Harry's Internal Conflict in the Beginning of the Book

[Georgia]

Hi everybody

I think in the beginning of this book (I'm on page 114), Harry has an internal conflict, which is a conflict a character has in his mind/with himself.

I think that Harry's internal conflict is that he thinks he's not good enough to go to Hogwarts.

When he hears Draco at the robe shop in Diagon Alley say that wizards from muggle families don't belong at Hogwarts, Harry got nervous because he grew up with the Dursleys and had no idea about anything magic until the day before that.
Also, when Harry thinks that he will be sorted into his house with a test, he gets worried because he knows absolutely no magic spells or anything, which just adds on to the idea that he thinks he isn't good enough to go to Hogwarts.

What do you think about this? Please comment down below your opinions

By the way, I know I'm only on the first book, but you can put in spoilers since I've already read it before

[Josh]

I agree because in the beginning Harry is leading a normal life and when he goes to Hogwarts, he has no experience in this new world. So, it is a struggle for him to adapt to such an unorthodox living style compared to his.

[Ruby]

Though Rowling didn't get into character development like this, I think realistically Harry could have been influenced by his aunt, uncle, and cousin always telling him that he was worthless. He knew that he wasn't, but I think he may have gotten so grounded into that reality that the idea of being accepted seemed like a dream to him, and he really couldn't fathom it until the moment of: "GRYFFINDOR!"

[[deleted user]]

Of course Harry had internal conflicts. First of all, he was raised in a house where it was forbidden to even mention the word magic, even dreams with fantastic elements could not be told. Imagine the shock to find out that magic does in fact exist and Harry himself is a wizard.

Also the Dursleys never appreciated Harry. They thought he was good at nothing and treated him in a very abusive way. And that surely does things to a child's psychology. Harry was convinced he was worthless, he even thought that the Sorting Hat wouldn't sort him at all and they would sent him home because a mistake had been made.

Remember that Harry was an 11 year old at the time. He switched from one world to another in the blink of an eye. He knew practically nothing of his own past. He found out other people knew him, when he didn't even know himself. Not to mention the encounter with Draco which only added more weight to Harry's doubts. Everything was extremely confusing for him and to be honest I think Harry handled the entire situation pretty well, despite the internal struggles he had to go through.

[Kelly]

Harry definitely had internal conflicts. He was raised in an abusive home where he was treated terribly. He knew absolutely nothing about his past and parents and was lied to about it. Then, Hagrid storms inside the hut and presents him with overwhelming information about him being a wizard. Also, Harry was to be influenced by the Dursleys, and to think he was nothing and was going nowhere. Harry was encouraged by Ron and others that he was going to be fine, but he still had plenty of doubts. Although Harry was anxious and had internal battles, he managed to overcome his fears and be a savior and protector of the Wizarding World.

[James]

Internal conflict in this book wouldn't be very strong if it wasn't for the dialogue. You wouldn't be able to tell if he was nervous or not if it wasn't for the dialogue. What do you think??

[Georgia]

James wrote: "Internal conflict in this book wouldn't be very strong if it wasn't for the dialogue. You wouldn't be able to tell if he was nervous or not if it wasn't for the dialogue. What do you think??"

I agree! I think that Harry is a person who always keeps his cool, and the tone of his dialogue proves that. Even though Draco Malfoy intimidated him a little, and so did Snape, he didn't lash out at either of them, which I think shows his character. That's also how he was able to live with the Dursleys for so long--he always stayed calm on the outside.

[Kelly]

I also agree with James because without the dialogue, we would't be able to know what and how Harry is feeling. We are also able to make inferences about what's happening and everyone's emotions in case J.K. Rowling wasn't very specific at that time. For example, no one would know how Harry and Ron felt about Hermoine during their encounters in Hogwarts if the creative dialogue wasn't present during these situations. We also wouldn't know how other Hogwarts students reacted to Malfoy's snobby and disrespectful behavior.