The Boy Who Lived

‘I’ve come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They’re the only family he has left now.’
‘You don’t mean – you can’t mean the people who live here?’ cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. ‘Dumbledore – you can’t. I’ve been watching them all day. You couldn’t find two people who are less like us. And they’ve got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!’
‘It’s the best place for him,’ said Dumbledore firmly. ‘His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he’s older. I’ve written them a letter.’
‘A letter?’ repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. ‘Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He’ll be famous – a legend – I wouldn’t be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future – there will be books written about Harry –- every child in our world will know his name!’
‘Exactly,’ said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. ‘It would be enough to turn any boy’s head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won’t even remember! Can’t you see how much better off he’ll be, growing up away from all that until he’s ready to take it?’ (Rowling, 15-16)

This conversation between Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore illustrates a need to shield a child from a potentially harmful environment to grow up in and the idea that adults knows what is best for a child. Ironically the very place that Dumbledore believes is best for Harry is where he grows up feeling isolated from his peers and being treated poorly at home. In this text the author indicates that raising a child who attracts so much attention would be too much for a child to handle.

Harry Potter is a child who represents someone who can beat the odds against him. Rowling invokes the desire of adults to feel limitless and the numerous possibilities. A child may be able to think of numerous ways to do one thing, but an adult becomes fixated on a few ways. Harry becomes the child who eventually has to make his own choices in life instead having them forced on him. In this case Harry has no choice in where he lives. Adults share this commonality with Harry because many times people are given choices that they may or may not freely choose.

Rowling, J. K. “The Boy Who Lived.” Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 2004. 15-16. Print.