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
-----------------------------------------
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