#285 – The Sorcerer’s Stone: 14-17

I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I actually finished it two weeks ago and have just been going back and writing up my reflections. People were right; I wasn’t able to only read four chapters at a time. Once things really got going I had a hard time putting the book down. I’m looking forward to starting the second book. Until then, though, here are some thoughts from the final four chapters of The Sorcerer’s Stone.

Hagrid’s Dragon

The chapter about Hagrid’s dragon seemed somewhat out of place. It felt like an independent story that didn’t have much to do with the rest of the story. The pieces fell into place, though, when Harry learned that Hagrid had given up how to get past Fluffy in exchange for the dragon egg. Poor Hagrid felt terrible when he realized he had been blinded by his desire for a dragon. Too often we’re a lot like Hagrid. Instead of focusing on what’s most important, we give into our desires and seek to gratify them in any way we can. And our giving into temptation may have deeper consequences than the theft of a fictional sorcerer’s stone.

Centaur Astrologists

The centaurs in The Sorcerer’s Stone seem to see the future by looking at the stars. The centaurs in The Chronicles of Narnia were also able to look at the stars and interpret their meanings. I did not know centaurs were such expert astrologists. I also think that even though they basically do the same thing, J.K. Rowling’s centaurs are more likely to be viewed as evil and C.S. Lewis’ centaurs are more likely to be viewed as good. This is one part of the “Harry Potter is evil” argument that I’ve never understood. J.K. Rowling created a fantasy world with wizards, witches and magic. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien did the same thing. However, Rowling’s world is evil while Christians herald those of Lewis and Tolkien. I don’t get it. I do get, though, that to be a serious author I’m going to have to start going by S.R.K. Higa.

Fear

“Call him Voldemort, Harry. Always use the proper name for things. Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

Even after one book, Dumbledore may be my favorite character. He is obviously the wizened wizard, the character sent to teach Harry the deeper things of life. Dumbledore’s statement about Voldemort made me think about sin and its hold over our lives. Very often we like to keep our sin hidden in the dark, where we can wrestle with it in private, never overcoming it. We should take Dumbledore’s advice and name our sin, cast light onto it and confess it to others. When we have named our sin and confessed it, its power over us begins to lessen. Instead of struggling with something alone in the dark, we now have friends to hold us accountable and take away the fear in the light.

I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. I thought it had a great story and I’m looking forward to how it develops over the next six books. If you have any thoughts about the last for chapters of The Sorcerer’s Stone or the book as a whole, please share them below. I would love to read them.