Ronald Bilius Weasley: Character Analysis

[leah49]

Originally Posted by HedwigOwl

I think you're right about Ron's feelings there, as he didn't go to the Burrow, but stayed w/Bill & Fleur. He said he knew the twins would be on him about leaving, and that Ginny wouldn't understand.

Ron must have played chess at home, though, to learn it well enough and get adequate practice to reach the level he's at when he's just 11. Does anyone remember a mention by Ron in the books? Maybe it was Bill; in DH after Ron comes back, he tells Harry & Hermione that he stayed at shell cottage, that 'Bill was always decent to him'.

Of course Ron played at home. That's where he learned how to play chess, I'd imagine. I don't remember a mention by Ron in the books, except maybe he played at Shell Cottage? I honestly don't remember.

[OldMotherCrow]

I can't find my copy of PS/SS-- or even most of my Harry Potter books. I did find GoF lodged under my daughter's bed, though.

I resorted to wikipedia, though I would prefer to reference the books. I was wrong about who Harry borrowed chessmen from: It was Seamus, not one of Ron's brothers. According to wikipedia, Ron's chess set came from his grandfather. Maybe chess was something that Ron learned from and primarily did with an older family generation, and not his brothers. That might be why Ron was confident with chess, because it really was his own thing in his own generation of his family. Ron really liked Quidditch, too, and I have to go along with Leah's idea that because some of his brothers were into Quidditch and were good at it, that undermined his confidence. I do like that Ron decided to pursue Quidditch despite his confidence problems. I think it takes courage to try things when the fear of failure is great.

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by OldMotherCrow

I can't find my copy of PS/SS-- or even most of my Harry Potter books. I did find GoF lodged under my daughter's bed, though.

I resorted to wikipedia, though I would prefer to reference the books. I was wrong about who Harry borrowed chessmen from: It was Seamus, not one of Ron's brothers. According to wikipedia, Ron's chess set came from his grandfather. Maybe chess was something that Ron learned from and primarily did with an older family generation, and not his brothers. That might be why Ron was confident with chess, because it really was his own thing in his own generation of his family. Ron really liked Quidditch, too, and I have to go along with Leah's idea that because some of his brothers were into Quidditch and were good at it, that undermined his confidence. I do like that Ron decided to pursue Quidditch despite his confidence problems. I think it takes courage to try things when the fear of failure is great.

I looked up that scene in the book, and Ron did, indeed, inherit his wizard chess set from his grandfather. But there's no clue if he learned from his grandfather or not, or who it would have been. Perhaps it was Arthur, and possibly Bill, as we have 1 indication from Ron that Bill treated him on even terms (vs. sibling dynamics), maybe because he was the oldest. I can't see it being Percy -- even though he seems the type -- because his manner appears to drive Ron crazy.

[meesha1971]

Originally Posted by HedwigOwl

I looked up that scene in the book, and Ron did, indeed, inherit his wizard chess set from his grandfather. But there's no clue if he learned from his grandfather or not, or who it would have been. Perhaps it was Arthur, and possibly Bill, as we have 1 indication from Ron that Bill treated him on even terms (vs. sibling dynamics), maybe because he was the oldest. I can't see it being Percy -- even though he seems the type -- because his manner appears to drive Ron crazy.

Speculating of course, but since his grandfather bequeathed his chess set to Ron, it seems likely that he would have done so because he knew playing chess was something they both enjoyed. I could see Ron learning from his grandfather or Bill. Not too sure about Arthur - I don't recall any mention of him playing chess or talking about it, but I wouldn't rule him out entirely either. The twins never showed any interest in chess that I recall and Charlie wasn't shown enough to make any determination - though Ron appeared to be closer to Bill than Charlie. However, his grandfather seems most likely to me because Jo made a point to establish that he bequeathed the chess set to Ron.

I would rule out Percy as well - not only because he annoyed Ron, but also because Harry indicated in PS/SS that Percy was not very good at chess when he speculates after the Christmas feast that he might not have lost the match with Ron so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.