book report of harry potter and the chamber of secrets

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

51 pages • 1 hour read

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-14

Chapters 15-18

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 1998 young adult fantasy novel by J.K. Rowling, the second in the Harry Potter series. The story follows Harry’s tumultuous second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, including an encounter with Voldemort, the wizard who killed Harry’s parents. Against this fantastic backdrop, Rowling examines such themes as death, fame, friendship, choice, and prejudice. Upon release, the novel became a worldwide bestseller and won several awards, including Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and the Nestlé Smarties Book Award; it was subsequently adapted into a 2002 film directed by Chris Columbus. Citations in this guide correspond with the 2018 Scholastic Inc. edition.

Plot Summary

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In the summer of 1992, 12-year-old wizard Harry Potter lives with his non-magical relatives, the Dursleys , following his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Just over a decade earlier, Harry’s parents were killed by an evil wizard named Voldemort, who mysteriously failed to kill baby Harry, then went into hiding. The Dursleys detest magic and become furious when Harry’s visit from a magical elf named Dobby , who warns Harry not to return to Hogwarts, ruins their dinner party with some of Mr. Dursley’s customers. They lock Harry in his room.

A few days later, Harry’s friends Ron, Fred, and George Weasley rescue Harry from the Dursleys in a flying car, which is a pet project of their father. Harry spends the rest of the summer with the Weasleys. Near the end of the summer, Harry and the Weasleys go shopping for books and supplies. Harry overhears Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy, Harry’s rival at Hogwarts, pawning dark magical artifacts. Later, the Weasleys and the Malfoys get into a heated argument in a bookstore.

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On the day they are supposed to return to Hogwarts, Harry and Ron find themselves unable to pass through the magical barrier to the train platform. They decide to fly the car instead. Arriving at Hogwarts, they crash-land in a magical tree whose branches attack them and the car; Ron’s wand breaks, and they receive a detention.

Term begins. Harry, Ron, and their friend Hermione Granger attend Herbology, Transfiguration, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. The latter is taught by newcomer Gilderoy Lockhart , a handsome but incompetent celebrity author. Harry also practices and plays Quidditch, a sport played on flying broomsticks. During one match, one of the balls malfunctions, injuring Harry. Dobby revisits Harry that night and reveals that he blocked Harry from catching the train and caused the Quidditch injury in the hopes of keeping Harry away from an unspecified danger at Hogwarts.

One day, Harry hears a disembodied voice threatening to kill someone; no one else seems able to hear the voice. A few days later, on Halloween, he hears the voice again. Following it, he finds the caretaker’s cat stiff and lifeless near a message announcing that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. According to legend, Salazar Slytherin, one of the school’s founders, hid a chamber in the school containing a monster that would rid the school of students born to non-magical parents, against whom Slytherin and his followers, including the Malfoys, are deeply prejudiced.

Several similar attacks occur over the next few months, leaving victims motionless but not dead. Harry, Ron, and Hermione carry out a plan to find out whether Draco is behind the attacks; he is not. Many students come to suspect Harry after learning that he can talk to snakes, a rare ability associated with Slytherin. Their suspicions die down after Hermione is attacked.

One day, Harry finds a diary that belonged to someone named Tom Riddle in an out-of-order women’s bathroom. The diary preserves Riddle’s living memory. Riddle attended Hogwarts 50 years earlier when the Chamber of Secrets was also opened. At that time, Hagrid, Harry’s friend and now Hogwarts’s gamekeeper, was arrested following a tip from Riddle. Hagrid is again arrested, but as he leaves, he directs Ron and Harry to follow spiders into the Forbidden Forest near Hogwarts Castle. In the forest, they learn that the giant spider Hagrid raised in the castle 50 years ago and now living in the forest was not responsible for the attacks.

Riddle’s diary is stolen from Harry, and another message appears, indicating that Ginny, Ron’s sister, was taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Piecing together clues, Harry and Ron find their way to the Chamber of Secrets via the bathroom where they found the diary, dragging Lockhart, now revealed as a fraud, with them. When Lockhart tries to wipe Harry and Ron’s memories, the spell backfires, leaving Lockhart helpless, and part of the underground tunnel collapses, separating Harry from Ron and Lockhart. Moving forward, Harry finds Riddle draining Ginny’s life, allowing him to exist outside of the diary. Harry learns that Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets and later became Voldemort. Throughout the year, he controlled Ginny, using her to coordinate the attacks, which were performed by a giant snake called a basilisk, which can kill with a stare. However, no one died because they only saw the basilisk indirectly through lenses, reflections, or even ghosts . With help from a magical bird and the Sorting Hat , a sentient hat that sorts students into houses, Harry defeats Riddle and the basilisk.

Afterward, he learns that Lucius Malfoy planted the diary in Ginny’s belongings during the argument at the book shop and that Dobby belongs to the Malfoys. He helps free Dobby, then celebrates as Hermione and the other victims are cured. Dumbledore, the headmaster, offers special awards to Harry and Ron. As the term ends, Harry catches the train back to London.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Throughout the summer holidays after his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter has been receiving sinister warnings from a house-elf called Dobby.

Now, back at school to start his second year, Harry hears unintelligible whispers echoing through the corridors.

Before long the attacks begin: students are found as if turned to stone.

Dobby’s predictions seem to be coming true.

Publishers: UK Print – Bloomsbury US Print – Scholastic eBook – Pottermore Digital Audiobook – Pottermore UK Illustrated – Bloomsbury US Illustrated – Scholastic  UK MinaLima edition – Bloomsbury US MinaLima edition – Scholastic

Privacy Overview

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

J. k. rowling, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Introduction

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets: plot summary, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: detailed summary & analysis, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: themes, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: quotes, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: characters, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: symbols, harry potter and the chamber of secrets: theme wheel, brief biography of j. k. rowling.

Historical Context of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Other books related to harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

• Full Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• When Written: 1995-1998
• Where Written: Edinburgh, Scotland
• When Published: 1995
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Children’s fantasy
• Setting: England; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
• Climax: Harry kills the basilisk and defeats Tom Riddle
• Antagonist: Tom Riddle/Voldemort
• Point of View: Third-person

Extra Credit for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Borgin and Burke’s Magical Items. Three objects that Harry notices in Borgin and Burke’s store in this book make important reappearances in the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince : the Vanishing Cabinet, the Opal Necklace, and the Hand of Glory .

Pileup. For the film, fourteen real Ford Anglias were destroyed to create the scene in which Harry and Ron crash into the Whomping Willow.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

"I've only suffered writer's block badly once, and that was during the writing of Chamber of Secrets . I had my first burst of publicity about the first book and it paralysed me. I was scared the second book wouldn't measure up, but I got through it!" -- J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second book in the series of Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling.

First British printing: July 2, 1998, Bloomsbury Books

First American printing: June 2, 1999, Scholastic, Arthur A. Levine Books

U.S. illustrations by Mary GrandPré, 1999

Word count: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 85,141 words Official Word Count Provided by Scholastic Inc TM & © 2004-1996. All rights reserved.

• day by day calendar of events in the book
• differences between the British and American versions
• edits and changes to the text

Reader’s Guide to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

A complete chapter-by-chapter guide with notes and commentary

Chapter 1: The Worst Birthday

In which we are reminded of the happenings during Harry’s first year at Hogwarts, uncle Vernon has a very important dinner guest coming, dinner plans are made, and Harry’s birthday is forgotten again.

Chapter 2: Dobby’s Warning

In which Dobby, a house elf, arrives in Harry’s room to warn him not to return to Hogwarts, the Dursleys’ dinner party is ruined by Dobby’s antics, and Harry is locked securely in his room.

Chapter 3: The Burrow

In which Ron, Fred, and George Weasley break Harry out of his room with the car and whisk him away to the Burrow. Harry helps de-gnome the garden after Mrs. Weasley speaks her mind.

Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts

In which Harry and the Weasleys receive their required book lists from Hogwarts and go to Diagon Alley via Floo Powder. There Harry arrives in Knockturn Alley, overhears the Malfoys, is found by Hagrid, meets author/teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, and Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy come to blows.

