Ron is like Percy (plus more Weasley thoughts)

[elfundeb2]

No: HPFGUIDX 89095

Once again, slowly catching up . . .

Steve (bboy) wrote: 
<< How many people do you think we will find who agree with US that
Percy and Ron are very much a like? >>

The first time I suggested this 
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/38730) I 
managed to convince a few people, so I know they're out there.  

Catlady responded: 

They are somewhat alike, both desiring prestigious accomplishments,
but they are different in at least two ways: Percy is hard-working 
and
Ron has a sense of humor. I agree that Ron isn't all that much like
the Twins.

Debbie:

Ron and Percy also share a tendency to embarrass easily and to hide 
things they might get teased about (Percy conducts his relationship 
with Penelope in secret; Ron practices Quidditch in secret).

Catlady again:

Do you think the personalities go with the body types: Bill is tall
and thin like Percy and Ron, do you think he was an approval seeker?
Charlie is wide and muscular like Fred and George, do you think he 
was
big-time scofflaw and a bit of a bully? 

Debbie:

It's hard to tell with Bill and Charlie because both are adults; a 
lot of maturation may have occurred since their Hogwarts days.  In 
the little we see of Charlie, he debates Quidditch teams and 
tactics, pokes fun at his mother's maternal fears for Harry's 
safety, and failed to pass his Apparation test the first time 
around.  And he didn't fuss at all about smuggling an illegal dragon 
out of Hogwarts.  So yes, he fits the Gred and Forge mold much 
better than the Percy one.

Bill is a former Head Boy, which is surely what Molly wanted for 
him, placing Bill squarely into the Percy/Ron camp.  I expect Molly 
is pleased with his Gringotts job as well, which seems to have a bit 
of the prestige that working getting a job with a Big 4 accounting 
firm might in the muggle world; we know that Fleur, a good enough 
witch to be a Triwizard champion, also got a job there.  While Bill 
can be playful at times (for example, when he and Charlie played 
duelling tables early in GoF), he also echoes Percy in that a high 
percentage of his appearances involve him engaging in serious 
discussion of some topic or another (the Dark Mark in ch. 9 of GoF, 
Percy's problems with the Ministry in ch. __, and his conversation 
with Lupin about goblins at Grimmauld Place in OOP).  That ponytail 
and earring seem to be recent acquisitions.

Catlady continued:

Ginny's personality in OoP
seems more like Fred and George than like Percy or even Ron, does 
that
mean she'll grow up to be short and dumpy like Molly? Of course, in
one's teens, that body type can be more cute (short) and voluptuous
(dumpy).
If so, how did Molly get a personality transplant? And Arthur get
comfortable with no one admiring him, no one approving of him except
himself, his wife, and perhaps Dumbledore? 

Debbie:

The body-type theory doesn't seem to apply to the parents, or to 
Ginny.   
 
Kevin Lano wrote of the Twins: 
I thought the issue of the twins was particularly interesting, at 
first 
glance it might seem that JKR does treat them as interchangeable, 
but 
actually there is a marked difference in personalities -- Fred is 
the 
more extrovert, aggressive, the initiator of things like the bet, 
he's 
the one that did nasty things to Ron as a child, etc, whereas George 
is a bit more laid back and mature (it's George that Harry hands the 
prize winnings to, which may indicate that Harry also senses this). 
Despite appearing identical, people seem to have no trouble telling 
them 
apart when they're near them (except Molly at the start of PS!).

Debbie:

Agreed. Fred is the initiator in their most aggressive endeavors, 
with George providing the conscience.  But to outsiders they 
*always* act in concert and support each other, such that their 
differences seem like two sides of a single person a la Gollum than 
truly separate individuals.  The best example of this is the 
conversation overheard by the Trio in the Owlery in GoF.  Fred is 
ready to send off the letter to Ludo Bagman, while George worries 
that they're engaging in blackmail.  However, when Ron asks who they 
were blackmailing, George leaps to the defense, claiming that he had 
been joking, and the letter goes out. 


The Sargeant Majorette says: 
There's another thing: in OoP, it's *George* who says that he thinks 
they're "well shut of" Percy. Given that George seems to be the more 
mature of the two, doesn't this seem like a hint that Percy really 
*is* really Evil?

Debbie:

George was wearing an "uncharacteristically ugly" look at the time, 
which seemed to signal that George wasn't acting in his usual "good 
twin" role.  If Percy did turn out to be evil, I would be extremely 
disappointed, and even more so if the twins' antics continue to be 
presented in the same positive light as in OOP.  Percy's 
estrangement from the family has been building for a very long time, 
and as I've suggested before, I think some of the blame for Percy's 
alienation belongs with the twins' merciless teasing, which seems to 
have made him cling harder than ever to his academic accomplishments 
as a sign of his worth to the family.  Other than Molly, only Bill 
has seemed truly sympathetic to Percy and his problems.  Perhaps 
it's significant that we don't know Bill's views on Percy's 
separation; I think that's where Percy's lifeline is.

Debbie
who's becoming more and more enamored of Catlady's once-a-week 
approach