harry porter
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
How has J.K. Rowling taken the elements of the traditional school story and adapted them so as to create a work of popular modern appeal?
The typical school story is “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” by Thomas Hughes, which was published in 1857. The novel is set in a real life boarding school, Rugby, and the headmaster is a real historical figure, Dr. Thomas Arnold, who is famous for introducing the concept of “muscular Christianity”. The hero, Tom Brown, whose name epitomises ordinariness, is high spirited, mischievous and reckless. His values courage cares little for his academic studies and on the other hand he is unswervingly loyal to his friends and to his loving family. The similarities between “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” and “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” are that Harry Potter is also not concerned about achieving high grades. He is loyal to his friends and family, although both of his parents are dead. Both novels have a boarding school setting. Like Tom Brown, Harry is a natural risk taker and often nonchalant about his personal safety.
The author has introduced elements of fantasy by giving most of the main characters magical powers. For example, when Harry has to take a train at Kings Cross, there is a fantasy episode of him going to platform 9 ¾. This is very imaginative and fantastical as there is no such thing like platform as 9 ¾. There is also a great deal of humour brought into the novel which makes an immense impact on the readers. For example, the scene where Dudley Dursley eats Harry’s cake and Hagrid gives him a pig’s tail is hilarious in that one minute Dudley was eating the cake, and then suddenly from nowhere he ends up with a pig’s tail. Dudley Dursley is Harry’s cousin. Dudley is a spoiled child as he is given his way in everything. He is regarded as a bully as he regularly beats up Harry and younger children on the weakest of excuses.
There are many different types of
How has J.K. Rowling taken the elements of the traditional school story and adapted them so as to create a work of popular modern appeal?
The typical school story is “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” by Thomas Hughes, which was published in 1857. The novel is set in a real life boarding school, Rugby, and the headmaster is a real historical figure, Dr. Thomas Arnold, who is famous for introducing the concept of “muscular Christianity”. The hero, Tom Brown, whose name epitomises ordinariness, is high spirited, mischievous and reckless. His values courage cares little for his academic studies and on the other hand he is unswervingly loyal to his friends and to his loving family. The similarities between “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” and “Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone” are that Harry Potter is also not concerned about achieving high grades. He is loyal to his friends and family, although both of his parents are dead. Both novels have a boarding school setting. Like Tom Brown, Harry is a natural risk taker and often nonchalant about his personal safety.
The author has introduced elements of fantasy by giving most of the main characters magical powers. For example, when Harry has to take a train at Kings Cross, there is a fantasy episode of him going to platform 9 ¾. This is very imaginative and fantastical as there is no such thing like platform as 9 ¾. There is also a great deal of humour brought into the novel which makes an immense impact on the readers. For example, the scene where Dudley Dursley eats Harry’s cake and Hagrid gives him a pig’s tail is hilarious in that one minute Dudley was eating the cake, and then suddenly from nowhere he ends up with a pig’s tail. Dudley Dursley is Harry’s cousin. Dudley is a spoiled child as he is given his way in everything. He is regarded as a bully as he regularly beats up Harry and younger children on the weakest of excuses.
There are many different types of