Harry Potter is quiet modest and humble compared to the stereotypical hero in most novels. His horrible, bullied, upbringing in the home of his adoptive relatives plays an important role in how he stays so humble and reluctant to accept his praise as a hero. As a result of this upbringing, he also does not see himself as a significant individual. Harry is neither right nor wrong to reject his praise due to the circumstances but his superior modesty shows how true of a hero Harry really is.
Harry grew up with the Dursley’s, his adoptive relatives after the passing of both his parents. “He lived with the Dursley’s almost ten year, ten miserable years.”(27) There is nothing joyful in the way Harry Potter lived with these relatives, he slept in a cupboard under the stairs and was often locked in there for hours at a time, and they constantly bullied nd mistreated him since the day he was left on their door step. He was not honoured, respected or treated how any human being or child for that matter deserved. “Harry had always been small and skinny for his age, he looked even smaller and skinnier than he was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley’s and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.” (20) Dudley was Harry’s cousin whom he also lived with. The difference between Harry and Dudley was that Dudley was highly the favourite child, spoiled, and treated like gold. Harry wore Dudley’s hand me down clothes and often catered to him. Growing up like this resulted in Harry not feeling like he was great or worth anything, just an ordinary, scrawny, boy that was not capable of much.
For growing up in such ways Harry is extremely brave and proves his heroic qualities in more than one way after moving to Hogwarts, fro...
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...the spotlight, and does what he believes is right and that is why Dumbledore addresses what Harry has done. That is what a true hero is all about.
Aside from where Harry grew up and who raised him he grows as a person every day. He fights for what he believes, he is brought into a life he has never heard of and is informed that he is a wizard, all of which is so new to him, and taking that all in and achieving what he has is part of the reason he is significant. Along with that, as terrible as the Dursley’s were to him it was one of the greatest reasons Harry was able to stay humble and not see himself any different or better than any other human being. There is no hero with the same traits or humbleness that Harry represents and that makes him a true, modest hero.
Works Cited
Rowling, J.K Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997
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