are constantly things being added through J. K. Rawling’s various forms of writing. There is the core set of stories but a whole universe that expands off of that. While there are differences between the books and movies, I don’t think that makes one right over the other. It almost just makes the overall universe of the story richer as there’s a multitude of its story, much in the way that different people telling the same story of a real event would differ. Each individual fan of the series can choose their preferred version. Sometimes people look down on others for preferring something different from them, but I don’t believe that type of thinking is almost ever necessary.