Chapter 5: The Whomping Willow

In which the entire Weasley family and Harry cram into the Ford Anglia and drive to King’s Cross Station. Harry and Ron cannot get through to the train and decide to fly the car to Hogwarts. The trip is uneventful until the end, when they lose power and crash into the Whomping Willow.

Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart

In which Ron receives a howler, they learn about mandrakes in Herbology, Colin Creevey asks for an autographed photo, Lockhart is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and they learn about Cornish Pixies.

Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

In which Harry begins Quidditch practice, words are exchanged with the Slytherin team, Ron’s spell backfires, Harry and Ron serve detention, and Harry hears a voice.

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party

In which Harry is caught dripping mud on the carpet by Filch, is taken to Filch’s office, discovers Filch is not a wizard, and Nearly Headless Nick invites him to his Deathday Party which Harry, Ron and Hermione attend on Hallowe’en night. Leaving the party, Harry hears voices again, and following the sound with Ron and Hermione discovers writing on the wall and a petrified Mrs Norris.

Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall

In which Harry, Ron and Hermione are questioned about the petrified cat, Hermione asks about the Chamber of Secrets, they return to the scene of the crime, consult Moaning Myrtle, and puzzle about the mystery.

Chapter 10: The Rogue Bludger

In which a note from Lockhart gets Harry, Ron and Hermione into the Restricted Section of the library and a book on making Polyjuice Potion. At the Quidditch match, a rogue bludger chases Harry, breaking his arm but not stopping him from getting the snitch. Lockhart’s attempt to heal Harry removes the bones from his arm. Madam Pomfrey begins to heal him, Dobby pays a visit, and Colin Cheevey is petrified.

Chapter 11: The Duelling Club

In which Harry is cured, goes looking for Ron and Hermione in the girl’s toilet where they are brewing the Polyjuice Potion, Hermione steals the ingredients from Snape’s office when Harry creates a diversion in class. A duelling club is started by Lockhart and Snape during which Harry learns he is a Parselmouth when a snake is conjured up by Malfoy. Rumours fly suggesting that Harry is responsible for the attacks on students, a rumour which is strengthened when he stumbles on the bodies of Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly-Headless Nick.

Chapter 12: The Polyjuice Potion

In which Harry is hauled before Dumbledore, witnesses the phoenix burning, and learns Dumbledore does not suspect him of wrongdoing. Christmas Day, presents are opened, the Polyjuice Potion is ready, Crabbe and Goyle are drugged and hair stolen and the potion drunk by Harry, Ron and Hermione. Disguised as Crabbe and Goyle, Ron and Harry quiz Draco Malfoy and find he has nothing to do with the Secret Chamber. Upon returning to the girls’ toilet they find Hermione has taken on cat features.

Chapter 13: The Very Secret Diary

In which Myrtle’s toilet floods, Harry finds Tom Riddle’s diary which he shows to a now fur-free Hermione, and they begin a search to discover who the owner was. Lockhart stages a Valentine’s party complete with dwarfs as cupids. That night Harry learns the secret of the diary, goes back in time and discovers that it was Hagrid who last opened the Chamber of Secrets.

Chapter 14: Cornelius Fudge

In which Harry, Ron and Hermione decide not to confront Hagrid, as time passes and there are no more attacks. Second-year students choose their courses for the next year, Quidditch practice becomes more frequent, Harry returns to his dormitory to find his belongings ransacked and the diary gone. Harry hears the voice again, Hermione runs to the library, and Gryffindor’s match with Hufflepuff is cancelled when Hermione and another girl are attacked. Harry and Ron visit Hagrid and overhear a conversation between Dumbledore, Fudge, and Lucius Malfoy. Hagrid is taken away and Dumbledore suspended as the Ministry tries to stop the attacks.

Chapter 15: Aragog

In which tension mounts in Hogwarts as everyone fears another attack – except Draco Malfoy, who is enjoying the situation. Acting on Hagrid’s hint about following spiders, Harry and Ron go into the Forbidden Forest, find the Ford Anglia, are captured by huge spiders, learn more about the Chamber of Secrets, and are rescued by the car.

Chapter 16: The Chamber of Secrets

In which the students learn that exams will be held as usual, Ginny acts strangely, Harry and Ron visit Hermione in hospital, find she has the answer to the Chamber’s secret (a basilisk), eavesdrop on the teachers, and learn Ginny has been taken by the monster. Lockhart attempts to flee, but Harry and Ron force him to accompany them to the Chamber via Moaning Myrtle’s toilet to rescue Ginny. They unlock the secret of the entrance. Lockhart attempts to escape by using Ron’s broken wand, but it backfires and blocks the tunnel. Harry goes on alone.

Chapter 17: The Heir of Slytherin

In which Harry finds an unconscious Ginny, meets Tom Riddle (who has had Ginny in his power through the diary) and hears his story. Fawkes the phoenix arrives with the Sorting Hat. Riddle (Voldemort) calls the basilisk to kill Harry, but the phoenix attacks and together they kill it, and by driving a serpent fang through the diary, get rid of Riddle as well.

Chapter 18: Dobby’s Reward

In which Harry tells his story to McGonagall and Dumbledore, Ginny and Lockhart are sent to the hospital, Lucius Malfoy and Dobby arrive, and Harry tricks Lucius Malfoy into freeing Dobby.

Calendar and Dates

The events of the book take place between 31 July 1992 and approximately 19 June 1993, covering Harry's second year at Hogwarts. During this year the school is plagued by dangers small (a wacky Defense Against the Dark Arts professor) and great (a monster loose in the school petrifying students).

For Seán P. F. Harris, getaway driver and foul-weather friend.

Seán Harris was a friend of JKR's while she attended school at Wyedean. Seán owned a turquoise Ford Anglia and the two of them would escape in the car to hang out under the bridge by the Wye River, drinking and talking about life. Rowling has said that in many ways the character of Ron Weasley is similar to that of Seán, although she didn't intentionally use him as a model for the character. Obviously the Anglia owned by Mr Weasley has its origins in the old car Seán drove.

Interesting facts and notes

Bloomsbury (Britain) covers

Notes from the title pages:

First published in Great Britain in 1998 Copyright (c) Text J.K. Rowling 1998 Copyright (c) Cover Illustration Cliff Wright 1997 The moral right of the author has been asserted Cover design by Michelle Radford

Scholastic (U.S.) Edition covers

This cover of the US edition, by Mary GrandPré, shows Fawkes flying Harry, Ron, and Ginny (Lockhart is not shown) to safety after the defeat of Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. This is unusual since most covers show the flying car.

Characters Introduced

• Gilderoy Lockhart
• Arthur Weasley
• Tom Marvolo Riddle
• Lucius Malfoy

Rowling's title for the first draft of this book was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. She changed the title for the second draft as all the references to the Half-Blood Prince storyline were removed and saved for book six. She wrote:

I have been engulfed by an avalanche of questions on the subject of 'Prince' having once been a title of 'Chamber'. I am therefore attempting to answer most of them under this heading, which I think just about covers all the answerable variations (the unanswerable ones include questions such as 'who's the Half-Blood Prince?' 'what happens in the Half-Blood Prince?' and 'what does Half-Blood Prince mean?') The plot of 'Prince' bears no resemblance whatsoever to the plot of 'Chamber', nor is it an off-cut of 'Chamber'. The story of 'Prince' takes off where 'Phoenix' ended and does not hark back to four years previously. True, mention is made to events that happened in 'Chamber,' but of course, mention is also made of events that happened in 'Stone', 'Azkaban', 'Goblet' and 'Phoenix'. 'The Half-Blood Prince' might be described as a strand of the overall plot. That strand could be used in a whole variety of ways and back in 1997 I considered weaving it into the story of 'Chamber'. It really didn't fit there, though; it was not part of the story of the basilisk and Riddle's diary, and before long I accepted that it would be better to do it justice in book six. I clung to the title for a while, even though all trace of the 'Prince' storyline had disappeared, because I liked it so much (yes, I really like this title!). I re-christened book two 'Chamber of Secrets' when I started the second draft. The link I mentioned between books two and six does not, in fact, relate to the 'Half-Blood Prince' (because there is no trace left of the HBP storyline in 'Chamber'.) Rather, it relates to a discovery Harry made in 'Chamber' that foreshadows something that he finds out in 'Prince'. ( JKR: FAQ )

