Post by G. Novella on Jun 14, 2012 16:55:19 GMT -5
Alright. Ron. I can write novels about why I love him. But I will instead defend Ron Weasley against all the slander he faces from fanfiction stories.
1) Bullying Hermione
This has long been a point of contention for me. The minute someone even suggests he bullied her in anyway, I want to throw something. Hermione steamrolled over Ron when he tried to defend the house elves plight from her, and she constantly belittles him throughout the series in their arguments. The minute someone says he bullied her or was jealous of her talent, I say, reread the books, you've spent way too much time reading bashes. If he was jealous of her intelligence, he wouldn't compliment her on it, he wouldn't point out that she's smarter than everyone, he wouldn't be supportive of her like he was in POA when he tries to help her by taking on the case of Buckbeak. Despite everything he had with Harry, fights, whatever, he was always the first to rush to Hermione's defense. POA when he stood up against Snape, GOF again when he argues Snape. COS when he hexes Malfoy (with a non-verbal hex may I add, which may have just been a plot hole, because Eat Slugs is not a hex). So no, Ron Weasley was not a bully. Hermione gives back at Ron just as good as she gets.
2) The idea that he's an idiot
Ron Weasley is far from an idiot. He's not good in school, so what? I am absolutely terrible at any sport that involves a ball or a racket, but I'm great at swimming, have been since I was like, two and half. Does that mean I'm not athletic? So Ron is not book smart, so what? Do you know how hard it is to learn chess? Not to continue tooting my own horn, but I am book smart, my grades are phenomenal, and I am a failure at chess. (My eight year old cousin beat me when I was eleven...I have never tried to play again, not even on a computer set to easy, like, we will let you win, easy) Not to mention I lack all form of observation skills, unlike Ron. He notices a lot of things and tends to make accurate statements about people, it's just sadly, no one listens. He also has a tendency to remember random verbal facts. (POS anyone?) So no, Ron Weasley is not an idiot, and to those of you who say he is, GRRR.
3) He abandons Harry
This fact has been sufficiently fought, and there's not much I can add without it sounding redundant, but in DH, the horcrux. Do you guys remember how it affected Harry? It's debatable that Harry's entire new complete mistrust of Dumbledore stems from the Horcrux furthering his bitterness. Not to mention he even started to mistrust Ron and Hermione thanks to the thing. If Harry was starting to feel angry at his two best friends, and closest mentor, does that mean Ron can't feel the same bitterness? And Ron's got an entire family to worry about, a romance to fear, he's hungry, he's scared, and he hasn't told anyone since he was bloody born that he thinks he's a complete loser with no real talents and an inferiority complex, shall I continue?
4) He's using his friends
This makes me foam at my mouth with rage. *INSERT CUSS WORDS HERE* Nothing I say will be strong enough to describe how angry I get when I see those fics. If he was just using Harry and Hermione, he wouldn't be that loyal. Ron's not that great of an actor, sorry to say. He's too emotional and real to be that fake. He's always taking care of them when they overwork themselves. He knows when to stop Hermione before she burns out, what to say to Harry when he was raging in the fifth book to get Harry to see sense, to tell Hermione off when she's being rude or annoying or pretentious, to make Harry feel normal when Harry feels weird because of his fame, and most importantly, he can keep them from being too serious and focused and well, boring. He adds the bit of humor and knows how to cut the tension so that they're calm. All in all, Ron Weasley is not the ass fanfics tend to make him when they want to bash him.
5) He's lazy in schoolwork and doesn't try to achieve success
He has five older brothers. The eldest disappeared to Egypt when he was young after leaving behind a legacy as a Head boy and twelve OWLS to follow. The second was Quidditch Captain and left behind a legacy of championships and being a really good seeker (could have played for England) before going off to Romania. This third was Prefect, Headboy, and twelve OWLS before getting a really good job in the ministry. The other two were entrepreneurs, and from just watching them at Hogwarts, it was easy to see their business savvy skills and abilities. And then there's Ron. He befriends the two prodigies of his generation. I can see a huge shadow forming that blocks Ron out. It's hard for anyone to see their self-worth. Even if Ron studies super hard, tries his best at everything, turns into Percy, he's still not Percy I, he's just another copy. There is nothing original that he can see himself doing. Nothing he can say, I did, and only me.
I think that was all my main points that I needed to address. I adore Ron. AVPM made him exactly what he was, a great friend, hilarious, and basically a great guy. The movies kind of killed Ron slowly and painfully after POA, not that I remember them well, it's been a while. Ron is probably the best friend anyone can have, and I still envy Hermione despite knowing that this entire thing is fictional.
On the note that he had a learning disability though-
Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills
Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
Spells the same word differently in a single document
Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, desk is messy and disorganized)
Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
Poor handwriting
Those are the signs for kids aged 10-13 for learning disabilities that I copied off of a site. He fits quite a few of them, and it's possible. Since JKR never went that route I think we can say it's not canon, but it could be developed into a great fanfic if done properly.
