Molly and the twins (Re: Am I the only one)

[delwynmarch]

No: HPFGUIDX 96054


Kathy, I'm afraid you didn't understand my post exactly the way I
meant it. I wasn't talking of the reality of the Twins' situation, I
was only exposing the way Molly *sees* them. That's a vastly different
thing :-)

Kathy King wrote:
> Very famous real life people have never finished school.

Del :
Honestly , statistically, one still has more chance to do better with
schooling than without. I don't expect Molly to be willing to take
chances.

Kathy :
> This isn't to say that they can't go on and become successful. The 
> twins actually over excel in their charms, making headless hats, 
> which Hermione is the first to comment on how they were able to 
> extend the properties of invisibility beyond the actual item that was
> charmed. Professor Flitwick has even gone as far as making a 
> monumental display of their accomplished talents with the portable 
> swamp. School does not always equal success although school can be 
> the very key to success.

Del :
You say it : you have much more chance to succeed with school than
without. There are tons of kids who are very good at something while
in high school (arts, sports, whatever), but because they don't build
on that talent, they don't manage anything much out of it.

Kathy :
> The twins seem to have outgrown what school has to 
> offer in their need to further their ambitions.

Del :
They *say* so, but that's not necessarily true ! I'm sure they could
still benefit from some advanced courses in charms and
transfiguration, for example.

Kathy :
> As a mother you can only offer your children direction you cant force
> it on them

Del :
My moyher did force my sister to finish highschool, and a couple of
years later my sister thanked her for it ! While still in high school,
she just didn't realise how the world works, and that not having that
diploma actually closes a mighty lot of doors.

Kathy :
> or embarrass them to another sibling's accomplishments. All children 
> are different and with these two boys that would be an 
> understatement.

Del :
I agree with you on that point. Comparing isn't usually a good thing.

Kathy :
> The twins felt that school had offered them all it could and it was 
> time to put what they did learn to use. It looks like they succeeded 
> by the way they were dressed at the train platform at the end of the 
> book.

Del :
There are TONS of kids out there in highschool who feel they have no
use going to school anymore. Most of them are *wrong*. Just because
it's the Twins doesn't mean they are necessarily the exception to the
rule.
As for the way they are dressed at the end of the year, it doesn't
mean anything to me. There are too many people dressing up on credit
for a time and then losing it all. I have yet to see that they are
really doing well.

Kathy:
> Harry told Ron and Hermione in OOP pg.680 that he gave the twins his 
> triwizard winnings to start the joke shop. Ron asked could he tell 
> his mom and Harry said, "Yeah, I suppose you'd better
 Specially if 
> she thinks they're receiving stolen cauldrons or something
" I take 
> it from this quote that Molly does know about the money.

Del :
But this is *after* the Twins have left school! This is after the
Twins  have won the Molly-Twin war we're discussing. Throughout the
whole argument, Molly did *not* know they had any honest money.

> Kathy:
> On the contrary the twins are always at work in experimenting to make
> the joke shop a reality. They probably take their work much more 
> seriously than their studies.

Del :
My husband was in a rock band as a young adult. They practiced real
hard and everything, but none of them got a job out of it. It *is* his
studies, not his immense love and his talent for music, even coupled
with perseverance, that got my husband his job :-)
Being totally engrossed in a passion is a typical caracteristic of
teenagers, but very few of them make a living out of it.

Kathy:
> The twins don't do things in a uniform (politically correct) way but 
> they are very protective and concerning when it comes to their family
> and friends.

Del :
Hum... I might not completely share the views of some posters who
presented the Twins as bullies some time ago, but I still think they
have a pretty good point. I'd rather be ignored by the Twins than
loved by them, considering the harsh treatment they can give to those
they love sometimes... 

Kathy:
> I think we are left with two highly intelligent caring people who 
> will most likely succeed.

Del :
Intelligent yes. Caring, humph. As for succeeding, there's no more
likelihood that they will than that they won't. Only time will tell.

Kathy :
> The means to which someone becomes successful may be questionable but
> at least in the twin's case they never truly hurt anyone.

Del :
Except emotionally you mean ? Molly is not the only one hurting Ron's
self-esteem. They are often cruelly teasing him. Even Harry has
learned not to show weakness in front of them for fear of being
laughed at.
Oh, and of course there is that pot of boiling soup and that flying
knive at the beginning of OoP. They could have seriously hurt somone
this time.

Kathy :
> I could see the twins using their money to make sure that Molly is 
> more comfortable from here on. I also think that their very unusual 
> talents will play a big part in the final war against Voldemort and 
> his death eaters. Voldy could sure use a new Weasley wand!

Del :
Ah yes, now that would be a cool ending :-) !!

> Kathy- who thinks Nearly Headless Nick should try one of their 
> headless hats, he would be sure to get into the headless hunt next 
> year!

Del :
Ah bah no ! You have to have both your body and your head, properly
separated, to belong to the Headless Hunt ! How do you want to play
Head Polo without a head, hey :-) ?

Del, sorry for Nick