From the Web

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on Wikipedia

In what way is 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' related to 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'? from Rowling's original website, from the Internet Archive

Pensieve (Comments)

Tags: diary secrets

Editors: Steve VanderArk and Corinne Demyanovich

• July 31st, 1992 : Harry's 12th birthday
• September, 1992 : Ginny is possessed by Tom Riddle in his diary
• September 1st, 1992 : Ginny, Luna and Colin start at Hogwarts
• September 1st, 1992 : To King's Cross by Ford Anglia
• September 1st, 1992 : Harry and Ron fly the car to Hogwarts
• September 1st, 1992 : Ron's wand is broken
• September 2nd, 1992 : Cornish pixies wreak havoc in Lockhart's class
• circa September 8th, 1992 : The Chamber of Secrets is reopened
• October 31st, 1992 : Mrs. Norris is petrified
• November 7th, 1992 : Quidditch match: Gryffindor vs. Slytherin (1992)
• November 8th, 1992 : Colin Creevey petrified
• December 18th, 1992 : Justin and Nick are petrified
• December 25th, 1992 : Harry and Ron use Polyjuice to "become" Crabbe and Goyle
• February 14th, 1993 : Valentine's Day with singing dwarfs
• May 8th, 1993 : Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater are petrified
• May 8th, 1993 : Hagrid is sent to Azkaban; Dumbledore is removed
• May 24th, 1993 : Harry and Ron meet Aragog
• May 29th, 1993 : Harry and Ron discover the Chamber of Secrets
• May, 1993 : Harry and Ron visit Hermione and learn of basilisks
• May 29th, 1993 : Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets
• May 29th, 1993 : The spirit-form of Voldemort is defeated by Harry
• 2020 : The Lexicon's 20th Anniversary Celebration!

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling – review

‘I enjoyed this book because it is packed with action, fantasy and creativity’

Harry Potter is about to start his second year at Hogwarts. Harry expects it to be a normal year after his experiences the term before but a secret chamber opens, muggle-born students are attacked and Harry must put his life in danger once more.

The three main characters in the story are Harry Potter – a young wizard who finds out he can speak Parselmouth (talk to snakes) and is mistaken for the heir of Slytherin; Ron Weasley – Harry’s best friend who steals his Father’s flying car to fly himself and Harry to Hogwarts; and Hermione Granger – Harry’s other best friend who is the smartest student in their year at school but who is petrified when the attacks start. The new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher is Gilderoy Lockhart who is a self-obsessed lunatic of a teacher.

I enjoyed this book because it is packed with action, fantasy and creativity. My favourite part is when Harry is pulled into Riddle’s diary and is made to witness the expulsion of his friend Hagrid when he was at Hogwarts 50 years before.

There are not many people who haven’t read this series but I would recommend this to anyone who loves fantastical stories and it is definitely worth 5 stars.

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Book Review

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

• J.K. Rowling
• Adventure , Fantasy

Readability Age Range

• Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

Year Published

After a particularly horrible summer at home with the Dursleys, Harry can’t wait to return to Hogwarts for his second year. Banished to his bedroom, Harry receives a visit from an elf named Dobby, who warns him that he must not return to the school, for great danger awaits him there. Finally, he is rescued from his bedroom prison by Ron and his brothers in their flying car. Despite Dobby’s warnings, Harry returns to Hogwarts and stumbles right into the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets.

On Halloween night, Harry, Ron and Hermione find a message painted on a wall that reads, “The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, beware.” They soon discover that the Chamber of Secrets contains a deadly monster, that it hasn’t been opened for 50 years, and that the last time it was opened, someone died. “The heir” in the message refers to a descendant of one of the school’s four founders, Salazar Slytherin, who had an affinity for the dark side of magic.

Apparently, only Slytherin’s heir would be able to open this Chamber of Secrets and use the monster within to cleanse the school from all “Muggle-borns” and “halfbloods” whom he felt were unworthy to study magic. Suddenly, students who don’t come from “pureblood” wizarding families begin turning up petrified. Harry and his friends must solve the mystery before the monster goes beyond petrifaction and kills again.

At the end of this story Harry again meets and defeats Voldemort, who has found another body to inhabit, and another life to feed off. Again, Harry defeats the evil one, but questions linger in the air, and the reader must assume that Harry still hasn’t seen the last of his enemy.

Positive Elements

1) denunciation of pride..

New professor Gilderoy Lockhart is unbearably vain and perpetually concerned with image and publicity. Because it is Harry and Ron—not Lockhart—who defeat the monster in the Chamber, he is uncovered for a pompous fool. The message is clear that actions speak louder than words and that self-aggrandizement is a hollow joy.

2) Justice.

One mystery left unsolved in Book I is finally unraveled—why was Hagrid expelled from Hogwarts? Justice is finally served when Harry, Ron and Hermione prove that Hagrid was framed by the student who would later become Lord Voldemort.

3) Respect.

Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore are portrayed as adults very worthy of respect—Harry always wants to please them, and he is repeatedly rewarded for the good choices he makes under their advisement.

4) Loyalty.

Harry and Ron defend Hagrid and see his name returned to its deserved good repute, because he is their friend and they believe in him. Also, Harry’s loyalty to good professor Dumbledore is what summons help to him in his battle in the Chamber.

5) Courage.

Harry’s selfless bravery is what allows him to save Ginny’s life and defeat the monster, even at a risk to his own life.

6) The power of truth and love.

When he meets Voldemort and the monster in the Chamber, Harry repeatedly speaks what he knows to be true, even though he doesn’t understand how it will help. The truth helps to disarm Voldemort. Also, Harry again appeals to the sacrificial love of his mother, who died to save him. This love is something the enemy can neither understand nor overcome.

Disobedience and Lying

Harry repeatedly lies to avoid answering difficult or annoying questions or to avoid explaining his actions. And, as in Book I, it is through breaking rules that the heroes solve the mystery and defeat the enemy: “‘There might be a way [to find out who is the Heir of Slytherin],’ said Hermione slowly, dropping her voice still further with a quick glance across the room at Percy, ‘Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We’d be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect.'”

But, in contrast with the punishment and apparent repentance in Book I, Harry and his friends are ultimately rewarded, not punished, for their rule breaking in Book II: “‘I seem to remember telling you both that I would have to expel you if you broke any more school rules,’ said Dumbledore [the Headmaster]. … ‘Which just goes to show that the best of us must sometimes eat our words.'”

Harry’s Family

Harry’s awful adoptive family (“It’s not possible to live with the Dursleys and not hate them”) is again compared with the love of the surrogate family he’s found through his Hogwarts friends (“What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron’s, however, wasn’t the talking mirror or the clanging ghoul: It was the fact that everyone there seemed to like him.”)

Ron shows selfless devotion to his own family when his sister Ginny’s life is in danger: “‘I’m going down there [into the Chamber of Secrets],’ he said. He couldn’t not go, now that they had found the entrance to the Chamber, not even if there was the faintest, slimmest, wildest chance that Ginny might be alive.”

Bathroom Humor

For some reason, author J.K. Rowling chooses to make the scene of the mystery’s unraveling a bathroom. So you have a ghost that hides in a toilet and repeated (though, admittedly, not vulgar) references to bathroom things: “I don’t want to talk to Moaning Myrtle. … She haunts one of the toilets in the girls’ bathroom on the first floor. … It’s been out of order all year because she keeps having tantrums and flooding the place. I never went in there anyway if I could avoid it; it’s awful trying to have a pee with her wailing at you.”

Violent Content

The monster in the Chamber of Secrets speaks to Harry through the castle’s walls, saying, “Come … come to me. … Let me rip you. … Let me tear you. … Let me kill you.”

The resident dormitory ghost Nearly Headless Nick complains about the way he was killed (since the murderer didn’t succeed in completely decapitating him, he has been disqualified from participating in the Headless Hunt): “‘… you would think, wouldn’t you,’ he erupted suddenly … ‘that getting hit forty-five times in the neck with a blunt axe would qualify you to join the Headless Hunt?'”

