So, as I mentioned, I'm reading and analyzing (as every reader shoud), seeking other analyses and discussion. As I also mentioned, my first books are going to be the Harry Potter series. Yes, all 7. Am I crazy? Maybe a little. Normally, I'd whip through them in about a week, but I'm making myself slow down, write in the books (yes, write in them--don't worry, they're my own copies, and I would never deface a book so as to make it unreadable; but writing in the margins is cheaper than buying sticky notes and allows me to ask questions/make comments and know exactly what I was referring to...wow. More tangents!)

ANYWAY.

Without further ado, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived. This chapter is one of my favorites in the whole book, maybe the whole series. It's one of the only times where we truly see the Dursleys. While they're not my favorite characters, they certainly are interesting. We see them as they are: upper middle-class, fairly privileged (that word just doesn't look like it's spelled right) suburbanites. They're fairly wrapped up in their own world. They don't notice things like owls swooping around in broad daylight. Vernon notices the strangely-dressed people, but only because they don't conform to his ideas of how people should behave. Vernon only starts noticing all the strange things occuring around him when he hears the name "Potter". His own paranoia kicks in then, and he starts seeing signs of the apocalypse everywhere. Petunia reacts in almost exactly the opposite way. When Vernon points out all the strange things happening and suggests a possible connection with her sister, Petunia asks why he would assume that. While Vernon's paranoia sends him into a worried frenzy, Petunia's paranoia sends her to an isolated bubble. In a number of ways, Petunia and Vernon are perfect foils for one another. In appearance, Petunia is tall, horsey, and blonde, while Vernon is short, stalky, and dark-haired. In manner, they also foil each other. Petunia is chatty and full of gossip, while Vernon is not.

Another element that makes me really happy is all the foreshadowing that occurs. We build and build and build, knowing something regarding the Potters (she even makes their name--a fairly ordinary name--sound magical and mysterious) is about to change the lives of many. Even after we have a vague notion of what's happened (if you're reading it for the first time, you don't know exactly what all is going on), that last line of the chapter is still foreshadowing.

Speaking of names, she uses names in important ways a lot. I know this has been said a lot, but she does. One of her biggest successes was taking such an ordinary name, Harry Potter, and turning it into something totally magical, both in the novel and in real life. She uses dry, flat names for the Dursleys, who are, in comparison with the rest of the Harry Potter world, very dry and traditional and closed-minded. They are anti-imagination. Dumbledore and Hagrid, on the other hand, are some of the more interesting characters, as their names might suggest.

Oblivion: Both the Dursleys and Dumbledore are described as being somewhat oblivious, but they're oblivious in completely different ways. The Dursleys are almost obtuse about anything abnormal, and they regard abnormal with fear and suspicion. Dumbledore, on the other hand, is oblivious in a more benign way. He doesn't notice--or doesn't care--that he's out of place on Privet Drive. He remains steadfastly oblivious to McGonagall's attempts to sidewind into the story behind the Potters and all the celebration, of which Dumbledore obviously knows more than he's letting on.

Speaking of McGonagall and Dumbledore, I LOVE this relationship. McGonagall obviously admires and looks up to Dumbledore, but she also realizes that he's not perfect. She shows very strong reverence for the man but doesn't mind questioning him in an almost devil's-advocate way. Dumbledore values her opinion and trusts her immensely, but he also sees a great deal more than she does. He takes risks that she might not, knowing full-well that it's a bigger risk than others might take.

Symbols that caught my attention:

-Drills: Mr. Dursley is obviously what I somewhat cynically call a Manly Man. He knows what masculinity is, and he knows what it is not. Although Vernon doesn't directly work with drills, the fact that he works for a drill company is a symbol of his supposed masculinity and male authority.

-What is percieved: When Mr. Dursley sees the cat reading the map, he becomes rather agitated. He becomes convinced that he could not have seen a cat reading a map because that would mean that the cat has some kind of power. Seeing is believing, and Mr. Dursley refuses to believe and therefore refuses to see.

-Owls: they're flying free. Birds that fly free are a symbol of liberation. The wizarding community has been liberated from the horror of (don't flinch) Voldemort's reign of terror. Owls are also associated with the supernatural, which is probably why it's owls and not eagles or some other large, noticeable bird. Also, owls are a parallel to the wizards themselves. The owls are out and about, unhiding; likewise, their masters are out and about, not trying to hide who they are, celebrating.

-Light: with the stealing of light, Dumbledore symbolically (grr...spelling!) limits knowlege to just him and those around him--in this case, McGonagall and Hagrid. Light is a symbol of knowlege and reason. In a way, he gathers reason to him.

-Scars: (yeah, yeah...d'oh!) serve as a reminder of the past (quite literally). For Harry, it's also a symbol of everything the world sees of him. They see the boy with the scar; they see the boy who defeated Voldemort. It's a symbol of the surface Harry.

Themes:

-Tolerance: Immediately, we are confronted with the Dursleys' intolerance of the abnormal. This intolerance develops as the chapter proceeds. It grows from simply "the abnormal" to anything that doesn't conform to their strict idea of what is socially/morally acceptible. This is a sharp contrast to the obvious tolerance Dumbledore shows for those not conforming to even his seemingly strange ideas of normal, such as Hagrid. McGonagall shows a sort of middle ground, obviously tolerating Dumbledore, yet somewhat questioning the acceptance of Hagrid. In the end however, Dumbledore's influence reigns supreme, as McGonagall doesn't entirely dismiss Hagrid.

-The idea that those who object most vehemently often have the most to hide. It's the sort of McCarthy Witch Hunter whose parents are Communists thing. The Dursleys are steadfastly against whatever the Potters stand for (as of yet, we can't SAY the wizarding world, as Rowling hasn't quite given us that gem...she's hinted at it, but not said it outright), and yet two of the greatest witches and wizards are Mrs. Dursley's own sister and her husband and child.

Any comments? Please. I wanna know.