Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1997

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-12

Chapters 13-17

Character Analysis

Themes

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Important Quotes

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Chapters 1-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary

The omniscient narrator of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone begins by describing Mr. and Mrs. Dursley and their infant son, Dudley. The Dursleys strive to fit in with their neighbors on Privet Drive. To maintain an image of complete normalcy, Mrs. Dursley ignores the existence of her sister, Lily, and her family. On a dreary Tuesday morning, the Dursleys are so busy with their daily routine that they fail to notice the strange goings-on around town. As he leaves for work, Mr. Dursley notices a cat that appears to be reading a map.

Mr. Dursley convinces himself that he is imagining things. However, on his morning commute, he notices groups of people dressed in odd clothes. Mr. Dursley doesn’t notice all the owls flying outside, but during lunch, he overhears some people in cloaks talking about the Potters. Mr. Dursley is filled with panic and immediately heads back to the office to call his wife, Petunia. He decides against calling her, though, as “Potter wasn’t such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn’t even sure his nephew was called Harry” (3).

After work, Mr. Dursley runs into a man dressed in a violet cloak. He apologizes, and the man tells him, “Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!” (3). This is the first instance of Rowling’s use of the word “Muggle,” which is slang for non-magical folk. Upon arriving home, Mr. Dursley tries to shoo the cat sitting on his garden wall. On the news, he hears about owls flying during the day and shooting stars appearing all over Britain. He tries to broach the subject of the Potters with his wife, but she is furious just at the mention of them. Mr. Dursley goes to sleep that night, content that whatever may have happened to the Potters will not affect them.

Outside, Albus Dumbledore appears on Privet Drive. He is dressed in a purple cloak and high-heeled boots and uses a magical device that looks like a “silver cigarette lighter” to put out all the lights on the street (6). Cloaked in darkness, no one watching the street will see what is happening. Dumbledore is delighted when he sees the tabby cat, who immediately transforms into Professor Minerva McGonagall. She tells Dumbledore about how recklessly everyone has been celebrating. McGonagall refers to a war that has been raging for the last 11 years against a wizard she only calls “You-Know-Who.” Dumbledore is quick to correct her, insisting on using Voldemort’s name. According to Professor McGonagall, Dumbledore is the only person Voldemort has ever feared.

Professor McGonagall has her concerns confirmed by Dumbledore: Lily and James Potter were killed the night before at Godric’s Hollow by Voldemort. Voldemort was unable to kill Harry Potter, the couple’s only son. No one understands why, but Voldemort’s power broke when he tried to kill Harry, and he was destroyed. Professor McGonagall protests Dumbledore’s plan to leave Harry with the Dursleys. Dumbledore insists that it is the best place for Harry to live, away from his famous legacy. As Dumbledore and McGonagall bicker, Hagrid arrives on a flying motorcycle he borrowed from Sirius Black. Hagrid brings the infant Harry to the Dursleys, where they leave him on the doorstep with a letter. They notice the lightning bolt scar on Harry’s forehead, and Dumbledore remarks that the boy will likely have it forever. Hagrid is distraught at leaving Harry behind, but they soon all disappear from Privet Drive. When Petunia finds Harry in the morning, she lets out a terrible scream.

Chapter 2 Summary

Ten years later, not much has changed at the Dursleys. Aunt Petunia wakes Harry up by demanding that he cook bacon for Dudley’s birthday. Harry desperately tries to remember the dream he was having of a flying motorcycle but fails. Harry laments that it is Dudley’s birthday as he leaves his room, which is nothing more than a cupboard under the stairs. Dudley is very spoiled and wants for nothing. Conversely, Harry is forced to wear Dudley’s hand-me-down clothes that are too large for him and is treated as little more than a maid for the Dursleys. The Dursleys are cruel to Harry, and Dudley punches and bullies him. Harry knows nothing about magic or his family history. Aunt Petunia lied to Harry, insisting that he got his scar from the same car accident that killed his parents.

Counting his large pile of birthday gifts on the table, Dudley throws a tantrum when he realizes that he only has 36 presents, two less than the previous year. His parents quickly calm him, promising that they will buy him more presents while they are out.

