The Chosen one

The Chosen One

                 The Chosen One storyline was meant to target teens but instead, seems to have enthralled the world with its uplifting themes and tales of success. The success of the hero is not made alone: friends and family are always there to support and move the hero along on his journey. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone takes its readers on an expedition of friendship, heartache, and triumph, while illustrating key features of the Chosen One plotline. The powerful friendship of a mighty trio is what weaves the novel together, making it a heartwarming story to readers around the world. A Chosen One is defined as a hero’s need for a team of friends that have diverse skills, which plays a crucial role in helping the protagonist succeed.

                Prior to Hogwarts, Harry was completely isolated, having no support system or even a simple acquaintance, which supports his need for friendship. “No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends, no other relatives” (Rowling 34). Harry was treated as a nobody in the Dursley household, not having his basic love and shelter essentials fulfilled: “…the cupboard under the stairs was full of them [spiders], and that was where he slept” (Rowling 19). Harry’s complete isolation and lack of love led to the result and need for friendship. The opportunity to attend Hogwarts led Harry to make numerous friends, particularly Ron and Hermione.

        Throughout Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Rowling depicts the importance of friendship. Ron and Harry’s inseparable friendship began with Harry’s first opportunity to participate in sharing which turned into an intimate devotion during their time at Hogwarts. Although Ron lacks the charisma and intellect that both Harry and Hermione possess, his loyalty is a substantial trait that is crucial to the success of Harry’s quests. Together the two of them meet Hermione and once they all were placed in Gryffindor, their impenetrable friendship was fated. Although Hermione was ostracized at first by Harry and Ron due to her know-it-all facade, she ended up being an extremely crucial character to the success of Harry. The three of them truly became tied together after enduring their trial with the troll, “...from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them” (Rowling 179). This quote exposes that the success of the three of them facing challenges together made their friendship inevitable. Like Professor McGonagall said, “Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll” (Rowling 178).  This proves that when they work and learn together, they accomplish more than they ever could on their own.  J.K. Rowling’s tone is informal and convincing. She  intended for Ron and Hermione’s roles to encourage and accommodate Harry.  The friends' different qualities all contribute to the success of the team.

        Ron and Hermione’s traits come into play contributing to Harry’s success in the final action scene. With Hermione’s brains, they were able to discover enough information to learn about the Sorcerer’s Stone. The friendship is taken to a whole new level when Hermione and Ron accompany Harry and put themselves in a dangerous situation by helping their friend find the stone so he did not go alone into a death trap. Ron risks everything performing the ultimate act of friendship by sacrificing himself for the success of his friends. This type of self-sacrifice reveals Ron’s traits of selflessness and commitment to his friends. In the next chamber, Hermione displays friendship by using the power of her brain to help Harry proceed to the final chamber. Hermione and Ron’s act of gallantry clearly reveals that Harry would not be able to make it past any of the chambers alone without the personal traits of loyalty and wisdom of his friends. Together as a team their diverse skills helped Harry to succeed. The three of them fosters a high degree of camaraderie. The qualities Harry lacks and needs are the qualities that his friends make up for. These traits aid Harry to the final stage of his expedition where he can defeat evil.