Today, The Winsors and TheGrandma have received uncomfortable news in Hogwarts while they were practising some A2Cambridge examples.
A dangerous man has escaped from Azkabanprison, a fortress on an island in the middle of the North Sea, for convicted criminals built in the 15th century. Azkaban is one of the darkest places of the magic world.But they do
not believe this story and have decided to meet and help this supposed
criminal.
Before, the family has been preparing their Cambridge Exam studying some English vocabulary about InsideThe House, Food and Drink and Animals. They have also practised an A2 Cambridge Test.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a fantasy novel written by British author J.K. Rowling and is the third in the Harry Potter series.
The book follows Harry Potter, a young wizard, in his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Along with friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry investigates Sirius Black, an escaped prisoner from Azkaban, the wizard prison, believed to be one of Lord Voldemort's old allies.
The
book was published in the United Kingdom on 8 July 1999 by Bloomsbury
and in the United States on 8 September 1999 by Scholastic, Inc. Rowling
found the book easy to write, finishing it just a year after she began
writing it.
The book sold 68,000 copies in just three days after its
release in the United Kingdom and since has sold over three million in
the country. The book won the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award, the
Bram Stoker Award, and the 2000 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and
was short-listed for other awards, including the Hugo.
The
film adaptation of the novel was released in 2004, grossing more than
$796 million and earning critical acclaim. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third book in the Harry Potter
series. The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the US, was published by Bloomsbury
on 26 June 1997 and the second, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
was published on 2 July 1998.
Rowling started to write thePrisoner of
Azkaban the day after she finished TheChamber of Secrets. Rowling's favourite aspect of this book was introducing the character Remus Lupin, Rowling additionally said in 2004 that Prisoner of Azkaban was the best writing experience I ever had... I was in a very comfortable place writing number three. Immediate financial worries were over, and press attention wasn't yet by any means excessive.
The New York Times said, So far, in terms of plot, the books do nothing new, but they do it brilliantly...so far, so good.
In a newspaper review in The New York Times, it was said that The Prisoner of Azkaban may be the best Harry Potter book yet. A reviewer for KidsReads said, This crisply-paced fantasy will leave you hungry for the four additional Harry books that J.K. Rowling is working on. Harry's third year is a charm. Don't miss it. Kirkus Reviews did not give a starred review but said, a properly pulse-pounding climax... The main characters and the continuing story both come along so smartly... that the book seems shorter than its page count: have readers clear their calendars if they are fans, or get out of the way if they are not.
The Horn Book Magazine said that it is quite a good book. In addition, a Publishers Weekly review said, Rowling's wit never flags, whether constructing the workings of the wizard world... or tossing off quick jokes... The Potter spell is holding strong.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
was released in hardcover in the UK on 8 July 1999 and in the US on 8
September. The British paperback edition was released on 1 April 2000,
while the US paperback was released 2 October 2001.
The film version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
was released in 2004 and was directed by Alfonso Cuarón from a
screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film débuted at number one at the box
office and held that position for two weeks. It made a total of $796.7
million worldwide, which made it the second highest-grossing film of
2004 behind Shrek 2.
However, among all eight entries in the Harry Potter franchise, Prisoner of Azkaban
grossed the lowest, yet among critics and fans, the film is said to be
one of the best in the franchise. The film ranks at number 471 in Empire
magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.
Today, The Grandma has discovered the sad story of Myrtle Warren,
the Muggle-born witch, who was killed by the Serpent of Slytherin and
became a ghost who haunted the second-floor girls' bathroom at Hogwarts. Also known as Moaning Myrtle, this young witch suffered bullying in Hogwarts.
Psychological
abuses like bullying and mobbing at work must be detected to be
stopped, prosecuted and sanctioned. Psychological abuses are one of the
most important causes of sick leaves at work.
Myrtle Elizabeth Warren, more commonly known after her death as MoaningMyrtle, is a Muggle-born witch who attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Ravenclaw house.
She was killed by the Serpent of Slytherin, under Tom Riddle's orders.
After the incident, she became a ghost who haunted the second-floor
girls' bathroom and occasionally other bathroom facilities at Hogwarts.
Myrtle was a witch born circa to a Muggle mother and father, making her a Muggle-born.
She started her education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.When she arrived at Hogwarts she was Sorted into the house of Ravenclaw.While at Hogwarts
she was unable to make any friends and was constantly teased and
bullied because of this and her physical appearance, which included
glasses and acne.
In
1943, sometime into Myrtle's education, the Chamber of Secrets was
opened for the first time. The Chamber of Secrets was a legendary
chamber built by Salazar Slytherin and inside was a beast that only his
heir could control.
It
was believed that Gryffindor student, Rubeus Hagrid had opened the
Chamber because he was caught raising Aragog, an acromantula, but it was
actually TomMarvolo Riddle, a Slytherin student.