Mrs. Figg usually watches Harry while the Dursleys celebrate Dudley’s birthday, but this year, she has broken her leg. Annoyed, the Dursleys realize that they must bring Harry along with them to the zoo. Piers, Dudley’s best friend and fellow bully, arrives. Uncle Vernon threatens to keep Harry in his cupboard until Christmas if he does anything out of the ordinary. Previously, Harry has unwittingly made impossible things happen. Harry’s hair once grew back overnight after a terrible haircut, an old sweater of Dudley’s shrunk as Aunt Petunia forced it onto Harry until it was too small for him, and Harry once was ended up on the school chimney while running away from bullies.

Harry mentions his dream of the flying motorcycle in the car, and Uncle Vernon yells at him. At the zoo, Harry distances himself from the Dursleys and Piers to not get hit by the boys. Despite this, Harry has a wonderful time. In the reptile house, they view a large boa constrictor snake in a glass-enclosed habitat. Dudley is bored by its inactivity, so Uncle Vernon raps on the glass to try and make it move. When the others drift away, the snake looks up and winks at Harry. Harry commiserates with the snake, talking to it about its origins. Upon seeing the moving snake, Piers screams for the Dursleys to come look. Dudley slams Harry to the ground, and the enclosure’s glass front disappears. Everyone screams as the snake slithers free. On its way out, the snake thanks Harry. Back at the Dursleys, Uncle Vernon sends Harry to his cupboard with no meals. Harry is miserable. He wishes he knew more about his parents. While random people sometimes stop him in the street, Harry has no friends either at school or home.

Chapter 3 Summary

Still lonely and oppressed by the Dursleys, Harry spends most of his summer outside of the house, hiding from Dudley and his gang of bullies. In the fall, Dudley will be going to Uncle Vernon’s private school alma mater, while Harry will be attending public school. One night in July, Harry gets the mail and finds a letter addressed to him. Uncle Vernon steals the letter from Harry before he can read it and sends both boys into the hall. The two boys eavesdrop on the Dursleys, who worry that they are being spied on because the letter was addressed to Harry in his cupboard under the stairs. The adults convince themselves that everything will be fine if they ignore the letter, so Uncle Vernon burns it. Fearing that others have observed their mistreatment of Harry, Uncle Vernon tells Harry to move into Dudley’s second bedroom. Dudley throws a tantrum to get his second room back, but his parents do not budge.

Another letter arrives for Harry the following day, but Uncle Vernon successfully intercepts it. Harry repeatedly tries to get one of the many letters that arrive for him, but Uncle Vernon reaches them before he can. After Uncle Vernon nails up the mail slot, letters begin to appear everywhere, pushed through cracks in the door and windows and even hidden inside eggs. Uncle Vernon stays home from work to burn all of the letters. The onslaught of letters continues for a week. On Sunday, Uncle Vernon gleefully tells them that there will not be any letters arriving because there is no mail that day. However, letters for Harry begin flying down the chimney. In a fit of rage, Uncle Vernon declares that they will leave the house and go away. They drive all day, finally stopping at a hotel outside of a big city.

That night, the hotel manager knocks on their door with over 100 letters for Harry. Harry tries to grab one of them, but Uncle Vernon knocks them out of the way. Uncle Vernon eventually drives them to the coast, where an old man gives them a ride on his boat to a broken-down house on a small island. It has begun to storm. Though the house is ramshackle and cold, Uncle Vernon is gleeful, convinced that no one could deliver letters to them now. Harry has had a miserable day and realizes that his birthday the next day will likely be the same. As he watches the time tick toward midnight—and his eleventh birthday—he hears the sounds of something approaching the shack. At midnight, someone knocks on the door to be let in.

Chapter 4 Summary

Uncle Vernon bursts into the room with a rifle. Hagrid breaks down the door, enters the shack, and places the door back on its hinges. Hagrid asks for a cup of tea before spinning around to smile at Harry. Hagrid tells him, “Las’ time I saw you, you was only a baby […]. Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh’ve got yer mom’s eyes” (35). Harry, unlike the Dursleys, is not afraid of Hagrid. Uncle Vernon demands that Hagrid leave, but the giant snatches the rifle from him and easily ties it into a knot. Unbothered by the Dursleys, Hagrid gives Harry a birthday present. It is a chocolate cake, with “Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing” (36). Hagrid introduces himself to Harry as the “Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts” (36). Hagrid lights a fire, sits on the sofa, and makes himself tea and sausages, which he shares with Harry. When Hagrid learns that Harry knows nothing about Hogwarts, his parents, or magic, he is furious and demands answers from Uncle Vernon. Uncle Vernon tries to forbid Hagrid from telling Harry anything, but Hagrid ignores him and tells Harry that he’s a wizard. Hagrid gives a letter to Harry, who learns that he has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hagrid quickly removes an owl from his coat, scribbles a note to Dumbledore to update, and sends the owl off with the letter.

