A First Year's Year of Food: Cuisine and Character in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' Megan Wenzel College

You are what you eat, they always say. This timeless proverb holds true for the wizarding world, as well. Harry Potter might be able to escape the muggle world after he becomes a wizard, but no one is immune to the truth behind proverbs. Throughout Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling uses food-related imagery to complement the emotions Harry has. In his first year at Hogwarts, Harry experiences a vast change in his surroundings, feelings, and sense of self. These stark life changes are mimicked by the different flavors and connotations of food Harry is surrounded by.

For the first ten years of Harry’s life, he lives with his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. Unloved and unwanted, he lives in the cupboard beneath the stairs. His spoiled cousin Dudley has everything he can get his hands on, but very rarely is Harry allowed to have anything. While Harry does not starve at the Dursleys’, he is never shown what it feels like to have a full stomach or allowed a treat. On the one occasion that Harry is allowed to attend Dudley’s birthday party, the Dursleys, “Buy Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams…(and) Harry a cheap lemon ice pop” (Rowling 26). This simple treat is a joy for Harry, even though his...