So during one of my classes I found out about ‘semiotic analysis’ of advertisements which is finding different meanings in images and symbols that are used. After doing some research, I realised you could do this with any and all imagery, as well as the text itself. However I don’t have the time to analyse whole books at the moment, so I though a new series where I try to analyse and discuss the meanings of book covers would be interesting. My first try is with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, and let me know if you’re interesting in seeing more posts like this in the comments!
The clear denotation of what the book cover is showing is younger Harry in shock and/or awe at being on platform 9 3/4 and seeing the Hogwarts express. The first and most prominent feature when I look at the cover is the train itself. Trains often symbolise going on a journey, where there’s often one final destination but there can be multiple stops along the way. This links well with most books, but with the Harry Potter series it could be suggested that Harry’s final destination is his final push to fight Voldemort in the Deathly Hallow. This has two ways of looking at the hogwarts express itself within Harrys journey. Firstly the last time Harry is on the Hogwarts Express is when he leaves his 6th year and he’s made the decision to not go back to Hogwarts and to find the horcruxes and fight against Voldemort. Secondly, the Kings Cross scene with Dumbledore when the Horcrux is destroyed by Voldemort could also arguably be the final destination for Harry’s Story as he’s finally ready to defeat Voldemort for good.
The train also has other meanings which also interlink closely with the overall series. Trains are often restriction from freedom as they are bound to the track and have to follow the path chosen for them. This is reminiscent of Harry being bound to his ‘chosen one’ fate by Voldemort choosing him and Dumbledore priming him from a young age. On a more positive note, trains also carry multiple people and there’s a strong sense of you are never alone on the journey, you have the people you meet along the way. This links so thoroughly with the theme of love that runs through the books, and Harry could never have completed his journey without those people he found along the way to stand by his side.
There’s also meanings to be found in some of the symbols used. The famous lightening bolt scar is one of them, and this often carries connotations of power and strength. The Celtics believed that those who were struck by lightening were sacred and blessed with the powers of the gods. Whilst not blessed by God’s, Harry did gain knowledge that he has magic which in itself is powerful. He also turns out to be a powerful wizard. In this analogy, it could also be looked at that Voldemort ‘blessed’ him with his own powers when he was a baby. However, this could also be deemed an opposing meaning as it was more of a curse than a blessing, and although Voldemort wanted to be something similar to a god as immortal, he was in fact only human.
The lightning bolt also assumes a loss of ignorance, which could be baby Harry losing his family and childhood due to Voldemort, with a symbol right on his forehead telling this story. It could also be his loss of ignorance about the wizarding world in the first book as Hagrid introduces him and he attends the Hogwarts Express which links thoroughly to this particular image. Native Americans link lightening to truth, honesty and morality. Whilst we could suggest that Harry learns that he ‘must not tell lies’ it’s mainly the morality point we can focus on here. Harry has a strong moral compass and knows right from wrong quite easily, whereas maybe he isn’t as honest as his scar may symbolise, he is truthful when it counts.
The stars that are placed around the train creates a suggestion of magic occurring. Whilst they’re not oentagrams and so not directly related to Wicca, there is an obvious suggested as they are within the cloud of smoke. Stars are often linked to hope or looking into the future – similar to centaurs divinations in the books. This hope is something that is seen throughout the series, and we’re looking into the future journey that the Hogwarts Express will take Harry and us as the reader on.
Now I also want to talk about the colours that are uses. The cover is predominantly red with yellow or gold text. Now initially there’s the obvious denotation that it’s the Gryffindor house colours, and these colours are the top two for capturing attention so it could just be marketing ploys. However looking into the colours symbolism uncovers some interesting links. Red is often association with danger and adventure, both of which Harry will face within this book and the later series. Red also has a historical link to magic because it’s a rich colour that many people couldn’t afford to dye their clothes to.
Yellow is a colour that signifies happiness and optimism. As it’s within the red as the text, it could be said that happiness can be found within the danger (or happiness can be found in the darkest of times 👀). Yellow also has some darker themes too, with cowardice, betrayal, egoism, and madness being linked to it. These themes are brilliant links to the series as a whole as you can link each of them to one of Harry’s foes. Snape often reduces to cowardice, Pettigrew is betrayal, Barry Crouch jr is madness and Voldemort is ultimately Egoism.
With all of these aspects being used which can connotate to multiple aspects throughout this book and the series, I love the cover even more than my childhood nostalgia could make me.
Is there something else you see? Or any points you could add to what I found?
Comments
8 responses to “Judge a Book By Its Cover | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”
What an absolute fascinating insight into imagery! Apart from his expression of awe and wonder, I wouldn’t have picked up on most of the elements you’ve mentioned, especially the the symbolism of the train. I can see how it references Harry’s future being predestined but also the journey he’s about to embark on. I love these edition covers, so much more enchanting than the newer covers. Absolutely brilliant post, really loved this one!
Glad you liked it Kelly! And I agree – I love these covers so much more than any others! 💕
this is such an interesting topic! I’d absolutely love to see what you make of other books’ covers.
I definitely didn’t know that trains had quite so many meanings – but you’re absolutely right, it works so well to represent Harry’s narrative arc; I particularly love that this is the first book, so it’s both confirmation of the lessons learned in this book, as well as foreshadowing the rest of the series. It also almost looks like he’s about to get hit by the train: kind of like how he’s unceremoniously dumped into the Wizarding World and his status as the Chosen One with little preparation.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I now need to pick some other covers…
I agree – I think the Hogwarts express is such a good use of symbolism for Harry and I don’t even know if JK knew about it when writing. And I agree, he does look suspiciously in front of it – maybe that should have been Voldemorts plan? 🤔
I was never particularly good at doing this kind of analysis. But I always find it fascinating reading how others interpret something that I haven’t thought too much about.
I am gonna ask if you’ve read the blog post about Harry’s scar actually being the shape you make when you cast the killing curse (sorry, can’t remember how to spell it!)?
I’m not fully sure how good I am tbh! But I do find it super interesting.
And no I haven’t read it! I’ll try searching for it though because I didn’t know about that link – thank you for letting me know!
Oh wow, I’ve never thought about this book cover like this. To be honest, if they were solely published like this I would have probably never picked it up :’) It’s a bit too childish for me, and while I can see it might work for the first few books, the later ones get so dark and the covers don’t match that darkness in my mind. But hey, who am I to say this. I’ve only read the series twice and don’t even own the books :’)
Oh I loved these covers (but I started reading them when I was a child at age 7 sooooo 😉) – and I don’t think many people see these things as symbolic? But I find it’s a fun exercise to see if you can see similarities to a book cover and its story!