Moaning Myrtle, though already dead, tries to kill herself again. When Harry defeats the monster in the Chamber, the scene is bloody: “A sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake’s tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned—Harry looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured … blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony.”

Spiritual Elements

As in Book I, magic is employed extensively as a tool, an art, a diversion and a weapon. “Bless them, [Muggles, or nonmagical people] will go to any lengths to ignore magic, even if it’s staring them in the face.”

“Harry stared around. He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. … Opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders.” The Dark Arts are again portrayed as frightening, dark and an evil that Harry and his friends must fight against.

Harry also finds out that he’s a parselmouth, or someone who can talk to snakes. At first he is frightened because the ability to speak in this tongue has generally been granted only to Dark wizards, but eventually it becomes clear that Harry will be able to use his parseltongue for good—to defeat the monster in the Chamber of Secrets.

For many children, curiosity about things such as “parselmouths,” “shrunken heads” and “Moaning Myrtles” cannot be met in a healthy manner. And they can become enamored with what Star Wars calls “The Dark Side” and Rowling calls “The Dark Arts.” A Christian parent’s responsibility, then, is to direct children away from witchcraft and worldly wisdom, and toward the proper source of truth—the Bible.

Plot Summary

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Book Review

A sleeping evil awakens under the castle of Hogwarts. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is the second installment to the Harry Potter series. A sequel that gives what we were looking for an solidifies a desire to read the entire series. Let’s dive in and see what this chapter of the series is all about. I will do my best not to spoil anything major for this book.

Introduction

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released in June 1999. This book is slightly longer than the previous entry clocking in at 341 pages that are shared between eighteen chapters. J.K. Rowling takes us into another mystery for Harry, Ron and Hermione to solve involving the heir of house Slythrine.

This book starts with Harry back at Privet Drive. He has been writing to his friends but has not been receiving letters back. This has really isolated him. Now that he has experienced the wizarding world, he wants nothing more than to return to it. However a house elf named Dobby appears and tells him not to go back to the school and that something really bad will happen there this year. Harry finds out that Dobby has been holding back his letters and chases him. This causes him to interrupt the dinner party his aunt and uncle are having when Dobby uses a hover charm to float a cake over one of the guests head and drop it.

This leads Harry to get in trouble and he gets locked into his room. Eventually Ron Weasly and his two brothers Fred and George come to rescue him and take Harry to their home. This leads to the return to the magic setting that the Diagon Alley chapters of the previous novel had, but this time, in a more homey situation which is very refreshing. It also allows us to learn more from several new characters that were not touched on very much aside from names in the previous book.

That is one of the biggest strengths of this book. It builds very well off the previous book with very little recap needed. The initial shock on a magical world is gone. Now, it’s time to expand on it and really begin to grow the wizarding world. The section in Diagon alley for this book tacks on the idea more heavily of celebrities in the wizarding world with Gildoroy Lockheart. An author who has achieved many fantastic tasks. We also see the view of another section of the wizarding world for the first time. This is the darker side, the evil side if you will. It introduces some more of Malfoy’s family and also shows how the wizarding world also has political divides.

The return to Hogwarts is handled differently than the past book as well. It’s all these small changes that I believe really make this book feel new and expand on the world with several different ideas. 

This book noticeably does less school lessons with more time devoted to moving the plot of the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets. Harry Potter gets himself in trouble being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This spirals downward and leads to detention and eventually isolation with the whole school no longer trusting him. In a way this is a book that shows school bullying at their second year. The derogatory term “Mud Blood” is uttered by Malfoy to Hermione and we get once again a better sense of the bullying and political differences of families in the wizarding world.

We the readers get to learn some new spells along the way in this book as well as take a deeper dive into the class of potion making in a sense. A whole several chapters are spent in the development and use of the Polyjuice potion. A potion that will have major consequences on the rest of the series. best to learn it young!

There is plenty of comical relief in this book even through it feels rather bleak at times. Everything from Ron’s wand breaking to the Gilderoy Lockhear shenanigans that happen throughout the year after he gets the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. There is even a Valentines bit in this book that I feel is very well placed in the series for character romance. This is treated only as a crush a not a full blown relationship between 12 year olds that would feel very cringy at best.

The conclusion of this book feels much more epic than the previous book. There are some tropes that can be pulled from the fantasy genre here but at the end of the day, the end of the book pays off nearly all the established questions and leaves me asking for more after a satisfying battle that I am trying not to spoil my review.

Overall the character development is great, every character seems to grow and we learn more about them throughout the book. This is effective for more than just the main characters but the supporting characters as well which really makes this world feel very lived in deep.

The Chamber of Secrets does it’s best and good effort of living up to the first installment of the series. It grows the wizarding world and gives us the reader to be more invested in characters that are not the three main leads. We also get a good idea for where the series is planning on heading in the future as Voldemort is still a major threat to the world. This book meets the goals that J.K Rowling set out to achieve. It does not manage to reach the first books level in my honest opinion but is a successful sequel nonetheless. This book is still a fantastic read and worth everyone’s time. There are major setups in this book for future books to come so it’s a very important book as well that cannot be skipped.

If you want to find out where this book ranks in the series you can check out our ranking list for the Harry Potter book series here !

If you want to pick up a copy of this book, you can use our affiliate link below. It helps out the site and allows us to bring more reviews like this one to you in the future. Up next we have the third installment “The Prisoner of Askaban.” I cannot wait to get into this book with everyone.

What are your thoughts on the Chamber of Secrets book? Was it better than the first book and how does it compare to other entries in the series? Comment below and let us know!

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• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets...

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2

In this sequel to HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, we find Harry spending the summer vacation with his awful relatives, the Dursleys, following his first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Dursleys are so fearful of Harry's growing magic talents that they lock his school books and wand away in a closet and even lock Harry in his tiny bedroom. Harry worries he'll never get back to Hogwarts and his friends, until he's rescued by his best buddy, Ron Weasley, who arrives in a flying car to take Harry away. 

The second year at Hogwarts should be smoother sailing, right? Not so. First, Harry receives a strange warning from a house elf named Dobby. Then, when he arrives at Hogwarts Harry must face a vain new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and his old enemies, Malfoy and Snape. And, even more troublesome this year, some evil force is turning Muggle-born students (those born to humans, without magical blood, including Harry's pal Hermione) to stone. Who could be doing such a thing? 

While Harry and Ron try to unravel the mystery of petrification, they discover information about the Chamber of Secrets, a hidden room in Hogwarts that is rumored to be home to a horrible monster. Old legends, clues, and research eventually lead Harry and Ron to the Chamber of Secrets for a showdown with evil like they've never seen before. And Harry must triumph over the Dark forces in order to save Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister (now a first year at Hogwarts), who has been taken over by a nasty wizard. See if he succeeds in this rollicking, spine-tingling adventure. You're sure to love all the fast-moving action, magic and fun in every chapter. 

Reviewed by Shannon Maughan on August 15, 2000

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Book 2 by J. K. Rowling

• Publication Date: June 26, 2018
• Genres: Fantasy
• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
• ISBN-10: 1338299158
• ISBN-13: 9781338299151

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

It is the second book in J.K Rowling's fantastic book series Harry Potter. 12 year old Harry has just come back from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to spend a dreadful summer at Number 4 Privit Drive. Little does he know his summer is about to get worse. Uncle Vernon is expecting to get one of the best deals of his life during a visit from the Masons. Unfortunately it doesn't go as planned when a house elf shows up in Harrys bedroom with an ominous message. The elf proceeds to try to get Harry expelled from Hogwarts by dropping a pudding on Mrs. Masons head. Uncle Vernon puts bars on Harrys window to stop him form getting out. Harry is in despair when the Ron (his best friend), Fred, and George(Ron's twin brothers) Weasley save him from the clutches of his aunt an uncle and he spend the restof the summer with them.

Harry is back at Hogwarts after an eventful journey. He's ready to start a new peaceful year at Hogwarts. That doesn't go to plan when he starts hearing a mysterious voice in the school corridors. Harry, Ron, and Hermione partake on a amazing and thrilling journey to uncover who is petrifying the students. This book is absolutely amazing and is worth reading. It has magic, mystery, and loads of adventure.