Hogwarts was soon
facing closure as Muggle-born students were being mysteriously attacked
by the mythical beast thought to be down inside the Chamber.
On her final day of life, Myrtle was teased by student Olive Hornby.She had made fun of Myrtle'sglasses and, as a result, left Myrtle sobbing. Myrtle then ran into one of the bathroom's stalls and started crying. Shortly after Myrtle hadentered the bathroom, TomRiddle
entered and started speaking in Parseltongue in order to open the
Chamber of Secrets, the entrance of which was hidden behind the sink in
front of the very stall occupied by Myrtle at the time.
The Monster
of Slytherin, a basilisk, then emerged from the entrance to the Chamber
of Secrets. The monster had been using the pipes as a means of
transportation, as to not be seen and therefore never being caught.
Myrtle,
still in one of the stalls, recognised the voice as being that of a
boy. Opening the stall's door, she was about to yell at Tom Riddle to go
away. On Tom Riddle's command, the Basilisk stared at Myrtle and her eyes
met with the monster's.
Since
looking into a Basilisk's eyes is a fatal act, Myrtle was killed
instantly and her body fell to the bathroom floor, becoming Tom Riddle's first
victim. TomRiddle, later known as Lord Voldemort, used her murder to make his
first Horcrux: the Diary.
Myrtle's body was later found by Olive Hornby,
something that Hornby would not soon forget.
Myrtle's
body was removed from the school after its discovery and, following her
death, Myrtle returned as a ghost so she could haunt student Olive Hornby in revenge for her bullying. Olive Hornby went to the Ministry of Magic
to restrain Myrtle, who was thereafter obliged to remain at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Ever
since, Myrtle haunted the bathroom where she had died, although she was
sometimes seen in other bathrooms, and was even flushed into the lake
occasionally. As a result of her haunting, her lavatory grave was rarely
used, and was thus available for clandestine activities, such as
forbidden potion-brewing, as long as one did not mind the company.
The true importance of Myrtle's
bathroom was that it contained the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets,
the home of the basilisk of Salazar Slytherin. The Chamber was opened
again, fifty years after its previous opening, by a Gryffindor first
year, Ginny Weasley, who was possessed by the diary of the earlier opener, Tom Riddle. The diary was a Horcrux, though it was described as a memory at the time. Myrtle later flooded her bathroom in a fit of pique when Ginny tried to dispose of the diary by flushing it down the toilet in Myrtle's stall.
Hermione
Granger used Myrtle's bathroom to brew Polyjuice Potion, which
Harry Potter and Ron Weasley used to impersonate Slytherin students
Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. Thus disguised, they entered the
Slytherin common room to interrogate Draco Malfoy about the Chamber of
Secrets. They learned only that, according to Draco's father Lucius
Malfoy, the last time the chamber was open a Mudblood was killed and
that, contrary to their suspicions, Draco was not the Heir of Slytherin.
Harry
and Ron later learned from Aragog the Acromantula that the murdered
student had been killed in a bathroom, and Harry realised that the
student must have been Myrtle.
Myrtle
was flattered by Harry's request that she tell the story of her death,
the manner of which was one of the most important and interesting events
of her short life. It is possible that Harry was the first person to
treat it as something worth asking about.
Myrtle
remembered only having seen a pair of enormous yellow eyes, but neither
Harry nor Ron recognized this as a clue that the monster was a
basilisk. Hermione had already deduced the monster's nature by library research before she was petrified, so Myrtle'sclue was of no practical importance.
During the 1994–1995 school year, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry hosted the TriwizardTournament.
Before the second task, the champions had to solve the mystery behind
their golden eggs, which, when opened, emitted a harsh screeching sound.
The secret was that the noise became speech when heard underwater.
One champion, CedricDiggory,decided to meditate upon the clue in the prefects' bathroom. Myrtle
spied on Cedric in the tub, admitting to Harry that it took Cedric a
long time to figure it out; nearly all the bubbles in the bath were gone
by the time he cracked it.
Cedric later suggested to Harry Potter that he take his egg the prefects' bathroom. With Myrtle's hints, Harry was able to decipher the riddle.
Myrtle
also appeared to Harry whilst he was in the Black Lake, and pointed him
in the right direction to find the village of the merpeople, thereby
helping him to reach the Tournament hostages before the other champions.
Myrtle
was a squat student with pimples and thick glasses. She died in 1943
and became a ghost, wearing her school uniform, as well as her glasses,
for eternity.
Myrtle was constantly bullied during her education at Hogwarts, for both her physical appearance and her personality. Myrtle hardly ever smiled and took great offence at the smallest slight, crying rivers of tears and wailing, hence her nickname Moaning Myrtle. She was often upset so badly that she tried to kill herself until she realised that she was already dead.
