Ron Weasley - Part 3., Hero, zero, or somewhere in between ? |
 Nov 10 2009, 12:56 PM
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#331
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Personal Secretary to The Minister of Magic  Posts: 9,192 Joined: 4:57am January 28, 2005 Location: near Muggleswick, UK   |
QUOTE(harrydavid @ Nov 10 2009, 04:52 PM)  You have completely ignored the type of knife it was and the amount of, or lack of, danger involved. Saying what if it hit him in the face doesn't resonate with me, because I don't think Ron was aiming at his face and he had his wand out so it wasn't going to hit him anywhere. You also deftly sidestepped Molly's reaction. Do you honestly think that Molly would have reacted so mildly if there had been any danger to one of her sons? Molly is reacting to a potentially dangerous situation that has already turned out to be harmless because of Fred's quick reaction. In this case the danger probably wasn't very high because Fred is clearly watching and could therefore get out of the of the knife way even if he couldn't get to his wand in time (there is nothing to say Fred did have his wand out before the knife was thrown), but if Ron makes a habit of replying to mild insults by throwing sharp objects then at some point the outcome may not be so harmless.
--------------------  W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo |
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Nov 10 2009, 02:33 PM
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#332
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Doctor Filibuster's Junior Assistant Posts: 1,977 Joined: 5:11pm May 4, 2007 Location: Texas |
QUOTE(roonwit @ Nov 10 2009, 12:56 PM) Molly is reacting to a potentially dangerous situation that has already turned out to be harmless ... I can't imagine Molly, the mother hen, reacting mildly to a "potentially dangerous situation" regardless of the outcome. If she thought that Fred had been in danger because of an action of Ron's, she would have had a lot more to say than don't let me catch you doing that again.
This post has been edited by harrydavid: Nov 10 2009, 02:34 PM -------------------- "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
-Albus Dumbledore |
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Nov 10 2009, 09:46 PM
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#333
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Stocking Snitches at Quality Quidditch Supplies Posts: 661 Joined: 4:16pm April 26, 2008 |
QUOTE(harrydavid @ Nov 10 2009, 11:33 AM) QUOTE(roonwit @ Nov 10 2009, 12:56 PM) Molly is reacting to a potentially dangerous situation that has already turned out to be harmless ... I can't imagine Molly, the mother hen, reacting mildly to a "potentially dangerous situation" regardless of the outcome. If she thought that Fred had been in danger because of an action of Ron's, she would have had a lot more to say than don't let me catch you doing that again.JKR is the one who wrote that Ron threw a knife at his brother, seeing how Ron's being slammed as a potential murderer she probably should have had him throwing the potato instead. -------------------- Work like you don't need the money
Love like you've never been hurt, and Dance like no one is watching. |
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Nov 11 2009, 05:17 AM
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#334
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Personal Secretary to The Minister of Magic Posts: 9,192 Joined: 4:57am January 28, 2005 Location: near Muggleswick, UK |
QUOTE(cooncatbob @ Nov 11 2009, 02:46 AM) JKR is the one who wrote that Ron threw a knife at his brother, seeing how Ron's being slammed as a potential murderer she probably should have had him throwing the potato instead. I am certainly not saying that Ron is a potential murderer, but he is occasionally hot-headed and reacts without thinking. He does throw the knife which is a potentially dangerous act even if no actual harm came of it when he could have thrown a sprout which would have been safer and rather more amusing if it actually hit.
