Hermione's Characterization in The Philosopher's Stone

Running head: HERMIONE’S CHARACTERIZATION IN THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
HERMIONE’S CHARACTERIZATION IN THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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HERMIONE’S CHARACTERIZATION IN THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
Introduction
The essay aims to analyze Hermione Granger’s character in the novel Harry Potter and
the Philosopher’s Stone. The essay will first provide a brief overview of the novel with its main
characters. Then, the essay will analyze the character of Hermione based on the quote provided.
The novel has been written by author J. K. Rowling and it was one of the bestselling novels after
it published in 1997. It became the top listed novel in the New York Times as the bestselling
novel in 1999. The characters in the novel too became popular worldwide. The sequels of the
novel too received immense popularity. The sequels included Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Goblet of Fire, order of Phoenix, Half
Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows Part One ad Part Two. The popularity of the novel led to its
adaptation in films in 2001 with the first part releasing under Warner Brothers Pictures.
Discussion
The novel has three chief characters namely Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ronald
Weasley. While Harry is the protagonist, Ron and Hermione are his best friends, although
initially, both Harry and Ron despised her. This is evident from the given lines, “Hermione was
now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this
as an added bonus” (Rowling). The story revolves around the philosopher’s stone, a stone that
has the power to make a potion that gives immortality and the power to turn metals into gold. At
the beginning of the story, the readers come to know about Harry and his poor condition at the
home of the Dursleys (Rowling). When Hagrid finally takes Harry to the Hogwarts School, he
meets Ron and Hermione there. While Ron and Harry become friends instantly, Hermione shows
off her knowledge and authoritative skills to annoy both.

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HERMIONE’S CHARACTERIZATION IN THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
When Hermione is first introduced in the novel, she is portrayed as the most annoying
and bossy character. She is loud and interferes in other’s conversation all the time. She is the
typical “know-it-all” and obedient girl who always follow rules. She puts all other students off
by working hard and acting smart all the time. She did not exert a positive impression on those
around her especially to the two boys. However, the character is not just a suck up but as it is
clear in the novel that she is very enthusiastic about learning magic and has an extremely
powerful work ethic. However, other students found her to be trying too hard for attention. Ron
and Harry even prayed that she was not chosen for the House of Gryffindor but she was
ultimately a Gryffindor. Ron in particular, becomes too annoyed with Hermione probably
because she was completely his opposite. She was smart, knowledgeable and sorted while Ron
hardly had any skills or knowledge about magic. His irritation could probably be because of his
feeling of inferiority. The three become friends after Hermione saves Ron and Harry from being
expelled. Ron says something bad about her that she overhears and rushes to the girl’s bathroom
to cry her heart out. There, she faces grave danger as the monster somehow finds an escape and
Ron and Harry save her from it.
When the author states that Harry Ron saw Hermione not talking to them as “an added
bonus”, it shows that the two boys did not recognize her potential. Here, Hermione is also to be
blamed because she presented herself that way to make them feel irritated with her. In fact, she
was described as follows in Chapter Six: “She had a bossy sort of voice, lost of bushy brown
hair, and rather large front teeth” (Rowling). Further in the same chapter, the readers are
provided further insight into her “bossy” character as she introduces herself to the two boys. she
boasts that she has tried some simple spells only for practice and learned all the “course books by
heart” and in the end simply states,”I just hope it will be enough” (Rowling). In this way, she