Myrtle did tend to be happy when something bad happened to other students, like when Hermione Granger
accidentally gained cat fur, ears and a tail after taking a
contaminated Polyjuice Potion. The only time she seemed to enjoy herself
was when she recalled the moment of death, describing the event with
relish.
She did, however, seem to warm to some male students, including HarryPotter and Draco Malfoy. Myrtle also appeared to be a desperate flirt; she constantly flirted with Harry Potter, and showed her desperation to find love by spying on students such as Cedric Diggory whilst he bathed in the prefects' bathroom. Myrtle liked to take bubble baths when she was alive, due to all those pretty bubbles.
Myrtle is a type of evergreen shrub that is often overlooked because of its plainness, native to southern Europe and north Africa.
Myrtle is a variety of the colour green. It is immoderately dark, slightly more so than the colour spinach.
It is possible she was named Myrtle to continue J.K. Rowling's tradition of naming characters after flowers.
It is also possible she was given the middle name Elizabeth and surname Warren
as a reference to two characters from Arthur Miller's The Crucible:
Elizabeth Proctor and her young servant Mary Warren, both of which are
accused of being witches at some point.
Today, The Grandma has been reading about labourrisks or occupationalhazards.
An occupational hazard is any workplace condition that causes a risk to employee health. There are defined six main categories of occupational hazards:
-Safety. This category includes any condition, substance, or object that can injure a worker, like working from heights, spills on floors, machinery with moving parts, confined spaces, steep stairs, or exposed electrical wiring.
-Chemical. There are many kinds of hazardous chemicals and toxins in different workplaces, including environmental smoke, cleaning products, acids, pesticides, carbon monoxide, and flammable liquids.
-Biological. In some settings, such as farms, zoos, hospitals or medical offices, or veterinary clinics, workers can be exposed to biological health hazards like blood, fungi, mold, viruses, animal droppings, and insect bites.
-Physical. These are hazards in the environment that can harm your body without you actually touching it, like radiation, prolonged exposure to sunlight, extreme high or low temperatures, and loud noise.
-Ergonomic. These hazards put strain on your body over a period of time. You may just feel sore or cramped in the short term, but repeatedly sitting or standing in awkward positions or completing the same movements over and over, across a long period of time, can lead to long-term injury and illness.
-Work organization hazards. Workplace violence, discrimination, lack of respect, sexual harassment, and other conditions are hazardous to mental, emotional, and physical health.
To talk about risks in chemistry, TheGrandma has been talking with SeamusFinnigan, a Gryffindor student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, who is a specialist in explosions and in mistaken potions and spells.
Before talking with Seamus, TheGrandma has met Poppy Pomprey, the matron in the hospital wing, who has been explaining her labour risks in medicine, and with Cedrid Diggory, who has explained her labour risks in sports.
Seamus Finnigan is an Irish half-blood wizard, son of Muggle Mr Finnigan and Irishwitch Mrs Finnigan. Mr Finnigan did not learn this until after they were married and it gave him a nasty shock when he first learned it.
Seamus was a Gryffindor student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was also the best friend of Dean Thomas.
Seamus originally doubted Harry Potter's claim that Lord Voldemort
had returned in 1995, as his mother doubted it. However, late in 1995
he eventually joined Dumbledore's Army. The D.A. was an organisation
taught and led by HarryPotter. Seamus joined after apologising to Harry.
He continued his seventh year of education at Hogwarts, although the school was under the control of Voldemort. Seamus
remained in the D.A. and fought bravely in the Battle of Hogwarts. It
is currently unknown what he did after the Second Wizarding War.
Seamus was born to Muggle Mr Finnigan and his witch wife. It was mentioned that Seamus' father had no idea that his wife was a witch before they married and it came as a nasty shock to him when he found out, but nevertheless accepted it.
Seamus came from an Irish family, as suggested by his name, and as shown in the Quidditch World Cup he attended just before his fourth year. It is possible that Seamus is from Kenmare, County Kerry due to his support of the local Quidditch team and him and his mother support of the Irish NationalQuidditch team in the Quidditch World Cup. He had an older cousin named Fergus, who would frequently Apparate just to annoy him. Seamus had plans to annoy Fergus back, once he passed his apparition test.
Seamus arrived at HogwartsSchool ofWitchcraft and Wizardry with other students like Harry Potter, RonWeasley, HermioneGranger, and DracoMalfoy.
When Professor Minerva McGonagall asked the
first years to form a line to head into the Great Hall, Seamus ended up in front of HarryPotter. When Seamus'name was called during the Sorting ceremony, he waited for almost a minute before the SortingHat placed him into Gryffindor. After joining the Gryffindor table, Seamus was introduced to the Gryffindor house ghost Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, who students often called Nearly Headless Nick. Seamus asked how one could be nearly headless, to which Nick demonstrated by pulling his head off of his neck, which disgusted most of the table.
