Weasley Poverty - In Perspective & Poor-Boy Ron

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 123761


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "va32h" <va32h at y...> wrote:
> 
> I wonder if this subject isn't being a bit over-thought.
> 
> Harry's being rich is a plot device. ...
> 
> Ron's poverty is another plot device. ...
> 
> Many times, the "poverty" of Ron's character is essential to the 
> story. Ron can't afford a new wand when his is broken, so he has to 
> use his faulty one, which then backfires when Lockhart is trying to 
> use a memory charm on Ron & Harry - thus saving the boys.
> 
> Ron't family can't buy him a new pet, so they keep the old rat 
> Scabbers, who sets the entire plot of PoA rolling. 
> 
> Some elements of the books are there to be exactly that - an element 
> of the story, not a social commentary. 
> 
> I don't understand why a book series that is based primarily on the 
> notion that there is an alternate world full of people with magical 
> powers is criticized for not having enough cold hard realism.
> 
> va32h

bboyminn:

You'll get no agrument from me on the points you made. As far as your
accusation that we tend to over-think things, I would say that is an
understatememt. We don't just over-think, we hyper-, ultra-, uber-
overthink. Why? Well, it's fun and it beats drinking too much; all the
excitement and no hang-over.

We analyse these books, and literature in general, from two
perspectives - internal and external. Internal analysis looks a the
world from within that world, and searches for logic and consistency.
External analysis is from the perspective of a reader; we analyse plot
devices, structure, form, and other aspect of writing. 

You, in a sense, have shifted the discussion for Internal analysis to
external analysis. I'm just pointing that out; not implying that it's
a problem.

My main point was that from an internal perspective, the Weasley are
not truly poor. Many readers/posters continue to emphasize and harp on
how desperately poor the Weasleys are, but the truth is they are not
poor, they simply are not rich.

The Weasleys are working class, they have a steady income and are able
to provide for all their needs (food, shelter, clothing, etc...) and
have money left over in some cases. Witness the fact that Ron has
'pocket money'. If Ron gets an allowance ('pocket money' in the UK)
then one can reasonably assume that all the kids who are still at home
get an allowance. That doesn't spell poverty to me. 

If people can shift out of their 'Suburban Middle Class Defines the
World' mentality, they will see that much like many many many millions
of working class people around the world, the Weasleys have a
perfectly normal functional life. All their earthly needs are taken
care of with money left over; not much money, but money left over none
the less. 

We must be careful not to let Ron's 'little kid' perspective cloud our
adult judgement. I remember when I was a kid, all the other kids wore
white P.F. Flyer's (sneakers), but white cost more, as did P.F.Flyer's
(think Converse All-Stars). Sadly, from my kid's perspective, I was
alway broken-hearted that I had to get the black generic brand of
sneakers. To me, as a kid, that was a tragedy, but now that I'm an
adult, it actually seems funny. 

So, the Weasleys have a perfectly servicable income. They provide for
a comfortable life meeting all their basic needs. They simple don't
have excess cash for what usually turns out to be pointless luxuries,
like $40 T-shirt, $70 baggy jeans, and $250 sneakers.

Some additional points regarding Ron and his 'poor-boy' attitude. Ron
broke his wand, it's not because his family is poor that he didn't get
it replaced, he didn't get it replaced because he couldn't face
another 'telling off' by Molly. In all likelihood, if Ron had said
something, the family, knowing he needed a functional wand for school,
would have probably made some arrangement.

In addition, I can't believe with all that magic can do, there wasn't
a mending charm that could fuse two little pieces of wood back
together. If worst comes to worst, lose the Spellotape, and try some
common wood glue. But Ron being stubborn, and afraid of another
'telling off', and in true typical kid fashion, never bothered to go
to an adult and see if anything could be done.

He had the same problem with his robes. I suspect, if he had taken the
time to do something about them, he could have found someone at
Hogwarts to improve them (Dobby, Flitwick, or even McGonagall). But
NO, in true typical kid fashion, he ignored it until the last minute
and did a half-arsed job of fixing it himself.

Too proud and stubborn to ask for help. Kind of reminds me of me at
that age.

Still just trying to keep things in perspective.

Steve/bboyminn