In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, what does the episode of the Dissertation

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, what does the episode of the Sorting Hat reveal about Harry What does it say - Dissertation Example Harry has been given a choice, as the hat is unsure which house he should set Harry into when it is his turn to be sorted. Afraid of his own nature, Harry is clear that he wants to be in Gryffindor, but throughout the series he is plagued by the indecision that the hat initially had when sorting him into a house. The main theme of the Harry Potter series is that of death, but one of the sub themes is that of fate. Fate was written about Harry from before he was born. A foretelling is revealed in the seventh book. From that prophesy, it is revealed that neither Harry nor Voldemort can exist when the other does, thus one must destroy the other. In trying to thwart this prophesy before Harry grows up, Voldemort writes both of their fates by trying to kill Harry. It is through love that Harry is saved, however, when his mother intervenes. In the end, it is the lack of love that Voldemort has that is his weakness. Harry, on the other hand, though struggling with his intimate connection wi th Voldemort must overcome those darker impulses, is supported by the love of his friends and proves stronger. As Voldemort has tried to subvert his fate, it is in his action that he has created the situation that will prove to be his downfall. Essentially, he creates his own demise by acting in fear of the nature of a fated connection between himself and an infant. He bonds them with a destiny that neither will be able to avoid. It is through this bond that Harry is split into two equally strong lines of traits and skills, although he tends to favor his own sense of purity and heroism over the darker aspects of his nature, thus giving them a stronger hold within him. The house of Gryffindor is exemplified by the traits that are most often associated with heroic figures. Those in Slytherin are more ambitious, less sentimental and more prone to the dark arts. Harry shows throughout the series that he has ambitions and pragmatism, a sense of separating that which is sentimental with t hat which is necessary. The Sorting Hat states â€Å"Hmm, difficult. VERY difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh yes. And a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you?† (Rowling 25) He also has an affinity for the magicks that are more associated with darkness and combat. However, although he has these traits, his heroic traits truly define him. He has to make the hard decisions, sometimes clouded by his youth, sometimes by his angers about the death of his parents, but most often with the morals and ethics of heroism, in combination with the sentiment that he feels for his friends. He is not hampered, but tempered by that sense of sentiment. Harry does what is right, even to his own detriment sometimes. The moment of indecision that the Sorting Hat has when selecting the house for Harry reveals an important element about Harry’s nature. Harry, despite his desire to be complete to his own nature is still affected by the part s of his self that are defined by those aspects of Voldemort. In the sixth book, Harry must wrestle with those aspects of anger and darkness that seem to be invading his life. While those aspects play very well as a metaphor for the various ways in which emotions are not within the control of a teenager, they also provide context for the darkness that