During his first Potions lesson the next Friday, Seamus was partnered with Neville Longbottom to brew a Boil-Cure Potion. Neville managed to melt Seamus' cauldron and was drenched in their potion. Professor Severus Snape told Seamus to take Neville to the Hospital Wing, which he did.
When the Gryffindor first years learned about their first flying lesson with Madam Hooch, Seamus bragged that in his youth he spent most of his time flying around the countryside.
During Charms class on Hallowe'en morning, Seamus was partnered with Harry to practise the Levitation Charm. While practising, Seamus managed to set fire to their feather with his wand, and Harry had to put it out with his hat. Seamus would have many such experiences throughout his school career.
Before leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday, Seamus lent Harry his Wizard's Chess pieces so Harry could learn how to play.
He survived the Second Wizarding War and was seen sitting with Dean Thomas and Aberforth Dumbledore
once the battle had ended. It is unknown what happened to him after the
war. It can be assumed that he attended the reunion of Dumbledore's
Army.
Being a Gryffindor, Seamus usually wore a red-and-gold tie and a black jumper along with his black Hogwarts robes. His uniform was always scruffy and untidy, making him look like a slob.
During Seamus's final year at Hogwarts, his face had been battered and bruised by the Carrows to an extent that neither Harry nor Dean Thomas could recognise him, until he spoke with his distinct Irish accent. Seamus had sandy coloured hair.
Through his school years, Seamus
generallyappeared good-natured and easy-going. He was also rather
clumsy, as he set fire to a feather he was supposed to be levitating in
his first year. He seems to display traits of more than one Hogwarts house, since the Sorting Hat had to think for almost a minute before deciding to sort him into Gryffindor. Seamus is also very curious, asking Professor Quirinus Quirrell where he got his turban, Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington how he could be nearly headless and Professor Severus Snape about Inferi.
Of all the boys in Harry's dormitory, Seamus was the least enthusiastic supporter of Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, often demonstrating scepticism of Harry's claims. However, after reading Rita Skeeter's interview with Harry in the fifth year, he apologised to Harry and sent a copy to his mam, as she did not believe that Lord Voldemort was back. He did join Dumbledore's Army, although he did not sign the actual membership list of the group.
After Dumbledore's events the following year, Seamus insisted on remaining at Hogwarts,
despite his mother's wish to remove him immediately from the perceived
dangers at the school, demonstrating his allegiance to Dumbledore and
Harry.
Seamus also demonstrated the characteristic bravery and loyalty of his house by opposing the Death Eaters at great personal risk during his final year at Hogwarts and in the final battle.
Seamus was able to conjure a corporeal fox Patronus.
This charm is an incredibly advanced piece of magic and is proof of
superior magical ability. He also demonstrated his superior skills in
duelling by surviving the Battle of Hogwarts.
Seamus is an Irish version of the name James, which means supplanter, one who takes the place of another, usually by force. Finnigan is an Irish name that includes finn (white, fair) and means fair-haired one.
Today, The Winsors have started to search TheChamber of Secrets, a hidden place in Hogwarts. Searching it is a difficult work full of dangers, magic and riddles but the family
has accepted this challenge and they are ready to start this adventure. Theyhave listened to the instructions of HermioneGranger and RonWeasley, the best friends of Harry.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secretsis a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the second novel in the Harry Potter series.
The
plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry, during which a series of messages on the walls of the school's
corridors warn thatThe Chamber ofSecrets has been opened and that the heir of Slytherinwould kill all pupils who do not come from all-magical families. These
threats are found after attacks that leave residents of the school
petrified. Throughout the year, Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione investigate the attacks. The
book was published in the United Kingdom on 2 July 1998 by Bloomsbury
and later in the United States on 2 June 1999 by Scholastic Inc.
Although Rowling says she found it difficult to finish the book,
it won high praise and awards from critics, young readers, and the book
industry, although some critics thought the story was perhaps too frightening for younger children. Much like with other novels in the series, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secretstriggeredreligious
debates; some religious authorities have condemned its use of magical
themes, whereas others have praised its emphasis on self-sacrifice and
the way one's character is the result of one's choices.
Several
commentators have noted that personal identity is a strong theme in the
book and that it addresses issues of racism through the treatment of
non-human, non-magical, and non-living people. Some commentators regard
the diary as a warning against uncritical acceptance of information from
sources whose motives and reliability cannot be checked. Institutional
authority is portrayed as self-serving and incompetent.
The
film adaptation of the novel, released in 2002, became at that time the
fifth highest-grossing film ever and received generally favourable
reviews. Video games loosely based on Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets were also released for several platforms, and most obtained favourable reviews. Rowling
found it difficult to finish Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secretsbecause she was afraid it would not live up to the expectations raised
by Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. After delivering the
manuscript to Bloomsbury on schedule, she took it back for six weeks of
revision.
