Harry Potter

Complex Moral issues are practically the foundation built upon the groundwork for The Sorcerer’s Stone. Harry has been raised for all of his life as a lower status family nuisance to his aunt, uncle, and his cousin. After a series of rapidly insane events unfold on his 11^th birthday, a whole entire world of magic is revealed to him. On top of that, he is thrusted into a huge responsibility of being titled “The Boy Who Lived”, practically a deity in the eyes of many in this world. With this comes friends who automatically respect him, enemies who envy him, and a need to uphold this new family legacy of his magician parents who were both popular, smart (well at the very least his mother), and in the most esteemed house anyone can be a part of. Harry has so much thrust upon him and must navigate it while also keeping up with classes and assignments, an obvious parallel that most students would immediately be sympathetic towards. Harry’s new way of life also comes with challenges in the form of rivalries, such as with Draco Malfoy. He’s given multiple chances to inflict as much pain and suffering to Harry and his friends without much as a second glance from professors, and most of the time leaving the scene of the crime Scott free. Meanwhile, any event that Harry would become a part of, he would seem to always get the short end of the stick, such as being caught for being out of their dormitories. Though sometimes things work out for the better, like when he took a chance and helped Hermione escape the Troll, using teamwork together rather than letting past resentments get the better of them. It seems that Rowling had a knack for keeping things tense with new challenges that can intermingle with a character’s moral code, and nothing else shows it clearer than the final few chapters set in the various rooms that were made to keep The Sorcerer’s Stone locked up. Hermione’s ingeniousness assists with any task at hand and helps them decode clues and riddles that would elude any normal person who hadn’t indulged themselves in countless literature. She not only has book smarts but can also think on her feet, with quick decision making as with The Devil’s Snare and the Flying Keys, which would have stumped both Harry and Ron the moment they were thrusted into it.Ron, though not really seen as the brains of the group, can really be seen as the epitome of “best friend” material. His loyalty and faithfulness in his friend’s ability to power through the final challenges gives him the fortitude to sacrifice himself for his friends, the type of moral attitude seen in very few people and the very definition of a spiritual challenge that would show anyone’s true colors. Harry is a very “trust your gut” individual. From the get-go, his life has forced him to only trust in himself for his own decision he’d enact upon, and in turn has a very keen and justly guided moral compass. Naturally a personality like that molds a very honorable and just young kid who has no sinister intentions and has a heart of gold, which unlocks the Sorcerer’s Stone for him. It’s fair enough to say that Harry has many laborious tasks that he has to uphold throughout the book. He was thrust into a world with notoriety he didn’t even know existed, and still somehow managed to make do with it all without becoming a perfect character.