Review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, a Novel

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step of the first stage is the belly of the whale. The belly of the whale is the hero's final step

before entering the real calling; it is represented in the novel when Harry is faced with the

sorting hat. He is nervous because he could be sorted into the house of Slytherin, the house of

evil. Inside his head he chants, “not Slytherin, not Slytherin” in which the hat responds by giving

into his choice (121). By ultimately choosing Griffindor , the room gave “the loudest cheer yet”

(121). This shows his test in character and at this point Harry leaves the muggle world and

enters the unknown.

The second stage of Joseph Cambell’s seventeen-stage monomyth is initiation with seven

steps: road of trials, meeting the goddess, temptation, atonement with the father, apostasis, the

ultimate boon, and the refusal of return. This is usually the longest, most eventful, and

entertaining stage of Cambell’s monomyth. The road of trials are tests given the hero to

complete in order to transform. Harry is faced with many minor problems within his first year at

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but one of his major road of trials is an evil, “foul

smelling” troll (174). Inexperienced in magic, he uses it anyway in order to rescue his friend he

accidentally traps, Hermione. This is when he becomes closer to Ron and Hermione and a long

friendship blooms. Another is thinking that Professor Snape is the thief behind the sorcerer's

stone. By focusing on Professor Snape, Harry overlooks the real traitor of Hogwarts. Meeting

the goddess affects the hero by having them feel eternal love. This step is sometimes

represented by a mother figure. Lily, Harry’s mother, sacrificed her life for her son against Lord

Voldemort. Even after her death she continues to protect her son with the scar given to him as a

baby. Each time Voldemort is near, the scar burns as a warning. During the battle against

Quirrel and Lord Voldemort, Quirrell could not touch Harry, his hands “looked burned, raw, red,

and shiny,” due to the love of Harry’s mother (295). Lily died to save him. Temptations are

defined as an object given to the hero to stray from his goal. An invisible cloak, from his father

allows Harry to travel the school without being seen. One night over winter break he locates the

Mirror of Erised, an ancient mirror that shows onlookers “‘the deepest, most desperate desire

of our hearts’” (213). While looking into the mirror, Harry sees people who are not located in

the room. A woman who has “dark red hair” and eyes just like himself peers through the mirror

along with other familiar faces (208). Potter realizes that these people are his dead family. This

image that he desires keeps him coming back to the mirror each night for about a week. The

Mirror of Erised is known as Harry’s temptation because the visits stray him from his goal of

finding out who stole the sorcerer's stone. The atonement of the father occurs when the hero

confronts the object that holds the most power over his life. Although Voldemort is not a father

figure, Harry needs to defeat him in order to turn a new stone in his life. Voldemort can be

classified as a ruler within the twelve common archetypes because he believes power is the

only aspect of life. With Voldemort having been vanquished, Harry discovers the corrupt world.

The apostate is when the hero dies a death, physically or in spirit, and moves him beyond basic

knowledge. This is represented when a hero enters a godlike stage. During the last chapter,

Potter wakes up in a hospital bed, unknowing where the stone is. Dumbledore assures him that

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