Percy!

[Penny & Bryce]

No: HPFGUIDX 35885

Hi --

>I argued:
> 
>  > 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.

Amy responded:

> 
> <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.

Au, contraire.  Well, I suppose it is subjective after all.  <g>  I 
think JKR definitely intends to convey that Molly is bossy, fussy, a 
worrier, a person who follows the "Rules" at all times -- gee, does that 
sound like anyone else we know?  :--)

But, back to the positive-negative ratio.  Yes, Percy gets adjectives 
applied to his dialogue such as "pompously," or "irritated" and the 
like.  Molly doesn't necessarily, IIRC, have similar negative 
descriptive words applied to her dialogue & interactions, but the end 
result is the same.  Harry at one point thinks that Percy has puffed 
himself up in a way that reminds Harry rather forcefully of Molly.

I think it might also depend on how one views her mothering style.  If 
asked to choose absolutely, do I *like* Molly or *dislike* Molly, I'd 
probably have to say that I like her overall.  This is mainly because of 
her interactions with Harry and how *he* feels about her though.  I do 
dislike the way she interacts with her children in some ways.  With 
Bill, she seems fond but a bit meddlesome; with Charlie ... hmmm, no 
real opinion here; with Percy, she is fond & doting to the point of 
fairly obvious favoritism; with the Twins, she is definitely bossy, 
interfering & unappreciative of their strengths & ambitions; with Ron, 
she seems to be largely uninvolved or "absent" (she pays *far* more 
attention to Harry than to Ron, and someone wrote a really nice analysis 
some point back about how Molly's favoring Harry over her own son Ron 
might cause problems in the Harry/Ron relationship as well as the 
Molly/Ron relationship before all is said & done); and finally, with 
Ginny, I see her as smothering & over-protective.

I *don't* think Molly is written 100% positively; at least, my reactions 
to her have not always been positive.  Although, I'm saying on one hand 
that I love Percy as a character and on the other hand, I'm saying he's 
like Molly, who I don't like overly much.  Hmm... how to fix this 
inconsistency?  Okay ... I think it's that I see more of Percy's good 
qualities than of Molly's perhaps -- perhaps her negatives outweigh her 
positives in some sense for me, though not to the point where I would 
say that I dislike Molly.  Even though Percy is alternately described as 
pompous, irritating and all the rest of it, *I* still see the proud 
older brother cheering for Ron loudly at the end of the PS/SS banquet 
and the older brother who's obviously quite fond of Ginny in CoS and the 
older brother who, when he lets his guard down, is also quite fond of 
Ron.  Molly has good moments too -- but they seem to revolve around 
*Harry* rather than her own children (with the exception of Percy). 
Maybe that's it.  :::shrugs:::  I don't know that I can explain this 
little interpretation issue of mine at the moment.

When I did the quiz that matched you up with characters (check the links 
section &/or the Humongous Big File .. please do *not* write back with 
"Where do I find that quiz that Penny mentioned" or with your quiz 
results, which should be posted to OT-Chatter unless they can be worked 
into a canon-based post) -- Percy was #3 or #4 on my list.  Obviously, I 
identify strongly with Percy.

> 
> 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>.

Well, *that* will have to wait until I have more time.  <g>  But, I will 
say that a mere count isn't necessarily going to give one the big 
picture.  Percy may have a one-line piece of dialogue that is described 
by JKR (through Harry's lens) as "pompous."  Does that make that a 
negative Percy moment?  Is that one line of dialogue, however delivered, 
enough to override something like Percy wading out into the Lake, face 
etched with concern over Ron?  I don't know that a strict "count" per se 
yields that much, though I'm game to do this at some point (as I 
mentioned, I'd still like to catalogue the Trio interactions in much the 
same way).

 
> 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?)

I would like him as a person (must be something about Pennys ... we like 
Percy).  I would.  Then again, I'm a mixture of Dumbledore, Hermione, 
Percy & McGonagall according to that quiz so there you go.  :--D

Cindy -- I do think it's very possible to like the Twins and like Percy. 
  I like them both.  Obviously, I like them for different reasons.  In 
real life though, I'm with Amber: I'd probably avoid the Twins, not 
wanting to find myself the butt of one of their jokes, and be all too 
happy to hang out with Percy.

I think there's been enough of a foundation laid with Percy to believe 
that he will be developed more as a character in the later books.  It 
seems reasonably obvious to me that it's being set up for young Percy to 
have to choose between "what is right and what is easy," to have to 
reconcile his strong ambitions with his underlying character and notions 
of what's right and wrong.  I take Cindy's point that there are a number 
of characters who *could* be developed alot more (and that fans would 
like to see developed more), and JKR can't possibly develop them *all* 
fully, even in 3 more books.  But, I think Percy is high up on the list 
of secondary characters who will be likely to receive fuller treatment 
in the next books.

Penny
(who's favorite Weasley is Percy and who will gladly trade further 
character development of Bill, Charlie, the Twins *and* Ginny in 
exchange for more Percy (giving up Ginny was, of course, no sacrifice 
for me))