Fame

Harry Potter Book One: Fame

Why does Dumbledore decide to have Harry grow up with the Dursleys rather than with one of the wizard families? How does Harry’s experience with his relatives build his character? 

The decision to drop Harry at the Dursley's house was just for Harry's own protection. For a child, it is difficult growing up in a world where everyone knows your name and you don't know why. For Harry it would have been much more then that. Why would you want to be reminded every day that you're famous because you were  the only one who lived when your family was murdered. He would be growing up knowing that and knowing that his family was murdered by a dark wizard when he doesn't even know what magic is. It would be too difficult for a child to deal with this especially since he'd have real living magical relatives to be by his side and comfort him and explain things to him. I agree with Dumbledores decision to do this. I wouldn't want to be forced to live with my horrible relatives but it would be protecting me from reliving my parents murder everyday. 

http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20131017024605/harrypotter/images/4/4a/BumbleboreMcGeegeeHARRY.PNG

Obviously no one has the exact same experience as this but there many celebrities who grew up with parents who were dead. The example that I would choose for this would be Francis Bean Cobain. Her father was not murdered like Harry's but still she grew up in the shadow of her fathers death. That is mainly one of the reasons that she is/was famous. She was still mostly sheltered from the world like Harry and as a young child most likely didn't know about her fathers death. 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7306292956_d022743210.jpg

When kids grow up and aren't told about their parent's death sometimes they react like they've been betrayed or something. I'm not sure how I'd feel but I wouldn't want to put myself in that position anyway. Harry doesn't have anyone who would tell him the truth, all he knows is that 'his parents died in a car accident and he lived'. Maybe it is better for a young child not to know the truth about deaths and not to really talk about it but knowing that you're the only one who lived is just a really horrible thing to have to deal with.