Ronald Weasley is used to being in the shadows
of those surrounding him. His older brothers have been prefects, Head Boys,
dragon trainers, Quidditch captains, Ministry workers, etc, making his parents
very proud (with the exception of Percy at this point in time but that is a
different story). Being one child of seven, we learn from the very beginning,
after he looks into the Mirror of Erised, that he wants nothing more than fame
and fortune. But throughout this series, Ron’s view on what is important and
what he actually wants starts to change. He is the classic example of a coming
of age story.
As stated, we meet Ron when he is an attention starved 11-year-old boy. But as
the story progresses, we watch him figure out what, in his case, should be
valued more than being Head Boy and winning the Quidditch cup. He learns the
importance of loyalty and friendship, that being there for Harry and Hermione
during their adventures is enough glory for anyone. For example, in the early
books, the trio is just settling in to Hogwarts and getting into trouble, but
nothing too terribly life threatening at first; they are mostly within the
bounds of Hogwarts and right under their professors’ noses. But as our
characters grow, their involvement in said trouble becomes more and more
serious. By book 3, they end up face to face with a “mass murderer,” a
werewolf, and a man who betrayed Harry’s parents to Lord Voldemort.
No matter how life threatening the danger is or how quickly they would be
expelled if caught, Ron is always right there to support Harry. Even when Ron
is jealous of him for his fame in book 4, he still comes around eventually to
help his friend. Ron even breaks into his father’s place of work in book 5 to
help Harry save Sirius and find the prophecy. We now see, in book 6, that Ron won’t
even abandon Harry on the Quidditch pitch; he admits that he hates being on the
team because he thinks he is terrible, but continues to play to make Harry
happy. But at this point in book 6, will things change again due to the
involvement of Lavender Brown, Ron’s new girlfriend? Will this be a turning
point in their friendship, or just another minor bump in the road?
Overall,
Ron is a sometimes-underrated character in the series, but there is no denying
his bravery, loyalty, and reliability in the face of danger. I am looking
forward to (re)discovering how brave he truly can be by the end of the series
and to see if what/who he values once again will alter when challenging times
arise.
Everything Ron has hoped for is coming into place as the story unravels. He is a prefect and on the quidditch team just like what he aspired to do from the beginning, however it's interesting to see him just fall into these positions. If not for becoming best friends with one of the most famous wizards of the wizarding world, would his life have turned out the way it has? He would not have done the things he has done without Harry and Hermione, therefore would Dumbledore still have thought he had what it takes to be prefect?
ReplyDelete