In early drafts of the book, the ghost Nearly Headless Nick
sang a self-composed song explaining his condition and the
circumstances of his unknown death. This was cut because the book's
editor did not care for the poem, which has been subsequently published
as an extra on J. K. Rowling's official website. The family background of Dean Thomas was removed because Rowling and her publishers considered it an unnecessary digression, and she considered NevilleLongbottom's own journey of discovery more important to the central plot.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets
was published in the UK on 2 July 1998 and in the US on 2 June 1999. It
immediately took first place in UK bestseller lists, displacing popular
authors such as John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Terry Pratchett and
making Rowling the first author to win the British Book Awards
Children's Book of the Year for two years in succession. In June 1999,
it went straight to the top of three US bestseller lists, including
inThe New York Times.
Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secretscontinuesto examine what makes a person who he or she is, which began in the first book. As well as maintaining that Harry'sidentity is shaped by his decisions rather than any aspect of his birth, HarryPotter and The Chamber of Secrets provides contrasting characters who try to conceal their true personalities. Gilderoy Lockhartlacks any real identity because he is nothing more than a charming liar. Tom Riddle also complicates Harry's struggle to understand himself by pointing out the similarities between the two both half-bloods, orphans raised by Muggles, probably the only two Parselmouths to come to Hogwarts since the great Slytherin.
Opposition
to class, death and its impacts, experiencing adolescence, sacrifice,
love, friendship, loyalty, prejudice, and racism are constant themes of
the series. In Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets Harry's consideration and respect for others extends to the lowly, non-human Dobby and the ghost NearlyHeadless Nick.
Immorality and the portrayal of authority as negative are significant themes in the novel. There are few absolute moral rules in Harry Potter'sworld, for example Harry prefers to tell the truth, but lies whenever he considers it necessary -very like his enemy Draco Malfoy.
At the end of Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore retracts his promise to punish Harry, Ron, and Hermione if they break any more school rules -after Professor Minerva McGonagall estimates they have broken over 100- and lavishly rewards them for ending the threat from The Chamber of Secrets. Krause further states that authority figures and political institutions receive little respect from Rowling.
William
MacNeil of Griffith University, Queensland, Australia states that the
Minister for Magic is presented as a mediocrity. In his article Harry Potter and the Secular City, Ken Jacobson suggests the Ministry as a whole is portrayed as a tangle of bureaucratic empires, saying that Ministry
officials busy themselves with minutiaeand coin politically correct
euphemisms like 'non-magical community' for Muggles and 'memory
modification' for magical brainwashing.
This novel implies it begins in 1992. The cake for Nearly-Headless Nick's 500th death day party bears the words Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington died 31 October 1492.
Today, TheWinsors and TheGrandma have started their first day in Hogwarts.First, they have assisted to the Hat's ceremony where a magic Hat has sent every one of them to a House.
The Sorting Ceremony occurs at the start of every new Hogwarts year, sorting the fresh cluster of first-year students into their Hogwarts houses.
At the start-of-term feast, the ceremony invites students to wear the Sorting Hat, an ancient piece of sentient headwear that determines if the pupils should belong to Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Once sorted, the student will join their house table, while the festivities continue.
All of them have been chosen to be members of Gryffindor under the orders of ProfessorMinerva McGonagall.
Before meeting Ms McGonagall, the family has studied some Englishvocabulary about Personal Details, Family Matters and Free Time.
Gryffindor values are courage, bravery, nerve, and chivalry. Gryffindor'smascot is the lion, and its colours are scarlet and gold.
During the books, the Head of this house is the Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall
until she becomes headmistress, and the house ghost is Sir Nicholas de
Mimsy-Porpington, more commonly known as Nearly Headless Nick. According
to Rowling, Gryffindor corresponds roughly to the element of fire. The founder of the house is Godric Gryffindor.
The Gryffindor common
room is in one of the castle's highest towers, and its entrance is on
the seventh floor in the east wing of the castle and is guarded by a
painting of The Fat Lady, who is garbed in a pink dress.
She permits entry only after being given the correct password, as was established in the third book, when Sirius Black tried forcing entry into the tower, only to be blocked by The Fat Lady after he could not give the correct password.
In the first book, Neville Longbottom tends to forget the password and must wait near the painting until other Gryffindors arrive to open the way.
The Stones have started to search the Philosopher's Stone, which grants its user immortality as well as the ability to turn any metal into pure gold. The Grandma has told them the story of this magic stone.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. The first novel in the Harry Potter series and Rowling's debut novel, it follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who discovers his magical heritage on his eleventh birthday, when he receives a letter of acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry makes close friends and a few enemies during his first year at the school, and with the help of his friends, Harry faces an attempted comeback by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who killed Harry'sparents, but failed to kill Harry when he was just 15 months old.