1) Bullying Hermione
This has long been a point of contention for me. The minute someone even suggests he bullied her in anyway, I want to throw something. Hermione steamrolled over Ron when he tried to defend the house elves plight from her, and she constantly belittles him throughout the series in their arguments. The minute someone says he bullied her or was jealous of her talent, I say, reread the books, you've spent way too much time reading bashes. If he was jealous of her intelligence, he wouldn't compliment her on it, he wouldn't point out that she's smarter than everyone, he wouldn't be supportive of her like he was in POA when he tries to help her by taking on the case of Buckbeak. Despite everything he had with Harry, fights, whatever, he was always the first to rush to Hermione's defense. POA when he stood up against Snape, GOF again when he argues Snape. COS when he hexes Malfoy (with a non-verbal hex may I add, which may have just been a plot hole, because Eat Slugs is not a hex). So no, Ron Weasley was not a bully. Hermione gives back at Ron just as good as she gets.
2) The idea that he's an idiot
Ron Weasley is far from an idiot. He's not good in school, so what? I am absolutely terrible at any sport that involves a ball or a racket, but I'm great at swimming, have been since I was like, two and half. Does that mean I'm not athletic? So Ron is not book smart, so what? Do you know how hard it is to learn chess? Not to continue tooting my own horn, but I am book smart, my grades are phenomenal, and I am a failure at chess. (My eight year old cousin beat me when I was eleven...I have never tried to play again, not even on a computer set to easy, like, we will let you win, easy) Not to mention I lack all form of observation skills, unlike Ron. He notices a lot of things and tends to make accurate statements about people, it's just sadly, no one listens. He also has a tendency to remember random verbal facts. (POS anyone?) So no, Ron Weasley is not an idiot, and to those of you who say he is, GRRR.
3) He abandons Harry
This fact has been sufficiently fought, and there's not much I can add without it sounding redundant, but in DH, the horcrux. Do you guys remember how it affected Harry? It's debatable that Harry's entire new complete mistrust of Dumbledore stems from the Horcrux furthering his bitterness. Not to mention he even started to mistrust Ron and Hermione thanks to the thing. If Harry was starting to feel angry at his two best friends, and closest mentor, does that mean Ron can't feel the same bitterness? And Ron's got an entire family to worry about, a romance to fear, he's hungry, he's scared, and he hasn't told anyone since he was bloody born that he thinks he's a complete loser with no real talents and an inferiority complex, shall I continue?
4) He's using his friends
This makes me foam at my mouth with rage. *INSERT CUSS WORDS HERE* Nothing I say will be strong enough to describe how angry I get when I see those fics. If he was just using Harry and Hermione, he wouldn't be that loyal. Ron's not that great of an actor, sorry to say. He's too emotional and real to be that fake. He's always taking care of them when they overwork themselves. He knows when to stop Hermione before she burns out, what to say to Harry when he was raging in the fifth book to get Harry to see sense, to tell Hermione off when she's being rude or annoying or pretentious, to make Harry feel normal when Harry feels weird because of his fame, and most importantly, he can keep them from being too serious and focused and well, boring. He adds the bit of humor and knows how to cut the tension so that they're calm. All in all, Ron Weasley is not the ass fanfics tend to make him when they want to bash him.
5) He's lazy in schoolwork and doesn't try to achieve success
He has five older brothers. The eldest disappeared to Egypt when he was young after leaving behind a legacy as a Head boy and twelve OWLS to follow. The second was Quidditch Captain and left behind a legacy of championships and being a really good seeker (could have played for England) before going off to Romania. This third was Prefect, Headboy, and twelve OWLS before getting a really good job in the ministry. The other two were entrepreneurs, and from just watching them at Hogwarts, it was easy to see their business savvy skills and abilities. And then there's Ron. He befriends the two prodigies of his generation. I can see a huge shadow forming that blocks Ron out. It's hard for anyone to see their self-worth. Even if Ron studies super hard, tries his best at everything, turns into Percy, he's still not Percy I, he's just another copy. There is nothing original that he can see himself doing. Nothing he can say, I did, and only me.
I think that was all my main points that I needed to address. I adore Ron. AVPM made him exactly what he was, a great friend, hilarious, and basically a great guy. The movies kind of killed Ron slowly and painfully after POA, not that I remember them well, it's been a while. Ron is probably the best friend anyone can have, and I still envy Hermione despite knowing that this entire thing is fictional.
On the note that he had a learning disability though-
Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills
Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
Spells the same word differently in a single document
Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, desk is messy and disorganized)
Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
Poor handwriting
Those are the signs for kids aged 10-13 for learning disabilities that I copied off of a site. He fits quite a few of them, and it's possible. Since JKR never went that route I think we can say it's not canon, but it could be developed into a great fanfic if done properly.
