Percy!

lupinesque aiz24 at hotmail.com
Thu Feb 28 04:43:36 UTC 2002


No: HPFGUIDX 35849

Penny picked up the gauntlet:

> First let me just say that if we're not supposed to like Percy, then 
we 
> are likewise not supposed to like Molly.  Percy is Molly re-made 
IMHO. 

<nine positive Percy moments compiled by Eileen and Penny snipped>

I agree that all of them are genuinely positive (those who think Percy 
isn't grief-stricken by Ginny's kidnapping should reconsider any plans 
for a career in grief counseling).  But Percy is like Molly?!  Yes, 
she dotes on him, and yes, he's like her in various ways.  But in 
terms of the positive-to-negative ratio of their descriptions, they 
aren't remotely comparable.

I really didn't phrase my request correctly.  The real task is not to 
list positive Percy moments, but to list *all* Percy moments and 
categorize them as positive, negative, or neutral so we can get a 
count <g>.  I haven't done this compilation myself, but my sense as I 
read is that the vast majority of descriptions of Percy are negative. 
 That's where he differs from Molly, and from Ron (though those who 
cower at angry parents may have a much higher negative count for Molly 
than I do, and those who dislike a sarcastic sense of humor may have a 
much higher negative count for Ron).

I agree with this:

> But, I believe that JKR does want us to 
> know that there's a kind and gentle Percy lurking in there.  

but not with this:

>I truly 
> don't see that she's trying to convey that Percy is to be disliked 
as a 
> character.  

I wish this were true, but how many readers would like someone like 
Percy if they knew him in person?  (Not I, so why do I have so much 
affection for him as a character?  Am I just perverse?  Or is it a 
chilling recognition that there but for the grace of God and a more 
secure sense of self go I?)

Amy Z

-----------------------------------------
 "This is the weirdest thing we've ever
 done," Harry said fervently.
        --HP and the Prisoner of Azkaban
-----------------------------------------





More information about the HPforGrownups archive