Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Themes
Identity
Harry doesn't think much of himself early on. He's spent his whole life being told he was garbage and he's nearly come round to believing it. But suddenly he's whisked away to a magical school and...
Good vs. Evil
J.K. Rowling really understands that, at its heart, mythology focuses on the conflict between good and evil. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is all over that conflict: presenting not just a p...
Family
Harry doesn't have a family—well, he does, but they're kind of awful—and he comes to Hogwart's basically alone in the world. A big part of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone entails him not...
Duty
Harry has a big destiny; that much is clear in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. And going from being the kind of kid who gets stuffed into lockers to being the sole hope for the whole Wizardi...
Coming of Age
The saga of Harry Potter is a long one, and Harry will come into his own more definitively in future entries. But even in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we get the sense that this mouse has...
Society and Class
The wizards in Harry Potter's world stand separate from the Muggles—they live in a magical world hidden out of our sight in order to avoid that whole "burn them at the stake" thing. But within th...