What if we didn't just look at how the main character of the books we read, but the other characters within the story? What if we looked at their perspective? In the piece I have written, I have done exactly that with the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and have given the character Ron a new outlook or things.
In the Harry Potter series, by
J.K. Rowling, the stories are told in the 3rd person point of view. The novels are
clearly geared towards the perspective and emotion of Harry Potter, and his two
best friends, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger. Though there are many things that go
on throughout the series, you see how the trio’s friendship evolves, develops,
and changes, from being 11, to 17 in what seems like a short period of time
with many barriers in the way.
We all know that with growing up
there becomes more responsibility and relationships as well. Harry’s
companions, Ron and Hermione, have had some obvious chemistry since
the 3rd book (Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) when they were starting adolescence.
However, we are only given Harry’s point of view on this romance, we only get
to understand his emotion’s on them being together. He feels as though his
friends are slipping farther and farther away. Almost as though a wedge is
driven between the three of them, until Ron and Harry have a falling out. Ron,
in a fit of rage, leaves the two of them partway through the novel. Harry and
Hermione are both driven
into a depressive state that lasts for months, and Hermione blames Harry for
the whole hot mess.
With Ron gone, we are never given
his perspective on the matter of his romance with Hermione and him leaving. He
did return, eventually, to his two beloved friends, and both of the boys
apologized and embraced in a scene of brotherly love. Only snippets of what Ron
went through when he had left, and what his life was like after he left are
given in dialogue. We are made to think that it was Ron’s fault for his leaving
and the fight that had happened. Really, this is not the case at all.
In the book, Ron was given a
necklace that had apparently been hexed or in other words, cursed,
which means he was acting out in erratic behavior. He had fits of rage and
depression, and we are only given Harry and Hermione’s perspective on him
leaving him behind, making the reader think it was all his fault, and making
him out to be the one to blame. In all actuality, we are never told what he
feels, when he really could have felt depressed, or angry. Perhaps we should
feel sorry for him, and not the others. With the curse in place on him, his
judgment was impaired, and he was not himself, thus it was not his fault. You
cannot control yourself when you are cursed.
While all this was happening,
Harry was in a bit of a dazed dream like state himself, always wondering what
was going on with his friends. Just like in real teenage life, they had some
problems with each other. Hermione, always worrying about things, was beside
herself. Ron was unable to control himself because of the curse, thus it cannot
be his fault for his unpredictable behavior, and the way the reader feels about
him. We are never given his perspective on the matter.
In what seems like a short period
of time, ages 11 to 17, Harry, Hermione, and Ron overcome many obstacles with
how their friendship evolves, develops, and changes completely throughout the
series of Harry Potter. The way that characters see something in all of these
books affect how even the reader sees it too, and if the writer switches it up
enough to confuse you, it can change the whole way you approach the story.