Fred and George: The Bullies You Do Know

[abigailnus]

No: HPFGUIDX 43032

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "ssk7882" <skelkins at a...> wrote:
> Now, I know that everyone else in the entire universe just adores
> the twins.  I know that they're popular characters.  And indeed, they 
>have been very nice to Harry -- and I do appreciate it when the 
>characters are nice to Harry.
> 
> But I just have to say it.  I do not like the twins.  At all.  I think that 
>they are a pair of mean insensitive bullies, and I tend to feel that the 
>only reason that readers don't generally perceive them as such is 
>because we see the story through Harry's eyes -- and Harry happens 
>to be inside of the magic circle of people the twins perceive as their 
>in-group, and who are therefore protected from their harrassment.

You know, I've had the feeling for a long time that, as a group, we tend 
to over-analize the Harry Potter books - at least past a certain point.  
There are certain elements of the books that I am just sure that JKR never 
gave as much thought to as we have.  Sometimes, I suspect, the answers 
to many a thorny dilemma are simply "because it's funny", or "because it 
was more dramatic that way", or "because JKR never gave it that much 
thought".  Now, obviously, this isn't the case with every discussion, 
especially when dealing with an author as fond of foreshadowing as JKR is, 
but I believe it is especially true when it comes to the more comic elements 
of the books.

With almost no exception, the humor in the Harry Potter books tends to be 
broad and on the slapstick side, and if I weren't too lazy to go downstairs 
and get my books, I could probably come up with a dozen examples of 
actions which, if one looks too carefully into them, are actually quite rude 
and insensitive, but when you don't think of them too much are very funny.  
Fred and George Weasly, as the chief suppliers of comic relief in the books, 
tend to be responsible for most of these actions, but I find it hard to believe 
that we are meant to read any insight from this into their character.  

I honestly believe that in most of these cases, JKR's reasoning doesn't go 
any further than "this is funny."  This is something of a disservice to the 
characters, making them the purveyors of cheap laughs and nothing more, 
but let's face it, Fred and George aren't that important.  They have no 
apparent role in the grand scheme of things.  Harry even tells them that in 
the coming war, their job is going to be making people laugh and forget 
about their troubles - a possible meta statement from JKR?  The argument 
here seems to be with JKR's sense of humor, not her characterization.

So I find any attempt to read too much depth into the twins a bit futile 
(with one possible exception to be mentioned later.)  However, even if 
I were to try and take the twins' actions seriously, and judge them as I 
would judge people acting in the real world, then I think the label "bullies" 
is a bit extreme.  

A bully, to my mind, is a power freak.  A person who feels the need to 
humiliate and terrify others in order to feel powerful.  This behaviour 
usually stems from low self esteem, and when a bully is stripped of his 
or her power or is faced with someone more powerful, they tend to 
implode (as we see in the case of Dudley Dursley.)  I really don't think 
this describes the twins.  I've never perceived them as needing anyone's 
attention, approval, or adoration.  In fact, the twins form such an insular 
unit that it's hard to tell them apart, and I can hardly remember ever 
seeing one of them acting without the other.  

Whereas Harry has a group of three or four friends that he hangs out 
with, the twins spend most of their time with each other (lip service is paid 
to the notion that Lee Jordan is their friend, but he is never involved in 
any of their pranks and jokes, which are arguably the activities that define 
them.)  I find it hard to draw from this self-containment the image of people 
who crave power, and as for insecurity, what could make you more secure 
than the knowledge that there is someone who is always in your corner, 
who will always support you and be on your side?  How could an insecure 
person grow out of this relationship?

Fred and George are teasers and practiacly jokers.  Their actions are similar 
to those of bullies, but their intentions aren't.  At their best, Fred and 
George are being playful and high-spirited, and are unaware of the fact 
that they might be causing pain to others.  At their worse, they are almost 
unbearably callous.  Neither of these traits make them bullies, or even bad 
people.  Am I the only person who is flashing on an early episode of Buffy 
the Vampire Slayer, in which Xander is possessed by a hyena spirit and 
begins acting quite cruelly?  Specifically, I'm thinking of this wonderful 
exchange betwenn Buffy and her mentor, Giles:

Giles: Xander's taken to teasing the less fortunate?
Buffy: Uh-huh.
Giles: And, there's been a noticeable change in both clothing and demeanor?
Buffy: Yes.
Giles: And, well, otherwise all his spare time is spent lounging about with imbeciles.
Buffy: It's bad, isn't it.
Giles: It's devastating. He's turned into a sixteen-year-old boy. Course, you'll have to kill him. 