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, harry potter and the chamber of secrets.

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The first movie was the setup, and this one is the payoff. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" leaves all of the explanations of wizardry behind and plunges quickly into an adventure that's darker and scarier than anything in the first Harry Potter movie. It's also richer: The second in a planned series of seven Potter films is brimming with invention and new ideas, and its Hogwarts School seems to expand and deepen before our very eyes into a world large enough to conceal unguessable secrets.

What's developing here, it's clear, is one of the most important franchises in movie history, a series of films that consolidate all of the advances in computer-aided animation, linked to the extraordinary creative work of J.K. Rowling, who has created a mythological world as grand as "Star Wars," but filled with more wit and humanity. Although the young wizard Harry Potter is nominally the hero, the film remembers the golden age of moviemaking, when vivid supporting characters crowded the canvas. The story is about personalities, personal histories and eccentricity, not about a superstar superman crushing the narrative with his egotistical weight.

In the new movie, Harry ( Daniel Radcliffe , a little taller and deeper-voiced) returns with his friends Ron Weasley ( Rupert Grint ) and Hermione Granger ( Emma Watson , in the early stages of babehood). They sometimes seem to stand alone amid the alarming mysteries of Hogwarts, where even the teachers, even the august headmaster Albus Dumbledore ( Richard Harris ), even the learned professors Snape ( Alan Rickman ) and McGonagall ( Maggie Smith ), even the stalwart Hagrid the Giant ( Robbie Coltrane ) seem mystified and a little frightened by the school's dread secrets.

Is there indeed a Chamber of Secrets hidden somewhere in the vast pile of Hogwarts? Can it only be opened by a descendent of Salazar Slytherin, the more sinister of the school's co-founders? Does it contain a monster? Has the monster already escaped, and is it responsible for paralyzing some of the students, whose petrified bodies are found in the corridors, and whose bodies are carried to the infirmary still frozen in a moment of time? Do the answers to these questions originate in events many years ago, when even the ancient Dumbledore was (marginally) younger? And does a diary by a former student named Tom Marvolo Riddle--a book with nothing written in it, but whose pages answer questions in a ghostly handwriting--provide the clues that Harry and his friends need? (Answer to all of the above: Probably.) This puzzle could be solved in a drab and routine movie with characters wandering down old stone corridors, but one of the pleasures of Chris Columbus' direction of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is how visually alive it is. This is a movie that answers any objection to computer animation with glorious or creepy sights that blend convincingly with the action. Hogwarts itself seems to have grown since the first movie, from a largish sort of country house into a thing of spires and turrets, vast rooms and endlessly convoluted passageways, lecture halls and science labs, with as much hidden below the ground as visible above it. Even the Quiddich game is held in a larger stadium (maybe rich alumni were generous?). There are times, indeed, when the scope of Hogwarts seems to approach that of Gormenghast, the limitless edifice in the trilogy by Mervyn Peake that was perhaps one of Rowling's inspirations.

The production designer is Stuart Craig, returning from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." He has created (there is no other way to put it) a world here, a fully realized world with all the details crowded in, so that even the corners of the screen are intriguing. This is one of the rare recent movies you could happily watch with the sound turned off, just for the joy of his sets, the costumes by Judianna Makovsky and Lindy Hemming, and the visual effects (the Quiddich match seems even more three-dimensional, the characters swooping across the vast field, as Harry finds himself seriously threatened by the odious Malfoy).

There are three new characters this time, one delightful, one conceited, one malevolent. Professor Sprout ( Miriam Margolyes ) is on the biology faculty, and teaches a class on the peculiar properties of the mandrake plant, made all the most amusing by students of John Donne who are familiar with the additional symbolism of the mandrake only hinted at in class. The more you know about mandrakes, the funnier Sprout's class is.

She is the delightful addition. The conceited new faculty member, deliciously cast, is Gilderoy Lockhart ( Kenneth Branagh ), author of the autobiography Magical Me, who thinks of himself as a consummate magician but whose spell to heal Harry's broken arm has unfortunate results. And then there is Lucius Malfoy ( Jason Isaacs ), father of the supercilious Draco, who skulks about as if he should be hated just on general principles.

These characters and plot elements draw together in late action sequences of genuine power, which may be too intense for younger viewers. There is a most alarming confrontation with spiders and a scary late duel with a dragon, and these are handled not as jolly family movie episodes, but with the excitement of a mainstream thriller. While I am usually in despair when a movie abandons its plot for a third act given over entirely to action, I have no problem with the way "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" ends, because it has been pointing toward this ending, hinting about it, preparing us for it, all the way through. What a glorious movie.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

Rated PG For Scary Moments Some Creature Violence and Mild Language

161 minutes

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy

Alan Rickman as Prof. Snape

Maggie Smith as Prof. McGonagal

Robbie Coltrane as Hagrid The Giant

Richard Harris as Prof. Albus Dumbledore

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

Directed by

• Chris Columbus
• Steve Kloves

Based on the novel by

• J.K. Rowling

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Themes and Analysis

Harry potter and the chamber of secrets, by j.k. rowling.

'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' explores a lot of new themes that were not considered in the first book, making it grittier and realistic compared to the first installment.

Article written by Mohandas Alva

M.A. Degree in English Literature from Manipal University, India.

‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ J. K. Rowling is a significantly different book than its predecessor in that it tackles a lot of strong and politically charged themes. After ‘ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, ‘ this book delves deeper into the world of magic and brings into the spotlight the struggles and unequal treatment of different magical beings as well as the inequalities among humans.

The book also explores the debate of free will and determinism to an extent by discussing the idea of choice. The analysis of ‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ is bound to highlight discrimination and inequalities that are persistent in the wizarding world. The premise of this book alone rests on a group of wizards claiming superiority over other wizards and a select few trying to stop these evil forces.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Themes

Discrimination and inequality.

One of the most important themes explored in the story of ‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ is discrimination and inequality between different magical beings and between the bloodlines of wizards and witches. There are several magical beings, which include humans who are developed for magic (wizards and witches), goblins, giants, trolls, merpeople, house-elves, and many others. However, in this book, after the appearance of Dobby, Harry learns a lot about how house-elves are treated by wizards and witches.

House-elves are direct allusions to how slavery was a prominent practice in our world, and the rules and methods governing a house-elfs’ enslavement is very similar to that of the slaves in our real world. This book sheds light on how unfair practice slavery is, as house-elves are not even allowed the most basic comforts that the wizards who ‘own’ them could easily afford.

Another separate arena for discrimination follows the major plot of this novel – the reason the Chamber of Secrets exists in the first place. A lot of pure-blooded wizards claim superiority over others who are either half-blooded or muggle -born, just like Salazar Slytherin did when he cofounded Hogwarts.

Hence, when he left Hogwarts after disagreements with the other three founders, who wanted magical education to be accessible to anybody who has a talent for magic, he built the Chamber of Secrets to one day let his heir carry out his mission. This mania to ‘cleanse’ the world from wizards who are not pure-blooded is very similar in form to several racially discriminatory factions that have risen in history over the years. This book uses the Basilisk , a very dangerous and monstrous entity whose very eyes cause death, as a symbol of how detrimental and destructive such mania about so-called racial superiority can actually be.

Choice and Ability

Another major theme explored through ‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ‘ is the idea of how identity is built through a compromise between and ability. Harry grapples with this idea for a major part of his second year, especially after the school assumes that he might be the Heir of Slytherin as he is discovered to be a Parseltongue . However, at the end of the book, after he defeats Voldemort and the basilisk, he speaks to Professor Dumbledore, who solves his dilemma with a very important point.

Dumbledore claims that Harry’s identity is based on the choices he makes and not the abilities he possesses. The abilities might contribute to who Harry is, but even though he possesses the same abilities as Voldemort, Harry will never be like him because Harry chooses to do things differently despite his abilities.

Dumbledore means that it is the choices we make that determine who we are. In spite of probably even housing a lot of demons within our psyche, the fact that we choose to do things that are moral and ethical allows us to be better people. We will always have doubts about our identities, as they are constantly changing too, but we will always be who we choose to be and not who we inherently are.