The book was first published in theUnited Kingdom on 26 June 1997 by Bloomsbury. It was published in the United States the following year by Scholastic Corporation under the title Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. It won most of the British book awards that were judged by children and other awards in the US.
The book
reached the top of the New York Times list of best-selling fiction in
August 1999 and stayed near the top of that list for much of 1999 and
2000. It has been translated into at least 73 other languages, and has
been made into a feature-length film of the same name, as have all six
of its sequels.
Most reviews were very favourable, commenting on Rowling's
imagination, humour, simple, direct style and clever plot construction,
although a few complained that the final chapters seemed rushed.
The writing has been compared to that of Jane Austen, one of Rowling'sfavourite authors; Roald Dahl, whose works dominated children's stories before the appearance of Harry Potter; and the Ancient Greek story-teller Homer.
While some
commentators thought the book looked backwards to Victorian and
Edwardian boarding school stories, others thought it placed the genre
firmly in the modern world by featuring contemporary ethical and social
issues, as well as overcoming obstacles like bullies.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, along with the rest of the Harry Potter
series, has been attacked by some religious groups and banned in some
countries because of accusations that the novels promote witchcraft
under the guise of a heroic, moral story.
Other
religious commentators have written that the book exemplifies important
viewpoints, including the power of self-sacrifice and the ways in which
people's decisions shape their personalities. The series has been used
as a source of object lessons in educational techniques, sociological
analysis and marketing.
The book, which was Rowling's debut novel, was written between approximately June 1990 and some time in 1995.
In 1990 Jo Rowling, as she preferred to be known, wanted to move with her boyfriend to a flat in Manchester and in her words, One weekend after flat hunting, I took the train back to London on my own and the idea for Harry Potter fell into my head... A scrawnylittleblack-haired bespectacled boy became more and more of a wizard to me... I began to write Philosopher's Stone that very evening. Although, the first couple of pages look nothing like the finished product. Then Rowling's mother died and, to cope with her pain, Rowling transferred her own anguish to the orphan Harry. Rowling spent six years working on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,and
after it was accepted by Bloomsbury, she obtained a grant of £8,000
from the Scottish Arts Council, which enabled her to plan the sequels.
By mid-2008, official translations of the book had been published in 67 languages. By November 2017, the book had been translated into 80 languages,
the 80th being Lowland Scots. It was translated by Matthew Fitt, who
said that he was honoured to be the Scots translator, and that he wanted to do it for a long time.
The translation is considered significant by Heart, who described it as probably the most incredible version so far, The Guardian, who believed that it may just be the best of all, and Stylist. Bloomsbury have published translations in Latin and in Ancient Greek, with the latter being described as one of the most important pieces of Ancient Greek prose written in many centuries.
The Philosopher's Stone, more properly philosophers' stone or stone of the philosophers, in Latin lapis philosophorum, is a legendary alchemicalsubstance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (chrysopoeia, from the Greek χρυσός khrusos, gold, and ποιεῖν poiēin, to make)
or silver. It is also called the elixir of life, useful for
rejuvenation and for achieving immortality; for many centuries, it was
the most sought goal in alchemy.
The Philosophers' Stone was the central symbol of the mystical terminology of alchemy, symbolizing perfection at its finest, enlightenment, and heavenly bliss. Efforts to discover the Philosophers' Stone were known as the MagnumOpus (Great Work).
The earliest known written mention of the Philosophers' Stone
is in the Cheirokmeta by Zosimos of Panopolis (c. 300 AD). Alchemical
writers assign a longer history. Elias Ashmole and the anonymous author
of Gloria Mundi (1620) claim that its history goes back to Adam
who acquired the knowledge of the stone directly from God. This
knowledge was said to be passed down through biblical patriarchs, giving
them their longevity. The legend of the stone was also compared to the
biblical history of the Temple of Solomon and the rejected cornerstone
described in Psalm 118.
The
theoretical roots outlining the stone's creation can be traced to Greek
philosophy. Alchemists later used the classical elements, the concept of
anima mundi, and Creation stories presented in texts like Plato's
Timaeus as analogies for their process.
According
to Plato, the four elements are derived from a common source or Prima
Materia first matter, associated with chaos. Prima Materia is also the
name alchemists assign to the starting ingredient for the creation of
the Philosophers'Stone. The importance of this
philosophical first matter persisted throughout the history of alchemy.
In the seventeenth century, Thomas Vaughan writes, the first matter of the stone is the very same with the first matter of all things.
