While the entire Harry Potter series strives to establish the identity of the main character, the first installment of JK Rowling's bestselling books, titled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, clearly presents a pattern that begins very early in the life of the protagonist, Harry Potter. . Unlike works that might emphasize the influence of chance or fate, it is evident that Harry chooses what his identity will be, rather than letting fate and circumstance determine it for him. As Rowling introduces the young protagonist to readers, she follows a pattern, particularly throughout the first book in the series, in order to illustrate how Harry takes charge of this act of shaping his identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay As the novel begins, readers immediately discover that eleven-year-old Harry Potter lives with his disreputable Aunt and Uncle Dursley. It is also evident that he is rather unloved by his caretakers and is forced to live in a cupboard under the stairs. He is abused and neglected, while his cousin is spoiled and fattened. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns that he is a wizard and is taken to a whole new magical world with a friendly half-giant named Hagrid. He now finds himself faced with a choice. Will he choose to trust this new world and these new people, or will he approach this with apprehension and distrust because of the way he was treated throughout his childhood? In a psychological study on the behavioral effects associated with child maltreatment by Carrie A. Moylan et al, it was found that "children exposed to domestic violence and/or maltreatment are more likely to experience a wide range negative psychosocial and behavioral consequences. (Moylan et al. 53). Child abuse is an act that has many harmful consequences. It is generally known that many child abuse situations do not end well and result in long-term problems for the victim, such as trust issues, low self-esteem and anger, as well as problems much more serious such as suicidal depression and anxiety. Abuse changes the victim's behavior both internally and externally. After numerous observational trials of a wide variety of children, the study found that "youth... who had been direct victims of child maltreatment were more consistently exposed to the full range of internalized behavior problems and externalized” (59). With the previous information taken into account, it is easy to assume that Harry would face his new world with just as much animosity as he did in his old world. Readers wouldn't blame Harry for approaching everything with caution and distrust, as he was shown nothing but cruelty for most of his childhood. However, Harry reacted in the opposite way. He immediately receives everyone in the magical world with eagerness and gratitude. He happily dives into the magical, quirky village and asks many questions about the new world he is a part of. The morning he leaves for Hogwarts, he is overcome with excitement: "Harry woke up at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep" (Rowling 90). Upon arriving at school, he never shows fear, but instead exudes enthusiasm. He participates in the welcome feast without any hesitation or questioning the reason for presenting this extravagant meal. When Harry is faced with the choice of leaving hispast despair to write his future or to break out of this cycle to rebuild his life, he chooses happiness, refusing to let his circumstances define him. After discovering the new magical world, Harry receives information that would seem to change his view of himself. He learns that he alone survived an attack by the most dangerous and darkest wizard of his time, Lord Voldemort. Not only did Harry survive the attack that killed his parents with only a visible scar at the age of one, but he also manages to make Voldemort disappear without a trace. Harry has had the nickname “the boy who lived” since childhood. He is also credited with being a hero for bringing the evil wizard out of society. If it were said that they are responsible for all these good deeds after being introduced to a society where everyone only knows them for that, it would be easy to enjoy these titles and develop a hero complex. Hubris, according to Dictionary.com, is defined as “excessive pride or self-confidence” (hubris). This type of self-image can lead to thinking that one is better than others or that one deserves to be called a hero. In an article published in a psychiatric journal on the dangers of pride, Dianne Trumball draws the reader's attention to the idea that people with pride as a defining personality trait "see themselves as embodying the standards of archetypal, action-oriented heroes who can change.” destiny” (Trumball 343). It would be rather easy for Harry to assume this personality trait if he simply accepted what other wizards and witches told him about who he was. It would be much easier for him to accept the fact that he is a great and superior hero and proceed that way in his new life than to start at the bottom and establish his identity. However, Harry doesn't do this. This. Harry's personality is the opposite of pride. He initially does not believe that he is responsible for the heroic act of defeating Lord Voldemort as he considers himself incapable of these actions. He himself seems in a much more humble light than people in magical society see him. This is best demonstrated when he and Hagrid have dinner after a long journey through Diagon Alley:[1] "Everyone thinks I'm special," he says finally. “All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander…but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect big things? I'm famous and I don't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry – I mean, the night my parents died. (Rowling 86) This piece of dialogue in the novel shows that Harry does not have confidence in himself and he does not understand how people in the magical world could view him as so important to society. This self-perception continues until Harry is finally brought to Hogwarts and surrounded by his peers. When he finally finds out which house he will join at Hogwarts, he is simply happy to be part of a "family", and he does not notice any preferential treatment: "He was so relieved to have been chosen and not to not be placed in a family. A Slytherin, he barely noticed that he was receiving the loudest cheers yet. Percy the prefect stood up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins shouted, "We have Potter!" We have Potter'” (121-122). Rather, Harry chooses to define himself as a hero through his actions in his new environment without simply accepting the title. He actively seeks to live up to the title of hero by proving himself worthy. Throughout his first year at Hogwarts,.