Friendship is a recurring theme in all of the Harry Potter books, but more specifically, in this book, the friendship between Harry and Dobby is an interesting dynamic. Although Dobby’s methods in saving Harry Potter are questionable, there is a genuine innocence in the way he tries to go to great lengths to save Harry. It becomes obvious even to the reader that Dobby means well but doesn’t know what else he could do. Harry acknowledges Dobby’s affection for him and eventually frees him from his masters, which resonates as a true act of friendship.

Fame is another major theme explored in this book. It becomes more prominent when Harry encounters Gilderoy Lockhart. Lockhart seeks fame, and his entire life is surrounded around it and gaining more of it. The narrative does a wonderful job showing the reader how different Harry is from someone who desperately seeks fame. Harry does not seek fame the way Lockhart does.

Analysis of Key Moments in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

• Harry is very dejected about his stay at his uncle’s as he hasn’t received any letters from his friends, and his birthday is uneventful.
• Harry meets Dobby, a house-elf who warns Harry about his life being in danger at Hogwarts. Furthermore, Dobby deliberately drops a pudding on Mrs. Mason to prevent Harry from going to Hogwarts.
• Harry is initially locked in a room by his uncle but is eventually saved by Ron and the Weasley twins in a flying car, and they go together to the Burrow , where the Weasleys stay.
• Harry joins the others on a trip to London to get their books and supplies. He meets Gilderoy Lockhart at Flourish and Blotts, and Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy have a fist fight inside the shop.
• Harry and Ron miss the Hogwarts express and try to come by the bewitched flying car to Hogwarts.
• Gilderoy Lockhart is eventually revealed to be an attention seeker and merely has any talent for teaching.
• Malfoy is selected as the seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team. He has a tussle with Harry, Ron, and Hermione and calls her a ‘ Mudblood .’
• Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Nearly Headless Nick ’s Deathday Party and meet Moaning Myrtle, Peeves, and several other ghosts there.
• Harry, Hermione, and Ron encounter the ‘petrified’ body of Mrs. Norris. There is a writing on the wall, written in blood which claims that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened and that the Heir of Slytherin has returned.
• While playing Quidditch, a rogue bludger attacks Harry and fractures his arm. Lockhart makes the injuries worse when he tries to repair them.
• During a duel in the newly created Dueling Club, Harry tries to stop a snake from attacking Justin Finch-Fletchley but unknowingly uses Parseltongue to converse with it. People suspect that he may be the Heir of Slytherin.
• The Polyjuice Potion is finally ready, and the trio takes it. Hermione is unable to go, but both Harry and Ron are disguised, and Crabbe and Goyle go to Malfoy to collect details about the Heir of Slytherin.
• Harry finds a diary that belongs to a mysterious and unknown person called Tom Riddle. Harry eventually converses with the diary and realizes that Hagrid might be responsible for the attacks.
• Hermione is ‘petrified’, and eventually, Harry and Ron go to Hagrid’s hut to question him but are stopped short as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic takes Hagrid to Azkaban prison .
• Harry and Ron go to the Forbidden Forest to meet Aragog, the large Acromantula or spider that Hagrid is friends with. After collecting the truth from it, they are forced to flee in Ron’s old car, which miraculously appears when the other spiders try to eat them.
• Harry and Ron find out that Ginny has been taken to the Chamber of Secrets, and along with Lockhart, who is confirmed to be a phony, they go into the Chamber.
• Harry eventually finds out that Lord Voldemort is Tom Riddle and that he is the Heir of Slytherin. He faces the beast, the Basilisk, and eventually kills it. He also destroys Riddle’s diary, thereby destroying his apparition .
• Harry talks to Dumbledore about what happened at the Chamber, and they eventually meet Lucius Malfoy and Dobby. Harry frees Dobby by giving him a sock by tricking Lucius Malfoy.

Writing Style and Tone

Both the writing style and tone of this novel are very similar to ‘ Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone .’ Rowling’s writing style is quite consistent for these two books, and she writes similar humorous lines and has quite the same descriptive language for world-building. However, this book is a tad bit darker and politically charged than the first one and alludes to real-world problems like discrimination, slavery, and people who abuse power.

Analysis of Key Symbol in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Tom riddle’s diary.

Tom Riddle’s Diary is of major symbolic significance for this entire narrative to move forward. It primarily signifies dangerous ideologies that are easy to believe when we could be manipulated through our vulnerabilities. It is also significant because it is this diary that led to the events of this book which include the opening of the Chamber of Secrets. It is quite similar in form to dangerous ‘evil’ ideologies and claims made by people in power to manipulate a large mass of people into doing their bidding, something that has been very common in history.

Does Dumbledore not know about the Chamber of Secrets?

Dumbledore does know about the Chamber of Secrets and had his suspicions about such a chamber existing. However, he had no evidence or any form of knowledge concerning where to find the chamber as it is very well hidden from everyone except people who know Parseltongue.

Who is Dobby’s Master?

Lucius Malfoy is Dobby’s master, and Dobby worked in Malfoy Manor until Harry Potter freed him. Dobby knew about Tom Riddle’s Diary and wanted to prevent Harry Potter from going to Hogwarts. But the unique nature of Elf magic prevented him from betraying his master.

Why does Hermione not go to meet Malfoy after drinking Polyjuice Potion?

Hermione accidentally ends up drinking a Polyjuice Potion mixture that contained the hairs of a cat instead of Millicent Bulstrode as she had initially intended. This turns her appearance into that of a cat. Therefore, she suggests the already-transformed Harry and Ron go ahead.

Summon your wit and wisdom—our Harry Potter Trivia Quiz awaits you! Do you have the knowledge to claim the title of Master Witch or Wizard? Take the challenge now!

1) Who was the Peverell brother that owned the invisibility cloak?

2) What animal represents Hufflepuff house?

3) Which creature can transform into a person's worst fear?

4) Who is the Half-Blood Prince?

5) Who teaches Herbology at Hogwarts?

6) What is the name of Harry Potter's pet owl?

7) In the "Order of the Phoenix," who is NOT a member of the original Order of the Phoenix shown in the old photograph that Moody shows Harry?

8) What is the name of the book Hermione gives to Harry before his first ever Quidditch match?

9) Who originally owned the Elder Wand before Dumbledore won it?

10) What is the name of the goblin who helps Harry, Ron, and Hermione break into Gringotts?

11) What was the last Horcrux to be destroyed?

12) What is the effect of the Cheering Charm?

13) Which character is killed by Bellatrix Lestrange in the Battle of Hogwarts?

14) What does the incantation "Obliviate" do?

15) What does the Mirror of Erised show?

16) What is the name of the goblin-made object that is supposed to bring its owner prosperity, but also brings them into conflict with goblins?

17) What potion is known as "Liquid Luck"?

18) What creature is Aragog?

19) What form does Hermione Granger's Patronus take?

20) What are the dying words of Severus Snape in both the book and the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"?

21) Which potion did Hermione brew in her second year that allowed her, Ron, and Harry to assume the identities of Slytherins?

22) What specific type of dragon does Harry face during the Triwizard Tournament?

23) Which spell is used to open the Marauder's Map?

24) In which Harry Potter book does Harry first speak Parseltongue?

25) What is Dumbledore's full name?

26) Which object is NOT one of the Deathly Hallows?

27) What is the core ingredient of the wand owned by Harry Potter?

28) What is the name of the train that takes students to Hogwarts?

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About Mohandas Alva

Mohandas is very passionate about deciphering the nature of language and its role as a sole medium of storytelling in literature. His interests sometimes digress from literature to philosophy and the sciences but eventually, the art and craft of narrating a significant story never fail to thrill him.

