Ron Week: More Questions

[Penny & Bryce Linsenmayer]

No: HPFGUIDX 16202

Hi --

I will preface my remarks by saying that I came to roughly the same
conclusion about Ron that Heidi expressed earlier.  I liked him alot in
Books 1 & 2.  But, PoA made me slightly uneasy about Ron, and GoF
*really* made me uneasy about Ron.  More than uneasy really .... while I
don't *hate* Ron, I do dislike the person that he seems to be becoming.
I don't like what I saw in GoF honestly.  More on that in a minute ....

> B. Is Ron suffering from depression?  There are a number of clues,
> including his bouts of low self-esteem, jealousy of Harry and
> Hermione, and poor performance in his school work (despite his high
> intellect, noted above).  What other signs of depression are found in
> the books?  How might this play out in later books -- i.e., is Ron a
> candidate to become a DE?

Like others, I would say that I don't think Ron performs all that badly
academically.  I have the feeling that he & Harry are right about the
same level and that while both of them could better if they applied
themselves more, neither of them are doing all that bad.  I figure
they're both above-average -- what we Americans might think of as "B"
students.  There's no real clear evidence either way, but my impression
matches up with the Ron supporters on this issue.  :--)

I don't think Ron is a candidate to become a DE.  Not really.  I can
imagine a scenario in which this is possible, but it could just be a
highly active imagination on my part.  <g>  I think if FITD were to play
out and if Ron knew that Hermione had feelings for Harry, he might take
conscious action against Harry impulsively.  But, this is not by far the
most likely scenario in my mind.

Which leads me to -- is it possible that he might become an unwitting
pawn of the Dark Side?  Do his jealousies, insecurities and ambition
make him a very real target?  I say absolutely.

> Mo wrote: It is my opinion that someone who is sick
> with pain, standing on a broken leg while declaring "You'll have to kill
> all three of us!" is not someone that will be easily swayed toward betraying
> his friends.  IMO, if outright propositioned with, "Money for your friends."
> Ron will not do it for any amount.  I also argue that he is much to smart to be
> tricked or fooled into betraying them.
>
Well, I don't know anyone who really believes that Ron would
*intentionally* betray his friends.  I certainly don't think he'd betray
his friends for money if presented with the situation that you describe
above.  But, you're describing an intentional act of betrayal & deceit.

As I mentioned above, I don't really question Ron's intellect so much.
He's great at chess, and as Jim noted, this signals a high level of
intellect for Ron.  He could have better grades if he applied himself
more -- that seems clear.  But, here's my thought on Ron & an unwitting
betrayal scenario.  Ron has consistently demonstrated a tendency to make
impulsive, impetuous, ill-considered judgments & decisions.  He doesn't
"look before he leaps" in other words.  He's got a hot temper for one
thing, although that in my mind is not the characteristic that I think
will be his downfall.  I think it's the tendency to jump to conclusions
-- skipping several logical steps along the way.  This trait got
*really* emphasized in GoF IMHO.

And yet, one has to wonder.  If he's got the logical skills to be so
good at chess, how is it (or *why* is it) that he doesn't use those
skills very effectively when he's presented with situations requiring
deductive reasoning/logic in other areas?  I would argue that it's
partially attributable to insecurity.  He feels the need to make a quick
pronouncement -- competing with Hermione perhaps.  He doesn't take the
time to really think things through and so, he ends up being wrong alot
of the time (and looking foolish in places).  This is very much at odds
with his early-on characterization in PS/SS as such a great strategical
thinker.  He really hasn't demonstrated that skill much since then
(other than the occasional reference to a chess match).  So, I'm sorry I
can't buy into the whole "Ron will play a pivotal role in coming up with
a strategy that defeats Voldemort" school of thought.

Moody (granted Crouch-as-Moody) declined to extend Ron the compliment he
so obviously wanted: he wanted to be told that he too had the makings of
an auror.  He never got that recognition -- and I think alot of that has
to do with his propensity to make impetuous decisions & arguments.

I had a number of examples in mind while I was listening to the GoF
tapes a few weeks ago, and darn it all, I should have written them all
down since I now can't recall them all.  But, there are some obvious
ones that come to mind.  First, he jumps to conclusions (and stubbornly
refuses to listen to reason (if you assume Hermione was talking to him
about Harry's situation) with respect to his best friend -- the
Harry/Ron fight of course.  Someone mentioned awhile back that Ron
always thinks that the bad guy is Snape.  He doesn't seem to have the
ability to see Snape as a mean person who also happens to be on the
"right side."  Ch 27 -- the conversation with Sirius in the cave -- has
several examples of Ron leaping to conclusions hastily (including, IMO,
his pronouncement as they're walking back to the castle that Percy would
betray his family for his career).  The beginning of Ch 29 -- even more
examples of over-eager & ill-considered judgments on Ron's part.  Same
chapter -- the conversation among the Trio & Crouch-as-Moody -- more
examples.  See page 606 (US ed.) -- he is quick to judge Madame Maxime
as a viable candidate for murderer of Crouch, Sr., mainly on the grounds
that she has giant blood (a judgment that sure doesn't win him any
points with Hermione, the liberal do-gooder, I might add!).

I agree with Heidi's assessments re: his mean streak.  He really can be
hurtful, and he doesn't apologize for it.  He's not the most sensitive
bloke after all.  He's just flat-out not very perceptive.  This could
change of course, but as of the end of GoF, I think Ron has *alot* of
maturing to do.

So, he's jealous, ambitious & insecure.  He's prone to forming
ill-considered conclusions & leaping before he looks.  He's not very
perceptive.  He's vulnerable to the Imperius Curse -- something else
that I think JKR subtly highlights in GoF.  He seems a bit too ready to
judge people based on preconceived notions -- giants & house-elves for
example.  He's stubborn to a fault -- I agree with everyone who has
commented that he has yet to really admit to being wrong or apologize
for the things he's done to his friends.

I think all of this points to a possibility that Ron could be an
unwitting pawn of the Dark Side -- an easy target really IMO.

> C. What does Ron's position in the family have to do with his actions
> and attitudes?  Does Ron show any classic "middle child" behaviors in
> canon?

Someone else argued that Percy demonstrates the middle-child behaviors
most, but my impression is that Percy could well be the oldest child.
He's such a Type A, over-achiever type -- I've always associated this
type behavior with the eldest child.  There's such a gap between
Bill/Charlie & the Percy/twins/Ron/Ginny grouping that Percy could
effectively function in the oldest child role very easily.  Ron does
seem to exhibit some middle-child behavioral characteristics, although
he is the youngest son -- the twins seem the ones most in the middle.

> D. Although Ron is a rabid Quidditch fan, he has not yet made the
> Gryffindor team.  How has Harry's success (in his first year!)
> affected their relationship?  Would it be a good thing for their
> relationship if Ron finally made the team?

I can't imagine that this *doesn't* affect their friendship.  It's just
one more thing that Ron probably has some jealousy over, although in
fairness, I can't say that I can think of a single example supporting
him being jealous of Harry's Quidditch skills or place on the team.  I
just figure that he's jealous about so many other things that Harry's
role on the team & obvious talent have probably not gone unnoticed by
Ron.

Okay -- fire away SugarQuillers.  Maybe I'll go into labor & I won't
have to defend my theories!  Just kidding .... just kidding.  <g>

Penny




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