metaphasia (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
metaphasia) wrote2017-08-31 08:39 pm
metaphasia) wrote2017-08-31 08:39 pm
Entry tags:
A Day That Will Live In Infamy
I hate Ron Weasley.
I hate Ron Weasley, and tomorrow, it will be *my* day.
I don't hate him for the reasons most people hate him; for all the terrible actions that he takes over the course of seven years and seven books. Well, no, I do hate him for those things.
Ron has a whole host of flaws: he is lazy, a procrastinator and unmotivated. He is a spineless, gutless coward, basically completely lacking in anything resembling a torso. But above all his other shortcomings, two stand clear, paradoxical opposite poles to his personality.
Ron has a superiority complex a mile wide. He believes that wizards and witches are clearly better than muggles. Don't get me wrong; Ron isn't a Death Eater. The only difference between him and Draco Malfoy is that Ron doesn't want to commit genocide, but that *is* a difference between them. Ron doesn't want to kill muggles, but that doesn't mean he thinks they are as good as magicals. Ron consistently shows that he doesn't understand how technology works, as evidenced by his inability to learn how to use a telephone, despite being taught by Hermione. This isn't surprising considering his father can't pronounce the word electricity despite being fascinated by technology and working with it every day (Quick test: how long after reading Harry Potter for the first time did it take you to learn to remember and learn how to pronounce Quidditch? Or Cruciatus? You probably didn't pronounce it as Kirkiatus for a decade, because learning a few new words and concepts is easy when you already speak the language and have a basic respect for and interest in learning about a culture).
Ron's greatest flaw is his inferiority complex, which is somehow the only thing greater than his superiority complex. He is constantly trying to live up to his older brothers, who are all accomplished wizards. Bill was Head Boy and the perfect student, and went on to be a cursebreaker; Charlie was Quidditch captain and all-star, and became a dragon tamer; Percy was the second coming of Bill, the perfect Prefect who later goes on to become Head Boy and a respected employee at the Ministry; even if he wanted to rebel, Fred and George are already the perfect iconoclasts and eventually turn their pranking ways into a successful business. Even Ginny, the only sibling younger than him gets her own share of attention as the only girl. As far back as the first book, we are shown his inferiority complex by the fact that his heart's desire is to be both Head Boy and Quidditch captain, as he believes the only way to stand out from the shadow of his brothers is by accomplishing everything that they have. This jealousy rears its head repeatedly in his dealings with Harry and Hermione; it causes him to abandon Harry in Fourth Year when he is "convinced" Harry entered the tournament, and to leave both of them when they're camping in the wood looking for the Horcruces.
The final battle in Deathly Hallows takes place in the summer of 1998; right around the same time that Chamber of Secrets was first hitting book stores in our world, Harry was battling Voldemort at Hogwarts for the final time in the fictional world. The epilogue to Deathly Hallows is dated as the Hogwarts Express trip nineteen years later; which means that it is happening September 1, 2017. Tomorrow.
And, in that final, brief glimpse we are provided into the world of Magical Britain, we find out that Ron has not changed a single iota. Specifically, we are treated to this exchange:
"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."
"No, I didn't," said Hermione. "I had complete faith in you."
"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispered to Harry, as together they lifted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."
Although no specific date is mentioned for when he passed the test, the nature of Ron's comments make it seem like a recent development, that he has just passed the test now, in 2017, based on the fact that he's bragging about it. But that invites the question of why he took the test at all, when magical forms of transportation are so much faster and more efficient. The only plausible reason is that he took the test to impress his wife, which makes his comments about Hermione doubting his ability make more sense. Passing a driving test would show that he is respectful of and knowledgeable about the Muggle world, better able to fit into the world of Hermione's childhood. In addition, Hermione respects academic achievement, both because they reperesent self-improvement and because they require hard work.
However, by cheating on the test, Ron completely undermines those reasons and shows that all of his flaws are still present, that he hasn't improved in any way.
He clearly doesn't respect Muggles or their government based on his willingness to disregard the requirements of the test, which is evidence his superiority complex is still present. And that disregard was completely unnecessary; he could have just taken the test again, since a failure is not a permanent black mark. He could have simply not taken the test at all, since they have gotten by just fine without Ron having the ability to drive. However, based on his comment toward Hermione ("[you] didn't believe I could pass"), his inferiority complex is still alive and kicking. Or he could have studied harder to pass the test in the first place, but that would have required him to overcome his laziness and unwillingness to work.
In the end, this exchange and the epilogue as a whole raise more questions than they answer; it is only a fraction of a glimpse into the lives of the characters whose adventures everyone (at least, everyone who is reading this) followed excitedly. But that final glimpse shows that Ron didn't change, didn't grow as a person in any way. The person who Ron was as a child, the character we watched from age eleven to eighteen, could have grown into a decent person, once he worked through his shortcomings.
Ron Weasley was a character that, even if he was petty, jealous, vindictive, lazy, unmotivated, and cowardly, was still full of potential to one day become a great wizard, and a great person. The epilogue shows that that potential however was never reached.
I didn't like Ron when I was reading through the books; I thought a lot of bad things about him over the course of the series. I thought his laid back personality was completely at odds with the urgency of having an immortal terrorist out to kill the main characters. I thought he and Hermione were a terrible fit together in a romantic relationship as their core values were often at odds. I thought his lack of excitement to learn about how magic worked was incomprehensible. I thought his use of pickup artist tactics try to convince Hermione to date him was disgusting.
I disliked Ron Weasley. But the epilogue, oh, the epilogue made me hate him.
And tomorrow, it will be *my* day.
I hate Ron Weasley, and tomorrow, it will be *my* day.
