Abstract：J.K. Rowling is a famous contemporary novelist. Her representative work is prominent particularly in Harry Potter. The series of Harry Porter are 7 volumes. The main site of the story is in Hogwarts School of magic. Harry Potter, the hero in the story, studied magic at the Hogwarts Academy of magic for six years. During the six years, the protagonist continued to grow up and struggled with the chief of the evil forces--Voldemort, which was finally eliminated in the seventh volume. 

As one of the modern popular novels, Harry Porter is not only intriguing but also exquisite in its writing techniques. In many ways, symbolism is the main writing feature.Many things have strong symbolic meanings in the story, for example, snakes, phoenix, owls and the scar on Harry Potter’s foreheadand, even the Gryffindor academe, all of them promoted the dvelopment of the storyline(Charles Tayloe,1994:17). With the continuous development of modern language and literature, more and more scholars begin to extract the essence and the mystery of analysis from novels, dramas and other literary works. This paper analyzes the Harry Porter series from the angle of symbolism, which helps us to understand the motives and intentions of the author of Harry Potter, and it is beneficial to the further study of the literature of the novels.

Keywords:  Harry Porter  J.K Rowling   symbol  art

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-4

 1.1 Introduction to J.K. Rowling-4

 1.2 Introduction to Harry Potter-4

 1.3 Previous Research on Harry Potter-4

 1.4 Structure of Harry Potter’s Series-6

Chapter Two Theory of Symbolism-8

 2.1 Definition of Symbolism-8

 2.2 Function of Symbolim-8

Chapter Three Symbolism of Harry Potter-10

 3.1 Symbolism of animals-10

  3.1.1 Phoenix: Self-sacrifice, Justice and Courage10

  3.1.2 Snake: A Symbol of Evil-11

  3.1.3 Owl: Companion, Friendship and Chasteness-11

 3.2 Other symbolisms-12

  3.2.1 Scar: Maternal love, Amulet, Hinge-12

  3.2.2 Gryffindor: A Symbol of Heroism-13

Chapter Four Function of symbolism in Harry Potter-14

Chapter Five Conclusion-15

References16