Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

The lightning bolt scar on Harry’s forehead is a physical symbol of his connection to Lord Voldemort. The scar is the only evidence of their face-off when Harry was an infant. When Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore first place baby Harry on the Dursleys’ doorstep, they note, “He’ll have that scar forever. […] Scars can come in handy” (11). Though she tries to convince Dumbledore to remove it, he insists that he would not even if he could. To outsiders, the lightning bolt scar symbolizes Harry’s triumph over Voldemort. People recognize him by his scar, so much so that Harry sometimes tries to cover it to avoid being easily identified. Harry’s attempt to cover the scar stems from his aunt’s hatred of it when he was younger. Petunia, eager to stamp out any hint of magic in Harry, cuts his hair so that his bangs would “hide that horrible scar” (18). The scar symbolizes different things to different people. For magical folks, the scar represents Voldemort’s demise. For the Dursleys, it represents everything that they hate most in the world—Harry’s magic and his lack of normalcy. However, for Harry, the scar represents a more profound and unsettling link to the dark wizard. He worries that its physical response to Voldemort’s presence—it begins to cause Harry pain—proves he will ultimately follow in the dark wizard’s footsteps. The scar is a tangible link between Harry and Voldemort. Throughout the novel, the scar begins to hurt him “as though his scar were on fire” (205). Harry has to cope with the scar and its effects, “trying to ignore the stabbing pains in his forehead, which had been bothering him ever since his trip into the forest” (209). When Quirrell attempts to touch Harry, his scar becomes so painful, “his head felt as though it was about to split in two” (237). Despite the pain, Harry still defeats Quirrell and faints because of the “needle-sharp pain” (237).

While Harry’s scar connects him to Voldemort and alerts him when the evil wizard is close by, it also symbolizes the difference between him and his friends. When Harry worries about Voldemort, he notices that Ron and Hermione do not seem as concerned. Harry thinks to himself, “Maybe it was because they hadn’t seen what Harry had seen in the forest, or because they didn’t have scars burning on their foreheads, but Ron and Hermione didn’t seem as worried about the Stone as Harry” (210). The scar symbolizes how different Harry’s life has been from his friends. While it symbolizes many different things, the scar also marks Harry as the Chosen One. As the chosen hero, Harry feels alone and scared of his fate.