Percy - The Troubled Soul?

[bboy_mn]

No: HPFGUIDX 43283

Thoughts on Percy-

I'm sure this has been talked about before. I simply can't imagine
people not having done an in depth look at Percy before. But I feel
compelled to a my thoughts to the arena.

Frankly, I worry about Percy. We all know that he is 'Perfect Percy'
(notice, that's pERfect not pREfect). Percy has set himself up to be
the 'good son', the one who does everything right. Sadly, all
perfectionists are doomed to failure. Even more sadly, is the more
they fail at perfection, the more perfect they try to be. 

While I can't get too deeply into fan fiction, since it's not
appropriate to this forum, I have to say that I've learned a lot about
Percy by reading fan fiction. Through it, I get a deeper insight into
other people's view of Percy's inner workings; of his deeper secret
self. When it's not focused on the romantic/intimate aspects of life
(usually, Oliver/Percy for some reason), it is usually focused on
'Percy - the Troubled Soul'. One particular story that stuck with me
(moderators: I promise I'm not going to get too deeply into this)
focused on Percy engaging in a secret activity referred to as
'cutting'. This is an act where psychologically troubled people
relieve their stress by literally cutting themselves; literally
drawing blood and making themselves feel pain. (For now, the end of my
references to fan fiction). 

I don't see that as being to far off the beam with regard to Percy. I
can see Percy with that much internal pain; I can see his soul as
potentially that troubled. I do see him as a troubled soul engaged in
a battle that it is impossible to win. I also see him desperately
seeking approval, not just from Molly, he gets that easily, but from
everyone. Most importantly from his brothers, and even MORE
importantly from Fred, George, and (oddly) especially Ron.

To some extent, this relates to whether Fred and George are bullying
Percy. If, when Percy made Prefect, Fred and George said 'nice job',
'congratulation', and then teased Percy mercilessly when he became
pompous about it, then I say no, that's not bullying. But if they went
straight to the merciless teasing without the 'nice job', then they
come close. It's not my intent to prolong the 'bully'/'not bully'
debate. This is more about family dynamics than bullying. 

As I said before, perfectionism is a self-defeating effort; the more
you try to do it, the less successful you are at it; perfection
guarantees failure. I see Percy in the early stages of a cascade or
avalanche. He seeks approval by being the 'good son', by being
perfect, and when he doesn't get it, he uses the only thing he knows
which is to try harder to be the 'good son'/perfect which alienates
him even more from the approval he is seeking, and so the avalanche
continues to build until it reaches destructive intensity. I don't
think he is there yet, but I see him headed in that direction. 

Let's look at the Fred/George and Percy relationship. When I think of
this relationship, I am reminded of Percy apparating down to breakfast
every morning after he got is license, not just apparating down, but
announcing it to everyone. I think this is Percy's way of begging for
someone to acknowledge him; a desperate desire for some approval and
attention, not from Molly, but from Fred, George, Ron, and perhaps
Arthur. So, what happens? Fred and George tease him about it and that
makes Percy more desperate for approval, which causes him to bring up
his ability to apparate even more often, which causes F&G to tease him
even more, which causes Percy to bring it up even more often which
ends up driving Percy farther away from the thing he is seeking.

If Fred and George had given Percy some serious acknowledgement of his
accomplishment in the beginning, Percy would probably lighten up, and
that would save everybody a lot of stress.

Take it from someone who spent a few years being 'the good son'; it is
a desperately frustrating way to live. I can see Percy lying awake at
night, consciously or subconsciously, baffled by the situation. Laying
awake trying to understand why things aren't working for him. He does
everything right, he's good, he doesn't cause problems, he studies, he
excels, he does everything right, and instead of being pulled to the
center of the family and being everyone's pride and joy, he is
alienated, pushed to the fringes, and for some incomprehensible
reason, no one likes him. Yet, Fred and George do it all wrong, they
raise hell, they don't study, they break all the rules, and everyone
loves them, they get all the attention. It's the 'good son' paradox;
the more right you do it, the more wrong it goes. It will drive you nuts.

Now for Percy's relationship with Ron. Admittedly, I don't have a lot
of direct official story line to back up what I say. Most, of it I've
created with intuition and supposition, and reading volumes between
the lines. I'm guessing that the greatest adventures of Ron's
childhood (prior to age 11) we lead by Fred and George. While I'm sure
Ron had great fun being a kid and playing with Fred and George, there
is a down side. Not only do you have greater fun, but you also risk
greater pain. So when things went wrong while playing with F&G, Ron
probably suffered his greatest childhood pains and traumas. 

Take the incident where Fred(?) turned Ron's teddy bear into a spider.
I'm guessing the first one on the scene to fix the problem, to change
the bear back, to comfort Ron, to scold F&G, and to tell Molly what
F&G had done was none other than Percy. In a sense, in those younger
days, F&G were the source of adventure, and Percy was the protector
and comforter. 

So, how is their relationship now? Now, the mere presents of Percy
irritates Ron, you might even say, makes him angry. I can see Percy
laying awake at night, consciously or subconsciously, trying to figure
out how he went from being Ron's protector and comforter to being a
source of irritation; trying to figure out how he went from hero to
hated. He's trapped in the paradox; he's good, he does everything
right, so how come it all goes wrong? He does what you are suppose to
do, so why doesn't he get what you are suppose to get?

In my fan fiction, I've written Percy as a very strong character. In
my stories, through his friendship with and with the help of Harry;
Percy has gone from a 'butt-kisser' to a 'butt-kicker'. He's gone from
a no future lackey to being a strong respected forceful person who
knows how to get things done. So, why is my fiction relevant to a
discussion that should be about the story as officially written?
Because it represents my view of what I think or hope will happen in
the future story. 

I see Percy heading for a psychological crisis, and it's my hope that
Harry with perhaps some help from Hermione who has already learned the
lessons that Percy needs to learn, will help him to get past that,
will help him out of the paradox he is trapped in, and help him to
become a better and stronger person. Percy will always be Percy, just
as Hermione will always be Hermione, but Hermione has change, she has
realized that sometimes a greater good is more important than the rules.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

bboy_mn