Legal adults or not, the twins are sixteen year old boys.  They are, by 
definition, idiots.  I've known my share of these guys.  I've been teased 
by my share of them, and I really, really hated them at the time (which 
was 5-7 years ago.)  Today I should imagine that most of them have 
grown up and gotten over it, but more importantly, I have.  It's only when 
people get to be 21 and still act like 16 year old imbeciles that we have the 
right to judge them (and I've met my share of that kind as well.)  I suspect 
that in a few years the twins will mellow out and become normal, if a bit 
boistrous, members of society.  Or, at least, that's what would happen in 
the real world.  If JKR is truly interested in the twins solely for comic relief 
than she will never let them grow out of their behaviour, and I can't say 
that this would bother me terribly.  I don't take the twins seriously and I 
don't think I'm meant to.

The only exception I can think of is the owlery scene in GoF.  Here the 
twins are actually engaged in borderline illegal activity.  This is serious stuff, 
and I think it's telling that this is the first time that we've ever seen them 
disagree and are able to tell them apart - suddenly Fred and George get to 
climb one rung up the ladder to fully-fleshed character.  It's following this 
scene that Ron expresses his fears that Fred and George have an unhealthy 
and possibly dangerous obsession with making money.  

This leads me to wonder if the twins might not end up playing a prank that 
goes very wrong, or going a bit too far for something that they want.  
After all, we're all expecting a contemporary parallel to the famous prank, 
and we have been told the Fred and George could have given James Potter 
and Sirius Black a run for their money as pranksters.  I doubt that we'll see 
anyting like this, though.  First, Fred and George aren't important enough to 
be given such an important plot-line, especially when you consider the 
generational parallel.  Second, at the end of GoF Harry effectively solves the 
twins' financial problems, thus removing the element of stress that might 
have led them to danger.

A few more comments:

> Well, what interactions have we actually seen between the twins and 
>students from outside of House Gryffindor?
> 
> Hmmm.  Well, there's Draco Malfoy and his cronies, of course.  In PoA, 
>they sneer at Draco for running into their cabin while fleeing the dementor 
>on the Hogwarts Express.  In GoF, they hex him and his (unarmed!) buddies 
>in the back, leave them lying unconscious on the floor of a train in the middle 
>of London, and then *step* on them while they're out cold.  

Not only do I find it hard to classify hexing Draco and his buddies as bullying 
(which is, after all, mostly about fear and humiliation.  Having been knocked 
out immediately, Draco and his cronies had no time to feel either.)  Not only do 
I think that it is unfair to lay the blame for the hexing solely at the twins feet - 
there were five people who performed the hexes, the twins are less then half 
of them.  I also find it very hard to condemn Fred and George (and Harry and 
Ron and Hermione) for reacting the way they did.  Was it wrong to hex Malfoy 
and his buddies?  Yes.  Was it wrong to step over them and leave them in the hall?  
Yes.  Was the behaviour of all *five* responsible parties all but inexcusable?  Hell 
yes.  But is it impossible to understand?  Well...

In one sentence, Draco Malfoy manages to pick open a wound that is still 
very fresh, to threaten Harry, the twins' friend, and insult Ron, their brother.  
And the twins don't even like Draco, what with him being the son of the man 
who nearly cause their sister's death and having been taught from a young 
age that his entire family are up to no good (and it was you, Elkins, who 
suggested that this indocrination might have much deeper roots than just 
Arthur Weasly talking shop at home.)  Is it any wonder the twins have a severe 
reaction?  That doesn't mean I find this reaction correct, but I am saying that for 
16 year-olds, it makes sense.

And as for sneering at Malfoy in PoA, that is taken completely out of 
context.  The twins were trying to make Harry feel better by letting him 
know that Malfoy, who had teased him for fainting when meeting the 
dementors, wasn't exactly Captain Courageous on the train - which I 
think is pretty sneer worthy.  They also qualify this statement by 
immdiately saying that they were quite frightened themselves - how 
many bullies would admit such a thing?  I think Malfoy was displaying 
bully-like behaviour in this case, not the twins.

> 
> And...let's see.  Who else?  Well, there's Dudley.  Ton-tongue toffee, 
>anyone?  The kid is three years younger than they are, and he's a 
>muggle besides; it is plain to see that he is absolutely *petrified* of magic, 
>and the twins are passing him cursed sweets.  