I don't hate him for the reasons most people hate him; for all the terrible actions that he takes over the course of seven years and seven books. Well, no, I do hate him for those things.
Ron has a whole host of flaws: he is lazy, a procrastinator and unmotivated. He is a spineless, gutless coward, basically completely lacking in anything resembling a torso. But above all his other shortcomings, two stand clear, paradoxical opposite poles to his personality.
Ron has a superiority complex a mile wide. He believes that wizards and witches are clearly better than muggles. Don't get me wrong; Ron isn't a Death Eater. The only difference between him and Draco Malfoy is that Ron doesn't want to commit genocide, but that *is* a difference between them. Ron doesn't want to kill muggles, but that doesn't mean he thinks they are as good as magicals. Ron consistently shows that he doesn't understand how technology works, as evidenced by his inability to learn how to use a telephone, despite being taught by Hermione. This isn't surprising considering his father can't pronounce the word electricity despite being fascinated by technology and working with it every day (Quick test: how long after reading Harry Potter for the first time did it take you to learn to remember and learn how to pronounce Quidditch? Or Cruciatus? You probably didn't pronounce it as Kirkiatus for a decade, because learning a few new words and concepts is easy when you already speak the language and have a basic respect for and interest in learning about a culture).
Ron's greatest flaw is his inferiority complex, which is somehow the only thing greater than his superiority complex. He is constantly trying to live up to his older brothers, who are all accomplished wizards. Bill was Head Boy and the perfect student, and went on to be a cursebreaker; Charlie was Quidditch captain and all-star, and became a dragon tamer; Percy was the second coming of Bill, the perfect Prefect who later goes on to become Head Boy and a respected employee at the Ministry; even if he wanted to rebel, Fred and George are already the perfect iconoclasts and eventually turn their pranking ways into a successful business. Even Ginny, the only sibling younger than him gets her own share of attention as the only girl. As far back as the first book, we are shown his inferiority complex by the fact that his heart's desire is to be both Head Boy and Quidditch captain, as he believes the only way to stand out from the shadow of his brothers is by accomplishing everything that they have. This jealousy rears its head repeatedly in his dealings with Harry and Hermione; it causes him to abandon Harry in Fourth Year when he is "convinced" Harry entered the tournament, and to leave both of them when they're camping in the wood looking for the Horcruces.
The final battle in Deathly Hallows takes place in the summer of 1998; right around the same time that Chamber of Secrets was first hitting book stores in our world, Harry was battling Voldemort at Hogwarts for the final time in the fictional world. The epilogue to Deathly Hallows is dated as the Hogwarts Express trip nineteen years later; which means that it is happening September 1, 2017. Tomorrow.
And, in that final, brief glimpse we are provided into the world of Magical Britain, we find out that Ron has not changed a single iota. Specifically, we are treated to this exchange:
"Parked all right, then?" Ron asked Harry. "I did. Hermione didn't believe I could pass a Muggle driving test, did you? She thought I'd have to Confund the examiner."
"No, I didn't," said Hermione. "I had complete faith in you."
"As a matter of fact, I did Confund him," Ron whispered to Harry, as together they lifted Albus's trunk and owl onto the train. "I only forgot to look in the wing mirror, and let's face it, I can use a Supersensory Charm for that."
Although no specific date is mentioned for when he passed the test, the nature of Ron's comments make it seem like a recent development, that he has just passed the test now, in 2017, based on the fact that he's bragging about it. But that invites the question of why he took the test at all, when magical forms of transportation are so much faster and more efficient. The only plausible reason is that he took the test to impress his wife, which makes his comments about Hermione doubting his ability make more sense. Passing a driving test would show that he is respectful of and knowledgeable about the Muggle world, better able to fit into the world of Hermione's childhood. In addition, Hermione respects academic achievement, both because they reperesent self-improvement and because they require hard work.
However, by cheating on the test, Ron completely undermines those reasons and shows that all of his flaws are still present, that he hasn't improved in any way.
He clearly doesn't respect Muggles or their government based on his willingness to disregard the requirements of the test, which is evidence his superiority complex is still present. And that disregard was completely unnecessary; he could have just taken the test again, since a failure is not a permanent black mark. He could have simply not taken the test at all, since they have gotten by just fine without Ron having the ability to drive. However, based on his comment toward Hermione ("[you] didn't believe I could pass"), his inferiority complex is still alive and kicking. Or he could have studied harder to pass the test in the first place, but that would have required him to overcome his laziness and unwillingness to work.
In the end, this exchange and the epilogue as a whole raise more questions than they answer; it is only a fraction of a glimpse into the lives of the characters whose adventures everyone (at least, everyone who is reading this) followed excitedly. But that final glimpse shows that Ron didn't change, didn't grow as a person in any way. The person who Ron was as a child, the character we watched from age eleven to eighteen, could have grown into a decent person, once he worked through his shortcomings.
Ron Weasley was a character that, even if he was petty, jealous, vindictive, lazy, unmotivated, and cowardly, was still full of potential to one day become a great wizard, and a great person. The epilogue shows that that potential however was never reached.
I didn't like Ron when I was reading through the books; I thought a lot of bad things about him over the course of the series. I thought his laid back personality was completely at odds with the urgency of having an immortal terrorist out to kill the main characters. I thought he and Hermione were a terrible fit together in a romantic relationship as their core values were often at odds. I thought his lack of excitement to learn about how magic worked was incomprehensible. I thought his use of pickup artist tactics try to convince Hermione to date him was disgusting.
I disliked Ron Weasley. But the epilogue, oh, the epilogue made me hate him.
And tomorrow, it will be *my* day.