Harry Potter Introduction

“The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn’t think they could bear it if anyone found about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley’s sister, but they hadn’t met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn’t have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be. The Dursley’s shuddered to think what the neighbours would say if the Potters arrived in the street.”

 
I have chosen this extract because I am a really big fan of the Harry Potter books, especially the first one, Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone, which is my favourite. This part of the book is very powerful and engaging, as it needs to be, as it is part of the introduction to the book. I like this part especially, as it creates a mysterious and unknown vibe about the “Potters” and it creates an illusion to the reader about who the Potters are and why the Dursley’s are so ashamed to be associated with them.

 
In the first part of the extract, I like how the author dwells on the idea of the Dursley’s having a big secret that no one knows about, “but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.” This, as mentioned before adds an intrigued atmosphere and makes the readers feel almost part of the book, as nobody knows of this big secret, and neither do we.
Later on in the extract, the author and language also creates an illusion of the Potters, even though these characters have not been properly introduced yet. If you haven’t watched any of the films or were not aware of the storyline, from this first paragraph, it gives a misleading opening of the story and makes the Potters sound like the villain/bad guys in the book, and makes the Dursley’s sound like good, main characters of the novel. However, this is soon proved wrong as the book continues.