-------------------- W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo |
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Nov 11 2009, 12:40 PM
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#335
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Stocking Snitches at Quality Quidditch Supplies Posts: 661 Joined: 4:16pm April 26, 2008 |
QUOTE(roonwit @ Nov 11 2009, 02:17 AM) QUOTE(cooncatbob @ Nov 11 2009, 02:46 AM) JKR is the one who wrote that Ron threw a knife at his brother, seeing how Ron's being slammed as a potential murderer she probably should have had him throwing the potato instead. I am certainly not saying that Ron is a potential murderer, but he is occasionally hot-headed and reacts without thinking. He does throw the knife which is a potentially dangerous act even if no actual harm came of it when he could have thrown a sprout which would have been safer and rather more amusing if it actually hit.JKR didn't write the incident as a big deal, maybe she should have thought out the consequences. If she'd really wanted it to be amusing, Ron throws the sprout Fred deflects it with his wand and it hit's Molly in the head as she's walking into the room.  As it was written it probably wasn't a good idea to have siblings throwing knives at each other. But the fault lies with the author not the character. -------------------- Work like you don't need the money
Love like you've never been hurt, and Dance like no one is watching. |
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Nov 11 2009, 06:51 PM
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#336
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Personal Secretary to The Minister of Magic Posts: 9,192 Joined: 4:57am January 28, 2005 Location: near Muggleswick, UK |
QUOTE(cooncatbob @ Nov 11 2009, 05:40 PM) If she'd really wanted it to be amusing, Ron throws the sprout Fred deflects it with his wand and it hit's Molly in the head as she's walking into the room. I am sure Jo wrote it the way she wanted it. I am guessing Ron threw the knife because it was what was in his hand, and it shows a negative side to his character that he would do such a thing without considering the consequences. But every character in the book has a negative side, and in general Ron's good side predominates.
As it was written it probably wasn't a good idea to have siblings throwing knives at each other. But the fault lies with the author not the character. -------------------- W.L.Y.J. We love you Jo |
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Nov 19 2009, 12:34 PM
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#337
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Being Eaten by the Pea Soup Posts: 34 Joined: 7:36pm December 20, 2007 |
I haven't jumped in here for a while, but I thought I'd weigh in again.
There were a lot of times Ron really pissed me off, and he's my favorite character, so I can see his flaws. Did he behave like an idiot in GoF? Certainly. Was I upset with him over his insecurities about Hermione in HBP? Indeed. Was I absolutely shattered when he walked out in DH? Hell, yes. However, the one thing Ron has consistently done after he's massively screwed up, and which redeems him in my book, is his ability to apologize and learn from his mistakes. That shows growth and maturity in my book. A lot of adults never apologize for what they've done, or take responsibility for their actions. Ron does. I'm not saying that excuses his initial behavior, but if Ron never apologized or learned from his mistakes I could understand the vitriol some people have for him. However, that's not the case. To me, his best action which showed how much Ron had matured and was trying to overcome his insecurities was not when he destroyed the locket (although that was a close second), but when he returned to begin with in DH. For all Ron knew, Harry and Hermione would never want to see him again and would throw him out, but he still went back anyway to face the consequences because he knew that going back to the hunt, and accepting whatever Harry and Hermione threw at him was the right thing to do. That takes a huge amount of courage, maturity, and selflessness to do. Then, to top it off with saving Harry's life, pulling the sword out of the lake, and destroying the locket. All pretty redeeming actions, in my book. That's when Ron stopped being a boy and became a man. I don't excuse Ron for his behavior due to his insecurities, but his insecurities are certainly an explanation for his behavior. Maybe those of you criticizing him for acting like an idiot because of his insecurites have never done anything stupid as a result of your own insecurities. If so, that's great, and I congratulate you, but it's certainly not the case for most people, including myself. I'm not proud of it, but as you get older you try to get over those insecurities and act like a mature adult. But Ron's not an adult, he's a teenager. And I know I stated this back a long time ago, but teenagers aren't exactly the most reasonable/logical people around. They're still figuring out who they are and what their place is in the world (heck, it can take some people well into their 30s to figure that out), so it's not surprising to me when they behave in an immature way. All of this is to say that I have empathy for Ron, as I have for Harry and Hermione, neither of whom are close to perfect either, and have their own issues to overcome. Hermione certainly was insecure as well, she just dealt with her insecurities by being an insufferable, insensitive swot. But I forgive her for it, because she is a good person who is trying to do the right thing, and her behavior makes her real. I could name just as many incidences where Hermione was being as awful as Ron, just in a different way, but it wouldn't change how I feel about her - she's my second favorite character after Ron. I have a soft spot in literature for deeply flawed people who do their best to overcome their issues. That's why I've enjoyed the HP books so much, because the good characters aren't perfect - they're just like real people, who have real fears and insecurities, but are trying to do the right thing overall. If they were perfect, the books would be cliched and boring. This post has been edited by Quotidias: Nov 19 2009, 12:37 PM |
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