Weak Ron?

[gryffindor_lupin]

No: HPFGUIDX 35125

Always afraid to jump into the conversation, I come to discuss my  
ickle Ronniekins. =) 

jenny_ravenclaw"  wrote:

> I see Ron mostly as weak. In JKR's wizarding world, weak is a bad 
> thing to be. 

Caroline wrote: 
<<Yes! This is just how I see Ron too. All of our "good guys" have 
flaws, of course; but I think Ron's make him more susceptible to V. 
than anyone else's (except maybe Hagrid's—that blind loyalty
thing 
really worries me—but I digress.)>>


I do not see Ron as mostly weak. I see him as a boy, a human being  
with flaws and weaknesses. However, I don't think they outweigh his  
good qualities.   

Yes, Ron has a bad temper. Horrible -- I wonder if he gets ashamed 
of  any outbursts later on. But most of the time, that temper comes 
out  because of Draco. At least, all the most significant times. Ron 
loses  his cool. He can't take insults, like many other people, and 
rightly so. Ron is provoked. He doesn't like the people he cares 
about being  hurt, though he may occasionally do the hurting himself. 
I think he  knows bad when it comes from other people, but with his 
own actions,  he's slow to realize. I actually like his fiery temper, 
his ability  to stand up to adversity and willingness to take a hit 
for others (in  both PS/SS and PoA). After all, aren't there times 
where we wished we  could have defended someone and didn't have the 
courage? Perhaps he's  not even being spurned on by courage, but by 
something deep within no  one understands.   

I like good guys with flaws -- I don't like good guys any other way.  
And if you look at it, Harry and Hermione are nearly good guys  
without visible flaws. In Ron's eyes, they are friends, but I 
believe  he thinks himself unworthy sometimes. Harry is the boy 
who "defeated"  Voldemort, gets pretty good grades, is all around 
pretty nice guy, as  well as athlete. Hermione is the "brain" with 
top marks who rarely  gets anything wrong. Like anyone else, those 
two have flaws, but none  you see as great as Ron's. Ron is all too 
aware of his family's  situation. Combine that with his brothers' 
overachieving, and you  have one insecure boy. Everyone gets bit by 
jealousy, perhaps of the  lucky lottery winner or the pretty movie 
star. To anyone's eyes,  those two are nearly perfect. Then when 
Harry is entered in the  Triwizard Tournament, well then it all 
breaks loose. I don't think  Ron's frustrated at Harry himself, but 
at nearly everything around  him. But, I don't think he wants to be 
great just so that he gets  glory. I believe he wants to do great 
things because he wants to matter. He may be insecure, but loyalty is 
the trait that I see primarily.

All have flaws that could lead to a darker path, fictional character 
or not. The trick is knowing and accepting the good over the bad. You 
need inner strength to fight off those darker reaches of yourself 
too. I think that Ron has shown that he the power to hold anything 
bad at bay. He may succumb to the trivial things, but in the long 
run, he's on the path of good. 

jenny_ravenclaw wrote: 
Ron cannot fight the Imperius Curse (baaaaaad sign). 
<<snip excellent descriptions of Ron's weaknesses and how he could 
give V. information>>

Now, on the Imperius Curse: it seems that not all great wizards have 
the ability to fight off the Imperius Curse. An example would be Mad 
Eye Moody, famous Auror extraordinare. Even the great Moody was put 
under  the Imperius Curse and forced to live in a box for months. So 
then, what kind of strength does it take to fight the Curse?    

Karen