The Dursleys insist that Harry will not be going to Hogwarts. Harry is stunned that they knew about him being a wizard. Aunt Petunia bursts out in a jealous tirade, claiming that she was the only one in her family to see Lily as a freak. Hagrid is furious at them for claiming that Lily and James Potter died in a car crash. He explains how Voldemort failed to kill Harry as a baby. Hagrid tells Harry that his scar is the mark of a powerful curse and that he is the only one to have survived Voldemort. Hearing this, Harry again recalls a flash of green light and remembers, for the first time, hearing a cruel laugh. Uncle Vernon rants to Harry about his parents, and Hagrid draws out a pink umbrella that he uses as a wand.

After the Dursleys quiet down, Hagrid tells Harry that the wizarding world still doesn’t know what happened to Voldemort. Some believe the evil wizard is dead, but he doesn’t think so. When Uncle Vernon insults Dumbledore, Hagrid roars at him in a fury and curses Dudley, making him grow a curly pig’s tail. Hagrid asks Harry to keep his magic use a secret since he was expelled from Hogwarts in his third year. Harry asks Hagrid why he was expelled, but the giant dodges the question. The end of the chapter finds Hagrid and Harry settling down to sleep while the Dursleys hide in the other room.

Chapters 1-4 Analysis

In this first section, the audience is introduced to the main character and given brief, tantalizing glimpses of the wizarding world. These first chapters show the main protagonist, Harry Potter, as he exists in the Muggle, or non-wizarding world. In the custody of his cruel aunt and uncle, Harry is powerless, weak, and lacking any means to improve his state. The absence of choice or agency is a common trope in children’s literature, and the feeling of powerlessness is one to which young readers can relate. Harry’s helplessness stemming from the circumstances of his birth is made worse by the neglectful, abusive Dursleys. The Dursleys are apathetic adults, another frequent occurrence in children’s literature. As secondary antagonists in the series, the family embodies how cruelty can be universal, regardless of magic status. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley neglect Harry on purpose and punish him when he exhibits unusual behavior. While Dudley is treated like a prince, Harry is regarded as a nuisance. The Dursleys keep him in the dark literally—hidden in the cupboard under the stairs—and figuratively—ignorant of the actual circumstances of his parents’ deaths. The Dursleys represent blind prejudice against the magical community, ignorance, and a distrust for anything that exists beyond their understanding. They stand in contrast to characters like Hagrid, who loves Harry and likely speaks the first kind words he has heard since his parents’ deaths.

This section also introduces the series’ primary antagonist, Voldemort, through the conversations of various characters. While seemingly defeated, he is still so universally feared by those in the wizarding world that most will not speak his name, including Professor McGonagall. Even after his disappearance, his power—or the memory of it—still cause fear in the magical world. Voldemort’s strength is juxtaposed against Harry’s weakness. Throughout the series, the power dynamic between Harry and Voldemort will shift several times, and Voldemort’s quest to destroy Harry will become the primary conflict in the books.

This section also introduces Albus Dumbledore, a complex and pivotal character in this book and the series. Despite Professor McGonagall’s warnings about the Dursleys, Dumbledore decides to give Harry to them because he feels it is the safest option. He includes a letter and naively believes that the Dursleys will give him the note and tell him about his past. Later, Harry’s letters from Hogwarts, which identify his sleeping space, imply that Dumbledore is aware of how the young boy is treated. That Harry was left so long in this situation raises questions about whether Dumbledore really cares about Harry’s welfare. Dumbledore’s decisions appear to stem less from concern and more from his ulterior motives. Readers are left to puzzle over Dumbledore’s actions and intentions, and his morally ambiguous nature will continue in the later novels. These chapters also hint at Dumbledore’s power, twice mentioning that he is the only person Voldemort fears. This foreshadows the ongoing battle of wits between Dumbledore and Voldemort that will continue through this series, in which Harry will be used as a pawn in the fight to achieve the greater good of destroying Voldemort.