About the Book

The Harry Potter section of Book Analysis analyzes and explorers the Harry Potter series. The characters, names, terminology, and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros ©. The content on Book Analysis was created by Harry Potter fans, with the aim of providing a thorough in-depth analysis and commentary to complement and provide an additional perspective to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Harry Potter — Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets: Book Review

Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets: Book Review

• Categories: Harry Potter J. K. Rowling

About this sample

Words: 1103 |

Published: Oct 2, 2018

Words: 1103 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Works Cited

• Granger, J. (2004). Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader. Zossima Press.
• Kirk, C. (2011). The Magic of Harry Potter: Essays Concerning Magic, Literary Devices, and Moral Imagination. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
• Lewis, C. S. (2000). Harry Potter: Good or Evil? In The Seeing Eye and Other Selected Essays from Christian Reflections (pp. 94-95). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
• McCoy, J. (2018). J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Novels: A Reader's Guide. Continuum.
• Rowling, J.K. (1998). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Scott, R. A., & Lockhart, M. (2002). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: The Illustrated Edition. Scholastic Inc.
• Smith, H. (2003). Conversations with J.K. Rowling. Scholastic.
• Whited, L. R. (2002). The Harry Potter Series and its Transmedia Strategies. Children's Literature Association Quarterly, 27(2), 79-86.
• Whited, L. R. (2003). Reading Harry Potter: Critical Essays. Praeger.
• Whited, L. R. (2004). The Ivory Tower and Harry Potter: Perspectives on a Literary Phenomenon. University of Missouri Press.

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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, Book 2) Paperback – May 2, 2023

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The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

• Book 2 of 7 Harry Potter
• Print length 352 pages
• Language English
• Grade level 3 - 6
• Dimensions 5.35 x 0.81 x 7.56 inches
• Publisher Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date May 2, 2023
• ISBN-10 133887893X
• ISBN-13 978-1338878936
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About the author.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular Harry Potter books. After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and started writing the series of seven books and the first was published as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in the UK in 1997. The series took another ten years to complete, concluding in 2007 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows .

To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity, Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them , in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard , in aid of Lumos. She also collaborated on the writing of a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child , which was published as a script book.

Her other books for children include the fairy tale The Ickabog and The Christmas Pig , which were published in 2020 and 2021 respectively and have also been bestsellers. She is also the author of books for adults, including a bestselling crime fiction series.

J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing. She also supports a number of causes through her charitable trust Volant and is the founder of the children’s charity Lumos.

To find out more about J.K. Rowling visit jkrowlingstories.com.

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Inc.; Reprint edition (May 2, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 133887893X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1338878936
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 8+ years, from customers
• Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 6
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.2 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 0.81 x 7.56 inches
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About the author

J.k. rowling.

J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular, era-defining Harry Potter book series, as well as several stand-alone novels for adults and children, and a bestselling crime fiction series written under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide, been translated into 85 languages and made into eight blockbuster films. They continue to be discovered and loved by new generations of readers.

Alongside the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of her international children’s charity, Lumos. The companion books and original series are all available as audiobooks.

In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to continue Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened in London, and is now thrilling audiences on four continents. The script book was published to mark the plays opening in 2016 and instantly topped the bestseller lists.

In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Inspired by the original companion volume, it was the first in a series of new adventures featuring wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. The second, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in 2018 and the third, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was released in 2022.

The screenplays were published to coincide with each film’s release: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - The Original Screenplay (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (2018) and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - The Complete Screenplay (2022).

Fans of Fantastic Beasts and Harry Potter can find out more at www.wizardingworld.com.

J.K. Rowling’s fairy tale for younger children, The Ickabog, was serialised for free online for children during the Covid-19 pandemic in the summer of 2020 and is now published as a book illustrated by children, with her royalties going to her charitable trust, Volant, to benefit charities helping alleviate social deprivation and assist vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.

Her latest children’s novel The Christmas Pig, published in 2021, is a standalone adventure story about a boy’s love for his most treasured thing and how far he will go to find it.

J.K. Rowling also writes novels for adults. The Casual Vacancy was published in 2012 and adapted for television in 2015. Under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, she is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Strike’ crime series, featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his partner Robin Ellacott. The first of these, The Cuckoo’s Calling, was published to critical acclaim in 2013, at first without its author’s true identity being known. The Silkworm followed in 2014, Career of Evil in 2015, Lethal White in 2018, Troubled Blood in 2020 and The Ink Black Heart in 2022. The series has also been adapted for television by the BBC and HBO.

J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech was published in 2015 as an illustrated book, Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, sold in aid of Lumos and university-wide financial aid at Harvard.

As well as receiving an OBE and Companion of Honour for services to children’s literature, J.K. Rowling has received many other awards and honours, including France’s Legion d’Honneur, Spain’s Prince of Asturias Award and Denmark’s Hans Christian Andersen Award.

J.K. Rowling supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant. She is also the founder and president of Lumos, an international children’s charity fighting for every child’s right to a family by transforming care systems around the world.

www.jkrowling.com

Image: Photography Debra Hurford Brown © J.K. Rowling

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Original “Harry Potter” Cast Members React to New Max Series – Part 2

by Grace Hurley · Published May 10, 2024 · Updated May 10, 2024

With a new  Harry Potter  TV reboot in the works, we’ve been taking a look at how some of the original Harry Potter  cast members have reacted to the new Max series .

Read on for part 2 to discover more reactions from the cast of the Harry Potter  films .

James and Oliver Phelps

James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George Weasley) expressed their interest in returning to the  Potter  universe in a recent interview , with Oliver saying, “I suppose so,” when asked if he would return. He continued by commenting on how their age means they wouldn’t be able to play the Weasley twins again. 

It’s one of those things where it’s never really a chapter closed in your life… Whether as our characters, that’s a totally different thing – we’re not quite looking like high schoolers anymore! If it does happen, we only know as much as you do. But, it’s nice that there’s a lot of intrigue around the show.

James and Oliver Phelps attend a Harry Potter exhibition opening.

James also mentioned the “very close bond” they have with many of their Potter  costars, which is understandable given they spent 10 years of their lives growing up together while filming Potter . 

It’s like friends from high school or college. You’ve gone through a lot together.

When asked what advice he would give to the new generation of young actors who will be joining the television series, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) joked to Collider that they should “steal more props.”

I would only say take more pictures and try and steal more props. I’m joking about the last one, but take more pictures because when I find one that I haven’t seen for a long time now, it reminds me of how much fun we were having. Bearing in mind, we didn’t have camera phones then or anything like that, so it’s a bit easier now.

Felton also expressed his delight at the continuation of the  Harry Potter  universe, saying that he is “very excited to hear that the Wizarding World fandom flame is not dousing anytime soon.”

Jason Isaacs

Tom Felton’s onscreen father, Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), “can’t wait” to see the new adaptation, but he also commented to RadioTimes.com on how it may be strange to see a different version of the franchise. 

It’s no weirder for me than it is for everybody else who’s seen the films. I happen to be in the films too…. There was a ton of stuff in the books that we left out…. It’s an odd feeling, but it’s no odder for me than it is for anyone else. I can’t wait to see them and see what they do.

Isaacs also joked during an interview at MegaCon that he’d love to play Dobby in the reboot  “because you don’t have to go to make up” and that he could just  “steal the whole scene” when playing Dobby. 

Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy confronting Dobby in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

Helena Bonham Carter

While we’re on a roll with the Slytherins, Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) doesn’t think the casting team of the new Harry Potter TV reboot will “come near” her because she is in the films. However, she did add, “ Never say never.”

Admitting that her childlike version of Bellatrix was very much something she came up with herself,  Bonham Carter thinks whoever is chosen to play the wicked Slytherin in the reboot should consider playing a version of Bellatrix that is more true to the one we see in the books. 

Natalia Tena

Natalia Tena, who played the lovably clumsy Nymphadora Tonks in the films, admitted to Screen Rant that she wasn’t so sure about the idea of a reboot to start with. Once she warmed to the idea, however, she decided she’d love to play a character in it, and it’s not Tonks. 

I think there’s that initial thing as an actor where you’re like, ‘Oh, don’t remake something…’ But then I was like, ‘No, it’s gonna be amazing!’ I got really excited about it. And then I was like, ‘Do you think I’m old enough now to play one of the teachers? How can I get another gig on this amazing project?’ So, I’m definitely putting that to my agent.

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for any more of the original Harry Potter  cast members’ reactions to the upcoming TV reboot.

Whom would you love to hear from, and which of the original Potter cast members do you think would be perfect to play a role in the series?

Grace Hurley

I'm an animal-loving Ravenclaw with a Masters Degree in Writing and a passion for the Harry Potter universe since the age of five.

