The Hidden Hero: Musings on the future of Ronald Weasley
I recently finished writing this essay on the future and heroic character of Ronald Weasley. I know that it has some work that needs to be done on it, but that's why I'm posting it here. Constructive Criticism and Kudos are appreciated much. (Edit: Also, I know there are some errors and random codes in the essay. I can't help it. Just ignore them. Thanks again.)
The Hidden Hero: Ronald Bilius Weasley
I have been reading the Harry Potter series, on and off, for about seven years now, but I won’t get into that right now. As I read the books, my friends were reading them too, and we would go off to recess and play out scenes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Now, a great deal of those times are a blur to me, but I do remember reaching into to the air, trying to grab at the magical keys, and pretending that we were standing before the Mirror of Erised, trying to find what we desired most in the world. Well, of course that never went as we planned, but as third grader, your hopes are always high.
Reading the books has and always will be an adventure to me. I learned to use my imagination on a whole different level, and that level is indescribable. Along with the excitement of reading the books, I could not wait to see how the characters reacted to the dire situations and events. When I first read the books by myself, I completely and admired Harry, the Boy Who Lived. I read the books again, and I discovered he is not the ‘real’ hero. He is not what all the readers think he is. Throughout the books, Harry becomes a broody, whiny teenager who thinks that his life cannot get any worse than it already is. He is hero, but he is a hero of circumstance.
In seventh grade, my class studied ‘The Hero’s Journey”, the cycle of the hero’s journey for truth and justice, or his own demise. I learned that there are several different types of hero’s. There are the heroes that come out of a world of pure innocence and there are heroes that pursue their own destinies and adventures. There are heroes that pretend they are strong and want to fight, but are scared to death on the inside. Then, finally, there are heroes that are dragged into a journey they want absolutely nothing to do with. That is the type of hero that Harry is. He did not choose to become the famous Boy Who Lived. It is very clear that Lord Voldemort made that decision for him.
Everyone admires Harry, Period. That includes the characters in the books and the people that walk and talk on the streets of the real world, but what about the other characters? What about his best friend that has remained in his shadow for almost seven years? What about Ronald Bilius Weasley, the sixth son of the Weasley clan? Not only has Ron been ignored and overlooked by his piers, his equals, and his superiors, but he has been greatly overlooked by many members of the Harry Potter community. I believe that Ron is going to play a major role in the seventh book, and I also believe that he is going to have quite a few moments where shines even more so than Harry or Hermione, their other best friend. Well, that’s the whole point of this essay, to explain why Harry’s trusty “sidekick” could and should be considered the real hero of the beloved Harry Potter series.
To start off, I would like to summarize Ron’s history first. Ronald Bilius Weasley was born to Arthur and Molly Weasley (her maiden name is Prewett), two very loving and experienced parents. Arthur Weasley worked for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department of the Ministry of Magic, their official government. Molly, his loud hen-like wife, was a housewife and stay-at-home-mom, who raised their five children before Ron, and only one after him. His brothers (in order of age) are Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George. Ron also has a sister by the name of Ginevra, or Ginny for short, who is one year younger than him. I am going to be bold and suppose that Ron was taught basic primary school lessons by his mother at a young age, along with his siblings until the day they were accepted and sent to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
After years and years of hoping to be as good and as successful as his brothers, Ron finally gets the chance to prove himself as an exceptional wizard. He is accepted to Hogwarts like his brothers and parents before him. On the train to Hogwarts, Ron meets some of the people that, in the future, are going to be his closest friends. First, he meets some people, but he didn’t really talk to them. They first person he talks to is a boy, by himself, in an empty compartment. That boy happens to be Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. They hit it off, and not long afterwards, he meets Hermione Granger, who is a bossy know-it-all with frizzy hair. At first, he finds Hermione very annoying, but when he and Harry save her from a troll that got into Hogwarts, the trio start to become quite close. As the years start to go by, Ron and his two best friends learn many things that are going to be important in the near future.
