[HPforGrownups] Re: Defending Ron (was: Do we really get our closer?)

[elfundeb]

No: HPFGUIDX 177153

Carol:
IMO, Ron grows more clearly and dramatically than any other character
in DH, and yet he remains himself from the moment Harry meets him
until the epilogue nearly everyone except me seems to hate.

Carol, realizing that she hasn't done Ron justice in this post and
hoping that others will step up to defend him

Debbie:
I'm delighted to defend Ron, especially when invited to do so instead of
fending off Evil!Ron or Dumb!Ron attackers.  Ron has always been one of my
favorite characters despite (or perhaps because of) his faults.

 Take his honesty, for example.  He always says what he means; he does not
hide his feelings or manipulate people.  This sometimes comes across as
meanness, as Luna points out, or prejudice (his reaction when he learns
Lupin is a werewolf), but though it's a fault, it's also a strength.

One of the things that always frustrated me about Ron discussions prior to
DH was the repeated assertion that Ron was not in the same league as the
rest of the Trio.  I thought the evidence was always there that he had
talent -- to me that was the narrative purpose behind making him good at
chess (too bad there wasn't an inter-house chess rivalry) -- but he chose to
deal with the expectations he thinks have been placed on him
("everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big
deal, because they did it first") by simply not trying.

After HBP it seemed that JKR was recycling the "lack of confidence at
Quidditch" story angle, but in retrospect it's more realistic that a person
does not overcome an abiding lack of confidence with a single solid, even
spectacular performance.  In DH the focus was more on Hermione's apparent
doubts about his abilities, which I thought was appropriate.

Carol:
In DH, Ron at
last has to face his demons--insecurity and the jealousy of Harry that
he has tried to suppress all these years. He fears that Hermione must
prefer the Chosen One to his more ordinary best friend. Once the
combination of frustration with the lack of a plan, fear for his
family, jealousy, and the Horcrux drives him to leave Harry and
Hermione, he instantly realizes his mistake, but he can't get back to
them because of the Snatchers. But Dumbledore, knowing both his
weakness and his strength, has provided him with a way back, and Ron
proves his "valor, nerve, and chivalry" first by saving Harry from
drowning and strangulation by the Horcrux, then symbolically destroys
his own fears and insecurities by destroying the mocking figures
within the Horcrux and the Horcrux itself.

Debbie:
Dumbledore's prescience here didn't make much sense to me.  Ron is known for
his loyalty.  Ron's departure is written to put a large part of the blame on
the added burden of wearing the locket horcrux.  Harry also tells him to
leave, twice.  Did Dumbledore leap to this conclusion after observing the
rift in GoF from a distance?  In that instance, Ron honestly believed Harry
was hiding something from him. As we know, he leapt to an unwarranted
conclusion there, and he showed a lack of faith in his best friend (which is
the same thing, with the added impetus of the locket, that causes him to
leave in DH), but how would Dumbledore know this?  He hardly ever had any
contact with Ron.

I suppose we could dismiss the exchange as nothing more than Ron still
dwelling on his own insecurities and Harry trying to assuage him, but based
on the context (Hermione is about to suggest that they visit Xeno Lovegood
based on clues in her book) I think we're supposed to accept their
conjectures as true.

Jen:
Loyal to a fault, brave, funny, willing to pitch in whenever he's
needed - he has so many good qualities that often get pushed aside as
the one nobody notices when Harry is around, or Hermione, or Fred,
George....etc. etc. I think of Charlie as the brother most like Ron
even though there's not much to go on. He seems like a guy quietly
going about his business, maybe more independent than Ron because
he's not as much of a follower.

Debbie:
I know this will seem odd, but I think Ron resembles Percy.  They're the
most sensitive members of the Weasley family, more affected by teasing than
the others appear to be.  And that sensitivity can lead to rifts.  There are
similarities between Ron's running away in DH (as well as the GoF rift with
Harry) and Percy's rift with his family in OOP.  Both find it harder to
return than to walk out (I thought Percy showed signs of wanting to return
in HBP) but their loyalty wins out in the end.  (I never doubted that Percy
would return, except that I thought (and feared) that he would try to redeem
himself in some secret, Crouch-like way that would get him killed.)

They also both have ambition -- remember Percy reading "Prefects Who Gained
Power" in CoS, or what Ron saw in the Mirror of Erised?  They just deal
with their hopes and fears differently.  Percy tries to over-achieve to
stand out in the noisy crowd (where the Twins are the natural
attention-getters), but in doing so makes himself a natural target of the
Twins.  Ron, on the other hand, tries to under-achieve and thereby slide
under the Twins' radar, possibly because he'd already seen the effect of
Percy's tactics.  Perhaps the biggest difference between Percy and Ron is
birth order.

Jen:
I really think she was trying to decide if Ron was worthy of a kiss!!
That moment when Ron sympathizes with Kreacher makes him finally good
enough in her eyes. That's how I read it anyway. That negative part
of her characterization is eye-rolling to me yet it fits for someone
as smart as she is: being a little too sure of herself, acting
superior and arrogant at times - it's a downside to her
intelligence.

Debbie:
It wasn't just Ron's concern for the house elves.  She was already gushing
about how brilliant an idea Ron had to go to the Chamber of Secrets for the
basilisk fangs, and how well he managed to pull off the Parseltongue.  All
the pieces were coming together in a way that erased whatever final doubts
she might have had about Ron's intelligence, resourcefulness and compassion.

Debbie
who probably hasn't done Ron justice either


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