The tragedy of Ron Weasley

[suehpfan]

No: HPFGUIDX 91361

Chris Wrote> 
> Ron Weasley is one of the most tragic figures in the Potterverse.  
He's very much inferior to almost anyone else in most categories and 
is perhaps unable or unwilling to change.  
Snip  
The first two children did very well; while Percy is clearly his 
mother's favourite son, and Fred and George have a relationship 
between themselves that probably won't admit Ron.  Ron has to live up 
to the other children's reputation, while lacking most of the support 
that they had.  Ron is clearly aware that he's at the bottom of the 
family pile - Ginny, being a girl, would have had new things simply 
because of her body being different.  If Ron did not have an 
inferiority complex, I would be very suppressed.  


Sue Here:

Wow! this is a totally different interpretation on the Weasley family 
than I have ever seen.  Where do you find an indication in canon that 
Molly favors Percy?  He doesn't have new things either and it always 
seems that if she does go to his defense, it is because he is the 
constant butt of the rest of the family's jokes.  As far as Ginny is 
concerned all you need to do is go to CoS and read the chapter where 
Riddle explains what she wrote in the diary to know that everything 
she had was purchased second hand, just like everyone else.

 Chris:
Matters are worse, not better, with his friends.  Ron is clearly the 
least capable magician and the worst student.  

Sue again:
Where is the canon that Ron is less capable?  Certainly Hermione does 
better in class, but we have plenty of evidence that she is the top 
in their year.  We will see how they score in OWLs but as for me I 
expect him to do as well as Harry and definitely better than the 
twins.

>  
> Chris:
> Ron is clearly very poor, a stark contrast to Harry and Malfoy's 
wealth, which clearly grates on him.  Having little money and no real 
prospect of obtaining any - unlike almost all of his siblings - Ron 
has another cause for resentment.  

Sue:
Why does Ron have less of a prospect of earning money than his 
siblings?  Charlie is apparently doing very well and he had to take 
his apparation test twice!  We do not know yet where his true 
strengths will lie, but he is only 15!
>  
Chris:
> It gets worse.  Harry is an excellent sportsman on a broomstick, 
again outshining Ron.  Ron does get his chance in OOP, BUT, instead 
of watching from the sidelines, as Ron did in books 1-3, Harry and 
Hermione abandon the clearly nervous Ron - with good, but not 
excellent skills - and head off on their own mission.  Again, I would 
be very surprised if Ron is not bitter.  
> 
Sue:
I completely do not see your point here.  Ron won the Quidditch Cup 
*on his own*. No Harry, No Hermione, no George, no Fred.  Standing 
alone, just like his hearts desire in the Mirror of Erised.  As far 
as his friends not seeing him do it, he seemed to get over that very 
fast indeed.  Winning was *way* more important.
> 
snip> 
> Chris:
> To conclude: Harry is rich - Ron is poor.  Harry is a hero - Ron is 
a supporting character at best.  Harry has the girls (in Ron's eyes) -
 Ron is too shy to ask a girl out.  Harry has no family to look down 
on him - Ron's family are a weight around his neck.
 Look at this and ask yourself; would you not be bitter too?
> 
>  Sue:
The only family Harry has forced him to live in a closet and almost 
starved him.  Every time he goes "home" it is to be confined, mocked 
and attacked, hardly a loving group.  I do not see the Weasleys as a 
weight for Ron, only a support.  Even the twins wouldn't tease him 
when things  were going poorly on the Quidditch team and the rest of 
his family seem to support Ron a great deal (even Percy, in his own 
pompous way).

It is possible that Ron will make a mistake which could endanger 
Harry, but I think it is a lot more likely that he will add hero to 
the Prefect, Quidditch Captain and Headboy(?) titles.

Sue