CHILD EMPOWERMENT IN J. K. ROWLING’S HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE

Abstract

This research aimed to (1) identify the problems faced by Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, (2) reveal the process of child empowerment experienced by those characters in the novel, and (3) reveal the influences of child empowerment on those characters in the novel. The researcher used qualitative descriptive content analysis. The data of the research were significant expressions related to child empowerment taken from the novel. The result of this research showed: first, there were two kinds of problems: problems from external sources (people’s negative judgment, suppressions and mistreatment) and internal problems (children’s inferior feeling and negative thinking); second, there were five ways to empower children: giving them chance, making them complex characters, giving them important position, making them capable and giving them trust; and third, there were four influences of child empowerment namely becoming knowledgeable, aware, sociable and proactive.

Kata Kunci
J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, children’s literature, problems faced by children, child empowerment