Early
medieval alchemists built upon the work of Zosimos in the Byzantine
Empire and the Arab empires. Byzantine and Arab alchemists were
fascinated by the concept of metal transmutation and attempted to carry
out the process. The 8th-century Muslim alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan
(Latinized as Geber) analyzed each classical element in terms of the
four basic qualities. Fire was both hot and dry, earth cold and dry,
water cold and moist, and air hot and moist.
He theorized that every metal was a combination of these four principles, two of them interior and two exterior.
From this premise, it was reasoned that the transmutation of one metal
into another could be affected by the rearrangement of its basic
qualities. This change would be mediated by a substance, which came to
be called xerion in Greek and al-iksir in Arabic from which the word
elixir is derived.
It was
often considered to exist as a dry red powder also known as al-kibrit
al-ahmar, red sulfur made from a legendary stone -the Philosophers' Stone.Theelixir powder came to be regarded as a crucial component of transmutation by later Arab alchemists.
In the
11th century, there was a debate among Muslim world chemists on whether
the transmutation of substances was possible. A leading opponent was the
Persian polymath Avicenna (Ibn Sina), who discredited the theory of
transmutation of substances, stating, Those of the chemical craft know well that no change can be effected in the different species of substances, though they can produce the appearance of such change.
According to legend, the 13th-century scientist and philosopher Albertus Magnus is said to have discovered the Philosophers' Stone. Magnus does not confirm he discovered the stone in his writings, but he did record that he witnessed the creation of gold by transmutation.
The 16th-century Swiss alchemist Paracelsus believed in the existence of alkahest, which he thought to be an undiscovered element from which all other elements (earth, fire, water, air) were simply derivative forms. Paracelsus believed that this element was, in fact, the Philosopher's Stone.
Today, The Winsors and The Grandma have arrived to Hogwarts where they have been received by AlbusDumbledore and MinervaMcGonagall. RubeusHagrid is their guide during this visit to the most popular school of wizards.
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft andWizardry is a British school of magic for
students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the
first six books in J. K. Rowling's HarryPotter series.
Rowling has suggested that she may have inadvertently taken the name from the hogwort plant (Croton capitatus), which she had seen at Kew Gardens some time before writing the series, although the names The Hogwarts and Hoggwart appear in the 1954 Nigel Molesworth book How to Be Topp by Geoffrey Willans.
Hogwarts
school was voted as the 36th best Scottish educational establishment in
a 2008 online ranking, outranking Edinburgh's Loretto School. According
to a director of the Independent Schools Network Rankings, it was added
to the schools listing for fun and was then voted on.
In the novels, Hogwarts is somewhere in Scotland, the film Prisoner of Azkaban
says that Dufftown is near. The school is depicted as having numerous
charms and spells on and around it that make it impossible for a Muggle
to locate it. Muggles cannot see the school; rather, they see only ruins
and several warnings of danger.
The castle's
setting is described as having extensive grounds with sloping lawns,
flowerbeds and vegetable patches, a loch called The Black Lake, a large
dense forest called the Forbidden Forest, several greenhouses and other
outbuildings, and a full-size Quidditch pitch. There is also an owlery,
which houses all the owls owned by the school and those owned by
students. Some rooms in the school tend to move around, and so do the stairs in the grand staircase.
Witches and wizards cannot Apparate or Disapparate in Hogwarts grounds,except
when the Headmaster lifts the enchantment, whether only in certain
areas or for the entire campus, so as to make the school less vulnerable
when it serves the headmaster to allow Apparition. Electricity and
electronic devices are not found at Hogwarts.
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Hermione indicates that due to the high levels of magic, substitutes for magic that Muggles use such as computers, radar and electricity go haywire around Hogwarts. Radios however, make an exception. Rowling explains this by saying that the radios are not powered by electricity but by magic.
Hogwarts is on the shore of a lake, sometimes called the Black Lake.
In that lake are merpeople, Grindylows, and a giant squid. The giant
squid does not attack humans and sometimes acts as a lifeguard when
students are in the lake.
Hogwarts is a coeducational, secondary boarding school, taking children from ages eleven to eighteen.
Education at Hogwarts is not compulsory, with some students being home schooled as stated in the seventh book. Rowling initially said there are about one thousand students at Hogwarts.
She later suggested around six hundred, while acknowledging that this
number was still inconsistent with the small number of people in Harry's
year. She further explained that this had resulted from her creating
only 40 characters for Harry's year.
Rowling has said that Hogwarts is a multifaith school. She has further stated on the subject, The only people I never imagined there are Wiccans. In response to the query, Do you think there are a lot of LGBT students in modern age Hogwarts? I like to imagine they formed an LGBT club, Rowling replied, But of course.
According to the novels,
admission to Hogwarts is selective, in that children who show magical
ability will automatically gain a place, and squibs cannot attend the
school as students, though they can work there in other roles, as Argus
Filch does. A magical quill at Hogwarts detects the birth of magical
children and writes their names into a large parchment book, but there
is no admission test because you are either magical or you are not.