As I have said before, Ron should be considered one of the most heroic characters in the series. Though this story is centered on Harry, I do not think he shows genuine heroic character. Sure, Harry stopped Lord Voldemort on several occasions, but this is because he is Lord Voldemort’s equal and the only one that can truly defeat him. It doesn’t make Harry any more of a hero because of the fact that Lord Voldemort is out to get his hide. He’s only playing the part of a “hero” because he has to. He does not really have any other choice. Ron is different though. On several occasions, Ron has shown great bravery and heroic character and I think that he will indeed shine in the seventh book. The readers will most likely be forced to see Ron in whole new light.
In The Philosopher’s Stone, there is a good amount of evidence to show that Ron heroic willingly. The first piece of evidence is when Professor Quirrell, that year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, comes running into the Great Hall, yelling that there is a troll in the dungeon and it could easily get out and roam the halls of Hogwarts. Harry and Ron suddenly felt guilty because they were talking about her behind her back and she heard them. She ran to the bathroom and she stayed in there all afternoon, crying. She was still in the bathroom when the news got out that there was a troll loose. They went to warn her, but when they arrived around the corner from the bathroom, they saw that the troll was indeed loose and it was about to enter the girls bathroom, the very one that Hermione was in. The two of them decided to take action, knowing that if they left her to go get help, she could very well be injured or dead before help arrived. They decided to take matters into their own hands. They went in, and with a bit of luck and knowledge in charms, they managed to knock the troll unconscious for a moment. A moment later, the professors arrived. Ron’s bravery shows through because he is the one that uses the Levitation Charm to levitate the troll’s club and then he takes the charm off and it falls on his head and knocks him out. This is not the only evidence of bravery. The largest piece of evidence has yet to come.
Another piece of evidence of Ron’s bravery happens towards the end of the book. Ron, Harry, and Hermione have to complete a series of tasks to get to the final room where a weak Lord Voldemort awaits Harry. The task in which Ron really shines is the Wizard’s Chess task. Ron has always been quite good at the game, and in the task, Ron takes charge. He directs Harry, Hermione, and himself as actual game pieces. Ron is the knight, Harry is a bishop, and Hermione is the queen of the castle which is also called the Rook. Ron directs the pieces and in the end, he shows heroic character when he sacrifices himself to make way for Harry to check the queen and win. He really shows his bravery and loyalty to his friends. At that very moment, he becomes a hero.
In The Order of the Phoenix, Ron’s heroic character is once again showed, when Harry gets word that death eaters are going to be attacking the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic in London, and that Sirius goes there as well. It was a trap to get Harry to rescue Sirius, but when he gets there, he realizes that Sirius, Remus, and other members of the Order are there because they got word Harry was going there. They were both tricked into coming there. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and Luna went with Harry. They wanted him to help and they were not going to let Harry go alone. Ron got injured in the “battle” in the Department of Mysteries. There was a tank of brains that grabbed onto Ron and he got nasty rashes and burns that took a long time to heal. Ron put his health and safety aside to help Harry out and to ensure the safety of his other friends as well.
Though the evidence of Ron’s heroic character is not great in quantity, it is great in quality. Ron has done dangerous, yet loyal things to help Harry and his friends out. Sometimes we see him act and do things cowardly, but I know that deep down he is brave and will do just about anything for Harry and his friends, maybe even die for them. I think that in the seventh book, Ron will play a role that is extremely important. I think that a lot of responsibility will rest on Ron’s shoulders. Along with that, the fate of the trio and the wizarding world could very well rest in Ron’s hands at moments. Ron has proved himself a hero and I know that his actions and thoughts will play a major role in the outcome of the seventh book. Ron is a hidden hero but I know that he will break out of his shell soon enough.
(Remember, any constructive criticism or kudos are welcome and appreciated. Thanks much.)