I also found the ton-tongue toffee scene unpleasant, and once again I 
point to the double whammy of JKR's crude sense of humor and the twins' 
general immaturity.  

> Oh, and then there's little Malcolm Baddock.  Eleven years old, it's his 
>very first day at school, the poor kid's probably scared out of his gourd 
>to begin with, he's just been sorted into Slytherin, and on his way to the 
>table, big strong sixteen-year-old Fred and George actually *hiss* him.

This I can't really excuse, and as it served no particular comic purpose, 
I can't tell why JKR decided to include this.

> They can't even manage to be nice to the Ever So Decent Cedric at the 
>beginning of GoF.  He's trying to be friendly, and they're scowling menacingly 
>at him, just because he had the unmitigated gall to whip them once at Quidditch.  
>What would they have been doing if their parents hadn't been around, 
>one wonders.  Beating him *up?*

Oh, come on, give the kids a break.  Look at Cedric - he's older than the twins, 
he's handsome, smart, popular, good with the girls, a great Quidditch player, 
and on top of all that he's nice, modest and friendly.  How could they not 
hate him?  Can you honestly tell me that you've never met a person like that 
and just hated them?

And for the record, we have *never* seen the twins engage in physical violence.

> Even when the twins target adults, it's always *vulnerable* adults.  They 
>don't hurl snowballs at Professor McGonagall, do they?  No, of course not.  
>They throw them at Professor Quirrell, whom they have every reason to 
>believe is indeed precisely what he appears to be: a stammering, shell-shocked 
>wreck of a wizard who is tottering right on the edge of a nervous collapse.
> 

Once again, I have no excuse for that.  I'm not saying that Fred and George 
are good kids - I'm just saying they are not bad kids, and certainly not bullies.


>And what about Percy?  The twins aren't picking on Percy because he has 
>injured them terribly through any particular action he has taken against them. 
> They're picking on him because he is *vulnerable,* and because they have 
>identified some trait that makes him, to their mind, "fair game," thus enabling 
>them to rationalize their behavior.  In Percy's case, that trait happens to be 
>pomposity.  But what if it had instead been ugliness?  Or intellect?  Or talent?  
>Or timidity?
> 

I have never seen the twins' behavious towards Percy as bullying or in any 
way unbearable, and I certainly don't think he's in at all vulnerable.  They're 
brothers, brothers pick on each other.  Just because Percy is too full of himself 
to play the game doesn't mean Fred and George can't, and what do they do 
to him that's so terrible, anyway?  They make fun of him for being proud of 
being a prefect.  They tease him for his self-importance.  They play with his 
head boy badge.  We never see this have any adverse affect on him - I think it 
would take quite a bit more to deflate someone as stuck up as Percy, and 
I think the twins know that too.

> Nor is it only animals.  Into the "callous thoughtlessness" category, I would 
>also place the twins' remorseless teasing of Ginny in CoS.  Now, I understand 
>that the twins actually didn't *mean* to be upsetting her that badly.  They 
>were genuinely trying to cheer her up.  They really did mean well.  I appreciate 
>that.  But they were so ridiculously *insensitive* that they didn't even notice 
>that she was heading straight for a nervous breakdown until Percy pointed it 
>out to them, at which point (to their credit) they did indeed cease and desist.

I think this was meant to be a red herring.  We were supposed to notice 
that Ginny was in a bad way, but to attribute it to the twins' pranks and 
not to Riddle's effect on her.  In reality, I suspect that nothing that the 
twins did to Ginny could be worse than what was already going on in her 
own head.

> -- Elkins, who really will feel very bad for the surviving twin if one of them is to die.  

On my list of characters who I fear might die, the twins are right down at 
the bottom, just below Hermione.  You want to know the reason?  It's 
because they're interchangeable.  It's not like I can like one of them more 
than the other because, apart from the owlery scene in GoF, there never 
seems to be any difference between them.  Can you really imagine JKR 
killing off a character who has no distinguishing characteristics except as part 
of a duo?  Not only would the death be meaningless ("Oh no, she killed George!  
Or is it Fred?") but the remaining twin would be a useless character, 
unable to function on his own.

Abigail, who has just notice that it is 4:30 and she will never wake up 
tomorrow.  Any mistakes in this post are the fault of my fatigued state.