Every year, a teacher checks this book and sends a letter to the children who are turning eleven. Acceptance or refusal of a place at Hogwarts must beposted by 31 July. The letter also contains a list of supplies like spell books, uniform, and other things that the student will need.
The
prospective student is expected to buy all the necessary materials,
normally from shops in Diagon Alley, a concealed street near Charing
Cross Road in London that can be found behind the wizarding pub, The
Leaky Cauldron. Students whocannot afford their supplies can receive financial aid from the school, as happened with the young orphan Tom Riddle.
Letters to Muggle-born witches and wizards,
who may not be aware of their powers and are unfamiliar with the
concealed wizarding world, are delivered in person by a member of
Hogwarts staff, who then explains to the parents or guardians about
magical society, and reassures them regarding this news. Though the
school is in Great Britain, its catchment area is the wider British
Isles, as Irish students can also attend. Each student is allowed to bring an owl, a cat or a toad.
Along with the acceptance letter, first-year students are sent a list of requiredequipment which
includes a wand, subject books, a standard size 2 pewter cauldron, a
set of brass scales, a set of glass or crystal phials, a kit of basic
potion ingredients for Potions, and a telescope for Astronomy.
The Hogwarts uniform
consists of plain work robes in black, a plain black hat, a pair of
protective gloves, and a black winter cloak with silver fastenings. Each
uniform must contain the wearer's nametag. First years are not allowed abroomstick of their own,
though an exception to this rule is made for Harry in his first year
after he demonstrates an excellent ability as a Seeker in Quidditch.
The primary mode of transport to Hogwarts is the Hogwarts Express that students take at the start of each school year. Students board the train from the also fictional and hidden Platform 9¾ at King's Cross station inLondon. The train arrives near Hogwarts, some time after nightfall.
From there, first-year students are accompanied by the Keeper of the Keys, Game and Grounds, which was Hagrid during the first novel to small boats, which magically sail across the lake and get them near the entrance of Hogwarts. The older students ride up to the castle in carriages pulled by creatures called Thestrals.
When the
first-year students initially arrive at the castle, they wait in a small
chamber off the entrance hall until the older students have taken their
seats, and then enter the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony to determine their House assignments.
As Professor Minerva McGonagall said in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here,your
House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have
classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and
spend free time in your House common room."
After the Sorting Hat
sings a song, each student in turn is seated upon the stool in front of
the rest of the student body. The Hat is placed on the student's head,
whereupon it examines his or her mind and assigns them to one of the
four Houses based on abilities, personality, and preferences.
After the SortingCeremony, the students and teachers enjoy a feast, prepared by the Hogwarts house-elves. If Dumbledore is feeling cheerful, he will lead the students in singing the school song.
Hogwarts is divided into fourhouses, each bearing the last name of its founder: Godric Gryffindor, SalazarSlytherin, RowenaRavenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff.Throughout the school year, the houses compete for the House Cup,
gaining and losing points based on actions such as performance in class
and rule violations. The house with the highest end-of-year total wins
and has its colours displayed in the Great Hall for the following school year.
Each house also has its own Quidditch team that competes for the QuidditchCup. These two competitions breed rivalries between the houses. Houses at Hogwarts are living and learning communities for their students. Each house is under the authority of one of the Hogwarts
staff members. The Heads of the houses, as they are called, are in
charge of giving their students important information, dealing with
matters of severe punishment, and responding to emergencies in their
houses, among other things.
Each year,
year level groups of every separate house share the same dormitory and
classes. The dormitory and common room of a House are, barring rare
exceptions, inaccessible to students belonging to other Houses.
Being a school of magic, many subjects at Hogwarts
differ from the studies of a typical school. Some subjects, such as
History of Magic, derive from non-wizard -or muggle- subjects, but many
others, such as charms and apparition classes, are unique to the
wizarding world.
There are twelve named teachers referred to as Professors, eachspecialising in a single subject.
All professors are overseen by a school head and deputy head.
Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions,
Astronomy, History of Magic, and Herbology are compulsory subjects for
the first five years, as well as flying lessons.
At the end of their second year, students are required to add at leasttwooptional subjects to their syllabus for the start of the third year.
The five choices are Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Divination, Study of
Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. According to J.K. Rowling, very specialised subjects such as alchemy are sometimes offered in the final two years, if there is sufficient demand.
At the end of their fifth year, students take the Ordinary Wizarding Level (O.W.L.) examinations for all subjects in which they are enrolled. Each examination consists of a written knowledge test and, where applicable, a practical demonstration of skills before a panel of proctors from the Ministryof Magic.
Students who achieve a high enough O.W.L. grade in a particular subject may take its advanced course for the final two years, in preparation for the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests (N.E.W.T.) given at the end of the seventh year.
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