The first chapter of the book, entitled The Boy Who Lived, is really a prologue. The story proper is of eleven year old Harry as he starts his journey into the wizarding world. Chapter one is set ten years earlier, and functions as an explanatory backstory for Harry and the world he inhabits.
The books are third person but almost exclusively from Harry’s perspective. this first chapter strays from that norm in that it is from Mr Dursley’s perspective. Yes, it would have been difficult to have the scene from a one year old’s perspective, but if Rowling had wanted a scene from Harry’s perspective she could have chosen to write him either having a dream about the events or thinking back to his upbringing with his aunt and uncle.
However, the fact is that Harry is unaware of his true nature and the truth of his parents’ deaths at the beginning of the story, and as we know it is vital that an author introduces the unique qualities of their fictional world in the first scene.
For the Harry Potter books, the most resonant idea is that of a secret world of wizards within our own mundane society. Harry is just like us, the reader, until he is lucky enough to be pulled into this secret world. Mr Dursley is also, in a way, just like us, in that he is not lucky enough to be a part of the wizarding world, only an onlooker. It is for this reason that Mr Dursley is a perfect choice to introduce the story.
We as readers know nothing of the wizard world as we open the first page, but within a couple of paragraphs we become aware of a division between magical people and ‘normal’ people. The Dursleys clearly do not approve of the other people but they are described in unflattering terms in order that the reader immediately dislikes them and therefore becomes intrigued about the cloaked people they so disapprove of. By immediately establishing unpleasant characters who are prejudiced against wizards, Rowling instils in the reader sympathy for those wizards before we have so much as met one.
After the first few paragraphs, the scene goes on to neatly, through well-chosen detail and dialogue, reveal the existence of wizards able to transmogrify and appear from thin air, trained owls, magical objects, and flying motorbikes. This is at clear juxtaposition to the normality of the first half of the scene, but Mr Dursley’s observations of strange happenings lead up to it well enough that it doesn’t jar the reader.
At this point, the viewpoint changes from Mr Dursley’s, the banal everyman, to a more distant omniscient perspective. We see Dumbledore and professor McGonagall but we are not given insight into their thoughts. By keeping the reader at a distance as if looking in on this strange rendezvous on privet drive, we feel a sense of wonder and mystery and Dumbledore becomes instantly a figure of respect and awe.
Since Dumbledore remains a mysterious figure throughout the series until the later books when his true motives are revealed, it is fitting that we see him only externally in this first scene. The distance between the reader and the unfolding scene with its escalating drama also inevitably makes us wish that we were a part of this world.
Rowling tantalises us with a vivid glimpse of the magical possibilities of the wizard world in this scene in order to encourage us to read on. It is not until chapter four that we meet Hagrid and get up close with the wizarding world again. If she had begun the story with a supposedly normal Harry slowly becoming aware of his specialness, the reader would only learn of the magic of Rowling’s world as he does. Instead Rowling chose to give us advanced insight which, I believe, makes Hagrid’s revelations that Harry is a wizard in chapter four believable. Harry’s world is, after all, rather fantastic even for children with vivid imaginations. By establishing the magic of his world as ‘fact’ beyond Harry’s own experiences and the word of a man who seems, frankly, a bit mad (sorry, Hagrid), she ensures her story is convincing and credible.
Finally, what Rowling does so masterfully in the first scene and indeed throughout the book is make Harry Potter the subject of rumour and gossip. Everyone is talking about him, which not only impresses his importance on the reader but creates a buzz about him before we even meet him. It is a technique writers often use with villains (indeed Rowling does it with Voldemort) – having other characters discuss a villain before his appearance to create a sense of ominous menace as the villain’s reputation literally precedes him.
In Harry’s case, Rowling’s descriptions of wizards everywhere speaking Harry’s name became somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy. It wasn’t long before even muggles everywhere were speaking his name, was it?
So what can we take away from this, apart from that Rowling is a master storyteller? When you are writing your first scene, consider perspective. This is particularly useful is you novel is in third person, but be careful to ensure you still find a way to mention/include your main character even if the scene isn’t from their perspective.
If you want the reader to view your protagonist in a certain light, why not have the first scene written from the perspective of another character/characters who already see them in that light? Or from malicious characters’ perspectives who view the protagonist in an obviously biased light?
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