HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER'S STONE: A Marxist and Feminist View of the Boy Who Lived

In 1997, the Harry Potter series by author J. K. Rowling burst onto the publishing scene in England then the rest of the world with the somewhat surprising and phenomenal success of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, (the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.) a tale about an orphaned boy who enrolls at a school for budding witches and wizards. It is inevitable that student readers, teachers, and/or scholars studying the Harry Potter book series will encounter strong criticism of the books, movies, and the author who wrote them. This criticism can even become hostile. The criticism can even be considered Marxist and Feminist in approach. This paper will show the why I believe Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone can be viewed in both Marxism and Feminism criticism theory. It will then show what I hope to prove in citing these forms of criticism in this novel.

Critics of this book complain that the focus on witchcraft is objectionable and subversive. It is important to note that most of the classic fantasy titles have been considered controversial. It is part and parcel of the genre. Ms. Rowling has even commented that, "If you ban all books with witchcraft and the supernatural, you'll ban three-quarters of children's literature" (Nel 58). However, it is neither the focus nor desire of this paper to expound upon the moral obligations of using magic, witchcraft or sorcery in a novel written about children for children. It will be my goal to show how this novel can also be criticized for using Marxist theories and the negative portrayal of women in the novel.