Started reading Harry Potter for the first time this morning. I shouldn’t have been surprised but I was. It starts out very much like a children’s book.
And chapter 1 is full of owls. I can’t help but remark that the owls are not what they seem.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Chapter 2
So in chapter 2, Harry accidentally rescues a snake from a zoo by wizarding away the glass separating the snake from freedom. Harry gets on my good side by being sad that the snake is locked up. Yet this sequence comes after Harry is described as having the best morning of his life. Do not the other animals have in cages make Harry sad? Does he only care about the freedom of snakes? Rowling glosses over a morning of Harry experiencing the captivity of animals with only describing the threats and treats that come from the “family” who enslaved him. Rowling seems to want to use the snake in captivity as a metaphor for Harry. Like the snake, Harry is as born into captivity. Perhaps the snake is special just as Harry is special which explains why Harry doesn’t care to free the other animals. Perhaps Harry only seeks out those who are special. Yet the snake in its captivity lives a better life than Harry. Harry must often steal food from those who are supposed to care for him in order to
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