Harry Potter comments

Throughout J.K. Rowling’s entertaining and enlightening series of wizardly adventures, the characters of the Harry Potter series develop into diverse and intriguing characters. Each individual character becomes more intelligent and interesting to follow as the series progresses, and they also develop deeply rooted relationships with each other. From the experimental and innovative first book to the dramatic finale in book seven, Rowling stretches her immense skill at character development to its limit.

Harry Potter, the protagonist and most developed character of the series undergoes immense changes both sociologically and physically. The first book shows Harry on his eleventh birthday, still living with the abusive Dursley family that houses him in a cupboard under the stairs. Harry is at this point in the series timid, shy, and submissive. Though he frequently argues with his Aunt and particularly his uncle, Harry has trouble standing up for himself. His solution to most of the problems he faces is simply to retreat to solitude. As he is faced with more and more complicated and dangerous situations, however, Harry becomes very assertive and confident in his abilities. By the end of the first novel, readers see Harry facing and overcoming traps set by the professors of Hogwarts. He uses his skills at flying to snatch a particularly wily key and eventually faces Voldemort himself. This effect is continued throughout the seven book series until Harry, now 17, can confidently duel Voldemort with the lives of all of his loved ones on the line.

Harry’s closest companions in the series are Ronald Weasly and Hermione Granger. Both of these characters also undergo significant change in each consequent book. Ron, the child of a wizarding family, is at first awestruck by Harry’s fame. Hermione, a muggle born, is less star-struck by Harry, but both she and Ron quickly attach to him. Together, the three make up a tight knit group of friends. At the beginning of the series, Ron and Hermione do not seem like complete characters when compared to Harry; neither of their back-stories are unfolded and their emotions seem one dimensional. Towards the middle of the series, Ron and Hermione are more emotional and individual characters. They start to have subplots of their own, like Ron’s extended argument with Harry in book four, and Hermione’s exploits with the time-turner in book three. By the end of the series, it does not seem like Harry is the center of the group, but more that three individual characters have met and become close friends.

Some characters remain undeveloped, even though readers slowly learn more about them. Sirius, for example, is a character that readers meet in book three. At first, readers know nothing about him. Slowly, his character is unfolded through brief scenes from his past and from personal experiences with Harry and the other characters. The character of Sirius remains undeveloped, though. At his death in book five, Sirius is still ruled by the fierce independence and rebelliousness that he always has been. His death is one example of a character that readers become more familiar with, but remains unchanged by Rowling as the series progresses.

The Harry Potter series has captured the attention of readers across the world. As each book is read by people of all ages across the globe, each reader can see the intricate unfolding of characters that Rowling does so well. Character development is one of Rowling’s strongest suits, and she plays it well in all seven of her epically famous novels. Without a doubt, the Harry Potter series will live long beyond the adolescent magic fad simply because it is the best written and most developed set of stories that the genre has seen in recent years.