Ron's prejudices (Was: prejudice in the WW (was: If I had to choose...)

[serenadust]

No: HPFGUIDX 38274

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "jenny_ravenclaw" <meboriqua at a...> wrote:

<snipped Penny L's examples of her perceptions of negative behavior 
on Ron's part>


> You know, Penny, you are successfully making me like Ron quite a 
bit 
> less than I did a few months ago and my upcoming comments will 
reflect 
> that.  However, don't ever think I'll stop being a H/G SHIPper!
> 
> Ron definitely displays prejudices several times throughout the 
series 
> but I do not think he does so in the way, say Draco does.  Ron is 
> easily influenced by others.  IOW, he is rather weak.  The fact 
that 
> he cannot fight the Imperius Curse is evidence of that to me.

How is this an example of Ron's weakness? In GoF it states very 
clearly that "*not one* of them seemed to be able to fight off the  
curse" in the DADA class.  That would, of course, include Hermione. 
Do you believe that she's also weak?  In fact, Barty Crouch, Sr. is 
described by Sirius as follows: "He's a great wizard, Barty Crouch, 
powerfully magical..."  Yet, it takes him many months to throw off 
the curse.
The same holds true for *real Moody*, who never does throw it off.  
Is he weak too?
The fact is that Harry is shown here to be unique in his ability to 
throw off the curse and this is a huge hint as to his exceptional 
powers.

I also strongly disagree that he is easily influenced by others.  If 
that were so, Hermione would be able to persuade him to among other 
things, buy into the idea that Snape is not really evil, or that 
SPEW is a really swell idea.  If anyone has a mind of his own, it's 
Ron (not that he's not wrong from time to time, but so are Harry and 
Hermione).
 

Jenny continues:
 When it 
> comes to prejudices, I feel that somewhere along the line when Ron 
was 
> much younger, he heard some arguments against werewolves and 
giants 
> (or maybe he simply heard what nearly everyone around him was 
saying) 
> and took those comments for fact without thinking them through for 
> himself.  Ron isn't one to question and is much more likely 
to "judge 
> a book by its cover", so to speak.  He's not strong enough to 
stand up 
> alone and express his views the way Hermione does. 


Ron not *strong* enough to stand up and express his views?  Are we 
reading the same books? <g> He's the one who stands up to Snape on 
Hermione's behalf, he's the one who was going to stand up to Fudge 
(his dad's boss!) on behalf of Buckbeak if Hermione hadn't stopped 
him.  Do you believe that, oh say, Grizzly bears are dangerous and 
not to be trusted, or is that rank anti-ursine prejudice?  The fact 
is that werewolves *are* dangerous, and apparently so are giants.  
The fact that there may be gentle grizzly bears in theory doesn't 
mean that one is prejudiced if he considers them very dangerous.  
Don't forget that the giants were allies of Voldemort during his 
last reign of terror. Ron is the only member of the trio who is 
truly knows the wizarding world from experience, and Harry badly 
needs his input on these matters.


Jenny again:
 He even holds 
> prejudices against girls who aren't pretty enough, like Eloise 
Midgen, 
> and instead gazes adoringly at the prettiest one around, even 
though 
> she may not be particularly nice, as apparently Fleur was not when 
Ron 
> asked her to the Yule Ball, or even when she snorted upon entering 
> Hogwarts.  He looks at things too much at face value.


Unlike Harry who yearns for the very plain Cho Chang? <g>  Sorry to 
say, but this is entirely typical of 14 year old boys (and even 
grown men, in many cases).


Jenny again:
> This gives me a bad feeling about Ron.  Good things aren't coming 
his 
> way in the next few books.  What do others think?


I'm afraid that it's obvious that I don't share your negative view 
of Ron.  I don't think that many good things are coming Harry and 
Hermione's way either in the next few books, but that's due to 
Voldy's return, not to their character flaws.  I'm sorry if this has 
seemed like a rant, but I'm always amazed at how many people are so 
quick to find fault with Ron's character in particular.  When I read 
the books, it's obvious to me that JKR is very fond of him and means 
for the reader to be as well.  He is one of the best-written 
characters in the books IMO, and the fact that he has some flaws 
only serves to make him human, and more lovable as a result.  I'm 
much more inclined to let Rowling influence my opinion of him than 
anyone else's interpretation.


Jo Serenadust, proud C.R.A.B. member