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This Harry Potter Movie Paved the Way for the Rest of the Series

• Alfonso Cuarn changes the franchise's formula in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , taking some liberties with the source material to shed new light on the movies to come.
• The movie touches on themes of adolescence and how Harry and his friends are forced to mature prematurely.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban hints at the series' darker future, exploring the hopelessness and disorientation that takes over Harry's character arc.

An important landmark in the Harry Potter franchise is coming on June 4th, marking the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , the movie that helped pave the way for the rest of the series. The film follows Harry, Rony, and Hermione confronting adolescence in their third year at Hogwarts as mysterious foes from the past return. A dangerous prisoner escapes Azkaban and goes after Harry, prompting the chilling Dementors to patrol the school's grounds while an unspeakable evil silently lurks in the castle's shadows.

Regarded by critics as one of the best movies in the Harry Potter franchise, if not the best, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban marks the moment Harry Potter movies take a distinctive dark turn. As the movie before Voldemort's return, the film does a great job of tying past and present while developing the arcs of many important characters. Fan-favorite characters such as Remus Lupin and Sirius Black make their first appearances in the film, contributing to a great Harry Potter movie that changed the franchise forever.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Changed the Franchise's Formula

How did sybill trelawney become a hogwarts professor in harry potter.

The idea of bringing Alfonso Cuarón on board Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban might be one of the best decisions made by the movie franchise, as it enabled the story to find a welcoming, fresh tone. As the most popular Young Adult fantasy series of all time, Harry Potter improved some of the genre's best attributes: the transition from adolescence to adulthood, the school setting, the reliable mentors, and so on. On the other hand, the first books fell into off-putting cliches, one of them being a ready-made formula used in both Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

This formula followed a straightforward narrative course: compelling elements of Hogwarts activities are explored - Quidditch, Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons, new spells - until the school's routine is disrupted by an exterior threat. Harry and his friends somehow get involved. Secrets are revealed, and a culprit comes to light. Finally, Harry is forced to confront this threat and discovers the real culprit was someone else all along. He defeats an enemy, and Voldemort is weakened. Many of these elements return in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , but Cuarón makes sure to dissect them differently, leading the story towards an unexpected path: no wonder the movie is the most polarizing adaptation in the series.

It certainly helped that Harry Potter had Chris Columbus to follow the formula just like Rowling intended: it worked in the books, so it might as well work in the movies. The first two Harry Potter movies are by-the-book adaptations that faithfully adapt every major component introduced by Rowling. Columbus had a history of family-friendly movies before Harry Potter - Home Alone 1 and 2, Bicentennial Man - making him the perfect person to adapt the lighthearted section of the book series. But changes would be needed once Harry Potter got into its darkest moments.

Cuarón steps in to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , changing the formula of the first two movies and showing that there's space to innovate. There was nothing wrong with Harry Potter's initial formula: it helped the characters to evolve and gave space for worldbuilding to flourish. However, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban i s unlike the other books: it marks the first time Voldemort doesn't pose an immediate threat to Harry and his friends. This time, exterior forces surround Harry from unexpected places, setting the path for the darkness that takes over the next chapter in the story, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . It was no easy task for Cuarón to reformulate the franchise's approach midway through the Harry Potter movie series, but his creative vision effectively shed new light on the movies to come.

Cuarn's Artistic Vision Creates a Life of its Own in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

• Cuarn had the cast write book reports on their characters so that he could better understand them.

Every Harry Potter Book, Ranked

The first two Harry Potter movies are great adaptations, but there's an argument to be made that they are merely visual tours of Rowling's books, taking viewers by the hand across a theme park ride. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still an adventure mystery blockbuster, but in the hands of Cuarón, the images create a life of their own. The movie tells the viewers many key things simply by the way scenes are structured and shot. Every scene featuring Harry Potter alone feels intense and anxiety-inducing: not seldom is the character engulfed in pitch-black darkness, highlighting his vulnerability to terrors that are after him. At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Harry sits on the sidewalk to wait for the bus, the night itself comes alive to warn him something wicked lurks in the shadows.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban's best attributes come from the movie's ability to explore well-known elements of the fantasy genre and build something completely different with them. This movie has it all: werewolves, time travels, prophecies, plot twists, and shape-shifting wizards. Each of these elements acts separately for a specific purpose until they all collide in one hard-boiling moment of clarification. The lingering disorientation that permeates the narrative suddenly rewards viewers with all the answers they are looking for.

It's genuinely baffling that Cuarón managed to pull off the climax of a blockbuster like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by simply having a bunch of characters pointing figures at each other, but that's the way it is. One may ask why other fantasy movie adaptations fail to find Harry Potter's success even with great names and big budgets attached to the projects. There's a single scene that answers this question pretty clearly. Unlike other fantasy movie series, Harry Potter features some of the best British actors of their generation, giving their soul and heart to their given roles. Cuarón explored these powerhouse performances like no other director did in the Shrieking Shack sequence. In this scene, Harry, Ron, and Hermione confront Lupin, Sirius, Snape, and Pettigrew in search of the truth. The rest is history.

The movie adaptation of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban sets fire to what's "anticlimactic" on the surface. It makes viewers look at the book in a whole different way. It might be difficult to accept, but Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is, essentially, a middle-of-the-road book. It barely moves the main storyline forward: every narrative choice is centered around bringing the past into focus. Its power lies in the characters and how they interact with each other. The climax is pretty much the main characters wrestling for information, and it works.

The atmosphere of the movie is fear-inducing, constantly on the verge of a new layer of mystery. However, the fact that Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban doesn't take major steps in Harry Potter's overall story doesn't mean nothing happens in the film. The movie works as a powerful story of self-discovery: by the end of it, the characters are completely in a completely different place from where they were when the movie first started.

The Hopelessness of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Takes Over the Rest of the Series

Alfonso cuarn's highest-rated movies, according to imdb:, the 25 strongest witches and wizards in harry potter.

Although Ron and Hermione continue to act as loyal companions and help Harry in whatever way they can, Cuarón understands that this is supposed to be the loneliest Harry Potter movie. The cold color palette chosen by Cuarón offers a major tonal shift to the visual identity of the franchise, adding texture to Harry's isolation. The allegories to adolescence couldn't be clearer. Like a teenage boy who doesn't understand the changes his body is going through, Harry feels lost in the face of overwhelming darkness: he doesn't know why Dementors are targeting him, fails to comprehend what Sirius wants with him, and fate itself shows its claws in the form of a grim.

All Harry wants in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is to finally feel understood, which explains why he was so moved when he thought the Patronus Charm was cast by his father. Little did he know it was his version of the past who cast the spell: Harry was still on his own. Hope and love are the guiding threads of Harry Potter's overall story, but ironically, most of the series is filled with hopelessness. It goes without saying that Harry Potter only gets darker after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , and the movie does a great job of hinting at the darkness that's to come.

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the charming Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is completely overtaken by darkness. Dangerous enemies such as huge Trolls and Basilisks haunted the school corridors in the previous movies, but it's only in the third movie that evil feels palpable. Cuarón's visual motifs manage to convey Harry's disorientation throughout the movie and tie it to the mystery that keeps the story in motion.

Before Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hogwarts was presented as a comfortable place to be, a genuine safe haven, even when it wasn't safe at all. It's by deconstructing familiarity that Cuarón effectively removes the aura of solace that envelops Hogwarts. It's by having Dementors inspecting the school grounds and students being forced to sleep in the Great Hall that the viewer understands how serious the threat is. It's by having Harry secretly learn a new spell in order to protect himself from uncontrollable fears that fans witness how he's forced to mature prematurely. The scene where Lupin teaches the students how to use the Riddikulus spell pretty much sums up what Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is all about : eventually, Harry's deepest fears will catch up to him. And he must be ready to face them.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their third year of study, where they delve into the mystery surrounding an escaped prisoner who poses a dangerous threat to the young wizard.

Director Chris Columbus

Release Date June 4, 2004

Cast Gary Oldman, Fiona Shaw, Richard Griffiths, Michael Gambon, Emma Watson, Timothy Spall, Rupert Grint, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman

Runtime 142 minutes

Main Genre Adventure