Understanding Percy

[tim_smith]

I believe Percy’s behavior in the beginning of OP was, if not justified at least understandable.

Comments

[maniacalmuse]

Well f*cking said.

[kanimaki]

Well written. Exactly what I was thinking.

Hmmm... Part 1

[midnitemaraud_r]

It really fascinates me that we can read the same books and come to completely opposite conclusions and opinions, and I'm not saying that in a bad way either - I really do mean it

Hmmm... Part 2

[midnitemaraud_r]

Arthur has never struck me as a man who needs to be impressed, and I can't see that he would have marched up to Percy outright and lost his temper right off the bat. Even if we heard Percy's "side" of the argument, I can't see that he would be any more reliable a source than Arthur was. Arthur has never shown any behavior that would lead me to believe he was jealous - his two older sons were successful as well. And we're told a few times that Arthur never sought promotion because he enjoyed his job. That is something that Percy could never be made to understand because, unlike Arthur, Percy IS ambitious to a fault. And the fact that he refused to consider that his father might have a point of sorts - whether or not he was completely right or wrong isn't the issue - there was no respect, however grudging, for his father, who had worked at the ministry for years and was well aware of the "politics" despite everything else. Also, I'm not inclined to agree with you about him kicking Percy out of the picture, because we have no idea

Re: Hmmm... Part 2

[tim_smith]

Whoa boy, there's a reply! I'm flattered you took the time to write all that, thanks!:) Granted, Percy has many faults. I would not deny that.I have already agreed that some of his actions (e.g. resenting Harry, his treatment with Molly, not apologizing to Harry) are downright stupid and that he's so angry and proud who hasn't yet tried to look at the whole thing from an unbiased stand (I've already expressed hope that Penny will help him in that regard).As for his family's treatment: Maybe the family I come from is just weird, or maybe eastern and western family dynamics are very different but in MY family, and the families I know, you don't make one person the butt of continuous, cruel ridicule; much less if you know they won't take it well/will take it personal. Lacking humor is a bad thing, but it's not an unforgivable sin. Besides, being continuously ridiculed doesn't cure that, it makes it worse, if anything.

Also, for someone with such high standards, the fact that Crouch

Re: Hmmm... Part 2

[tim_smith]

Again I thank you for your long, well thought out reply. I respect that we disagree here. Nothing encourages discussion better than good, strong criticism. Also, I think I must say here that I don't hate Arthur, he is a very fav character of mine, actually, but I like to accept my favs with their flaws.

[hybridutensil]

*waves Percy flag* Thank you for this essay! None of my friends can understand why I still like Percy -- this is a great thing to show them when they ask :D

[jedirita]

I don't agree with your claim that Percy doesn't fit in with the family. Granted, I haven't closely reread the books to get a thorough picture, but I was never under the impression that he was some kind of black sheep. Yes, the twins tease and taunt him, and Ron picks up on that because he's an impressionable little brother, but *both* his parents always seemed proud of him. And I don't recall hearing anything about what Bill and Charlie think, but given that Bill was a prefect, and Charlie was apparently a model student, too, I can't imagine they would harass Percy about it. Actually, the *twins* are the black sheep of the family, however much Ron admires them

[getsinyoureyes]

I don't agree with your claim that Percy doesn't fit in with the family. Granted, I haven't closely reread the books to get a thorough picture, but I was never under the impression that he was some kind of black sheep. Yes, the twins tease and taunt him, and Ron picks up on that because he's an impressionable little brother, but *both* his parents always seemed proud of him. And I don't recall hearing anything about what Bill and Charlie think, but given that Bill was a prefect, and Charlie was apparently a model student, too, I can't imagine they would harass Percy about it. Actually, the *twins* are the black sheep of the family, however much Ron admires them.You brought up an interesting point

[jedirita]

True. And that implies that he's less of a victim, and more deliberately chosing to make different decisions than the rest of his family. He's trying to differentiate himself from them.

[getsinyoureyes]

So...you think he's making the choices he does because he wants to differentiate himself? It seems to me that he's already different and is simply acting on his convictions. I wasn't trying to say that Percy is a victim. :)