potteragain - Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 1, "The Boy Who Lived"
It's been about two years since the last time I reread Harry Potter. I used to reread it every summer. Even with that many rereads, I've noticed details I've either run over or forgotten while rereading for this project.
Let's just get down to it, then?
First off, for this book only, I'm going to use both a copy of The Sorcerer's Stone AND an edition of the Philosopher's Stone I have lying around. Unfortunately, this book is the only one that I have multiple editions for, but it's my understanding that as the books went on, the difference between editions lessened, anyway. As such, any quotes I pull will be marked with page number, followed by 'ss' or 'ps' to distinguish between editions ("Sorcerer's Stone" and "Philosopher's Stone," respectively).
So for this chapter, I'm breaking it up into four sections: The Dursleys, The Magical World, Differences In Editions, and Final Thoughts.
It's interesting that the book starts with a long introduction to the Dursleys. We know now that all of the books start with Harry at the Dursleys and that it's significant to keeping Harry safe. However, the effect it has on the first book is interesting. It sets the reader up to protect Harry before we even know him. It also mirrors Dumbledore's "famous before he can walk and talk/better to keep him away from all of that" line later in the chapter. It's better for the reader to keep Harry away from their mind for the time being.
I always forget that Petunia is blonde. In regards to how the Dursleys are described physically, they represent these masculine and feminine ideals; Petunia being slim and blonde, and Vernon being "beefy" with a mustache. But they're also caricatures of those ideals; Petunia with her long, craning neck and Vernon with very little neck. Despite what should have been their physical sort-of "perfection," their toxic personalities bleed through to their physicality. They are the first characters we meet who are representative of the idea that character means more than appearances.
"The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it." (p 1, ss). This line gets my blood boiling. They lived in this world of absolute perfection, where nothing they wanted or needed was out of reach and yet they react to the Potters so vilely, as though the worst thing that could happen to them is to be associated with anything less than perfect. Ugh. Also, in the US edition, this line ends page one and that page break is really well placed.
"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts..." (p 2, ss) The fact that is starts on a Tuesday is interesting to me. Mondays have that feeling of rushed newness, recovering from the weekend and getting back into the swing of a work week. Wednesdays are halfway points, Thursdays are nearly the weekend, Fridays start the weekend, Saturdays are the free day and Sundays are the slow, recovery day. But Tuesdays are essentially the most "work day" type days the exist, especially in Mr. Dursley's 9-5 Monday - Friday corporate job.
When Mr. Dursley sees the cat, his first reaction is that it's reading (first a map, then the street sign). I think the given their already established worst fear, the Dursley's must've kept a watch out for any sign of magic. James and Lily must've left quite the impression.
Mr. Dursley is in a good mood when he gets to shout at people. Ugh.
...and yet, when he runs into someone, he apologizes. Everything we know about Mr. Dursley at this point suggests that he wouldn't be the kind of person to apologize.
"...hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before..." (p 5, ss) I just love this line.
"The cat didn't moved. It just gave him a stern look. Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered." (p 6, ss) He literally doesn't know how cats behave (and again, a hint of him looking out for things that are unusual/signs of magic)
The Magical World
Mr. Dursley notices the cat right away in the morning. I wonder why McGonagall was there all day. I wrote later in the chapter that maybe that was her first instinct; if the rumors were true and Harry had survived, the logical place to go would have been to Lily's sister. I think McGonagall loved Lily and James a lot and wanted to check out where Harry would go, but it's never established as to why she sat there all day.
The shooting stars on the news are interesting to me; I don't think we ever see wizards create shooting stars again in the series? They make sparks, certainly, but shooting stars are...in space. What are the limitations of magic?
"Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive." (p 8, ss) Another line I just love. It also shows that the wizarding world had mostly left Harry's family alone (which, knowing Voldemort, is fairly exceptional)
There are four times that the color of a cloak is mentioned in this chapter; an older wizard spotted by Mr. Dursley is wearing an emerald green cloak (p 3, ss), the wizard Mr. Dursley runs into is wearing a purple robe (p 5, ss), Dumbledore is wearing a purple cloak (p 8, ss), and McGonagall is wearing an emerald cloak (p 9, ss) I don't know if purple and green have any significance, but those are the only colors of robe specifically mentioned.
Dumbledore doesn't make eye contact with McGonagall when they first meet in the chapter. I'd say much of their discussion in this chapter feels distant/stiff. On page 11 (ss), McGonagall speaks to him "coldly" and when Harry finally arrives, Dumbledore says "We'd better get this over with." (p 15, ss)
But there's also hints of familiarity; McGonagall makes Dumbledore blush (which is such a cute thing, coming from Dumbledore).
I think their competing interests for Harry have been a long argument, based on their interactions here. Like they've always had competing interests in the Order or something.
Dumbledore's watch is such an odd detail.
"...cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet..." (p 13, ss) She's so cat like, even as a human.
Knowing the series already, it opens with Dumbledore ALREADY muddling in Harry's fate, trying to take control of it and thinking that he knows best.
"She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she though he might be hiding Harry underneath it." (p 14, ss) She actually thought Dumbledore could have had Harry under his cloak the whole time they were talking, omg. (also this establishes Dumbledore as a bit unstable/unpredictable).
A wizard as powerful as Dumbledore (as established by McGonagall earlier in the chapter) can't do anything about Harry's scar?? He must've started to suspect there'd be significance to it later. Either that or again, the limitations of magic are unclear.
The three diferent reactions from Dumbledore/McGonagall/Hagrid are just lovely. Hagrid howling, McGonagall wiping her eyes (but already keeping Hagrid in line), and Dumbledore hardly reacting in an explicitly visual manner; just "the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out." (p 16, ss)
Differences in Editions
In the US version, Dudley's new word is "Won't" (p 6, ss). in the UK version, it's "Shan't!" (p 12, ps). I figure it's just a difference in the popularity of the phrase; "shan't" isn't used very commonly in the US.
In the US version, Hagrid says , "I'll be taking Sirius his bike back." (p 16, ss), but in the UK version, he says, "I'd best get this bike away." (p 23, ps)
Page breaks. The UK version doesn't have any significant pages breaks, but the US has has several. The first one I mentioned in 'The Dursleys' section. There are also significant page breaks after the following phrases:
1. "Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters..." (p 6, ss)
2. "This man's name was Albus Dumbledore." (p 8, ss)
3. ""Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone." (p 16, ss)
Final Thoughts
In this chapter, we're presented with the concept of magic, but never the word itself. We see things like a cat turning into a person and a man appearing out of thin air and a motorcycle that can fly. We hear the word "muggle" and there are owls behaving strangely and people wandering about in strange clothes. Of course, it doesn't mean much if you read the back cover, but to, say, a child whose parents are reading it to them (or a stubborn child like me, who didn't want spoilers), there's still a sense of wonder as to what world this little, amazing child is being hid from.
"A breeze ruffled through the hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen." (p 17, ss) I'm really emotional about that line.