How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment Six

Sameness. This is a term that the majority of my class knows, due to the fact that we have all had to read The Giver and Brave New World. Both books present a society that is Utopian, however while trying to create "sameness" in their perfect little world, they are actually destroying themselves. Also, there is also that one rebellious character who fights to be different.

Harry Potter is one of those particular characters that was born different. The lightning shaped scar on his forehead may seem like just a physical imperfection, but it symbolically means much more.

His scar represents the fact that he is different. It tells the story of how he was the only one who survived Voldemort, and how he lived to tell the tale. Being different makes people look at you with different eyes, as if something is unappealing. Harry was one of those characters who actually wanted to be normal. He did not want to be the "chosen one" but his fate was chosen for him so he finally ended up accepting it.

His scar sets him apart from everyone else in the story. Physical imperfections often mark the hero, and they foreshadow the events yet to come that will definitely relate to this person in some way. These particular character markings mark the way of the damage that life inflicts.