Book Ron vs. Movie Ron

[iamtai]

I have heard (and seen) so many people say that Ron Weasley was the dumb one of the trio or that he was a horrible friends, etc. etc.

Most of the people I've heard this from have only seen the Harry Potter movies but haven't read the books.

What do you think of Book Ron vs. Movie Ron?

[aelinrowan]

I can honestly say that as a Harry Potter nerd, I love BOTH Rons. I don't agree at all that he was just a dumb boy. I do wish the movies would've shown more of his book personality, but movies are never 100% replicas of books, so I can't be upset about that.

[JoHelton07]

(Spoilers!)
I also like both Rons, but Book Ron is so much better. He is what JK Rowling meant Ron to be. If you watch the movies right after reading the books, you notice that a lot of Ron's best lines are given to Hermione (this happens with a lot of characters, including Dumbledore. I'm looking at you, "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself"!). For example, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione tells Sirius that if "you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too." I don't know the exact quote, but it was along those lines. In the book, Ron is the one to say this while he is bleeding profusely and most likely in a tremendous amount of pain due to his leg. I apologize that I don't have the book in front of me at the moment, otherwise I would cite the page number.

Ron is very loyal to his friends, even if he does battle with it sometimes as in Book 4 and Book 7, but he stands up for Hermione more often than not; whereas in the movies, he usually is jokingly agreeing with Hermione's harasser. There is an example, again, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Snape calls Hermione an "Insufferable know-it-all." In the book, Ron gets punished for trying to put Snape in his place. In the movie, Ron says "He's got a point, you know." Sorry again for the lack of citations. (I seriously just need to start carrying the books around with me where ever I go! This is the only reason why I want/need a kindle.)

This happens a lot to Ron in the movies. Therefore, those who only see the movies have no idea what Ron is really like: Harry and Hermione's loyal best friend who would do anything for them. No matter what.

I believe that Book Ron triumphs over Movie Ron. But aren't the books always better than the movies?

-Jo Helton

[britfed]

I have recently re-read the Harry Potter books and I love them just as much now as when I first read them when I was younger. When I read the books I pictured Ron as looking more nerdy/gangly but in the movie I don't feel like he looks like that. I guess it all depends on how you perceive the book.

[QyeenMontana]

Honestly I love Book Ron way better, movie Ron is okay but it certainly doesn't do its counterpart justice

[HanSmith97]

(Spoilers!)
I also like both Rons, but Book Ron is so much better. He is what JK Rowling meant Ron to be. If you watch the movies right after reading the books, you notice that a lot of Ron's best lines are given to Hermione (this happens with a lot of characters, including Dumbledore. I'm looking at you, "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself"!). For example, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione tells Sirius that if "you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too." I don't know the exact quote, but it was along those lines. In the book, Ron is the one to say this while he is bleeding profusely and most likely in a tremendous amount of pain due to his leg. I apologize that I don't have the book in front of me at the moment, otherwise I would cite the page number.

Ron is very loyal to his friends, even if he does battle with it sometimes as in Book 4 and Book 7, but he stands up for Hermione more often than not; whereas in the movies, he usually is jokingly agreeing with Hermione's harasser. There is an example, again, in the Prisoner of Azkaban, when Snape calls Hermione an "Insufferable know-it-all." In the book, Ron gets punished for trying to put Snape in his place. In the movie, Ron says "He's got a point, you know." Sorry again for the lack of citations. (I seriously just need to start carrying the books around with me where ever I go! This is the only reason why I want/need a kindle.)

This happens a lot to Ron in the movies. Therefore, those who only see the movies have no idea what Ron is really like: Harry and Hermione's loyal best friend who would do anything for them. No matter what.

I believe that Book Ron triumphs over Movie Ron. But aren't the books always better than the movies?

-Jo Helton

I completely agree with all of this - you've put it into such great words. Book Ron was so so much better. Although one other thing I wanted to add was: Ron is much more caring in the books. He can come across a little mean sometimes in the films I found but in the books you can tell that he cares about his best friend in a way that reminds me a little of Mrs Weasley.

[Halima Lawan]

I totally agree book Ron is so much better than movie Ron. I think the movies portrayed Ron as the dumb one but just like the other two he has his strengths and weaknesses.

[JephaNZ89]

The whole point of Ron was to be a foil to Harry. He was knowledge where Harry was ignorance, he was fear where Harry was brave. For the first time Harry had a presence in his life who was his own age and was a positive influence.

[Deepa09k]

Ron is one such character in the series which is close to the real world whereas the other two, Harry and Hermione tend towards the idealistic scale. In that sense, I love book Ron a lot because he isn't afraid to show his flaws or rectify them once time presents itself and I strongly feel movies failed to show this aspect of Ron and as mentioned above, they just turned him into a goof ball.

[vermontelf]

I definitely think Book Ron is a vastly stronger character than Movie Ron. He is stronger both as a detailed, believable character in the book, but also because he is a stronger friend, student, and magician. In the movies, he is often trailing along, but in the books he is Harry and Hermione's peer.

[books_andpoetri]

Book Ron was definitely better than Movie Ron. He was not dumb. He was loyal and willing to help his friends at all costs. I'd say he also shares some Hufflepuff traits.

Just tune out opinions of people who have just seen the movies. Of course, they still have the right to their own views but knowing that you have read the books means you have a better foundation than them.

[HarryPotterLibrary22]

I definitely think Book Ron is a vastly stronger character than Movie Ron. He is stronger both as a detailed, believable character in the book, but also because he is a stronger friend, student, and magician. In the movies, he is often trailing along, but in the books he is Harry and Hermione's peer.

I couldn't agree more than with the last comment! Book Ron has so much more to offer. Unfortunately the director of the films loved Emma Watson too much and ended up giving Hermione many of his best lines.

[vermontelf]

I definitely think Book Ron is a vastly stronger character than Movie Ron. He is stronger both as a detailed, believable character in the book, but also because he is a stronger friend, student, and magician. In the movies, he is often trailing along, but in the books he is Harry and Hermione's peer.

I couldn't agree more than with the last comment! Book Ron has so much more to offer. Unfortunately the director of the films loved Emma Watson too much and ended up giving Hermione many of his best lines.

I hadn't thought specifically about the dialog, but now that I do, I believe you are right. And as such, Hermione becomes a different character in the movies than in the book. She becomes bigger than life in the movies and the watcher loses the empathy that they reader has.Thank you for this insight.

[HarryPotterLibrary22]

I definitely think Book Ron is a vastly stronger character than Movie Ron. He is stronger both as a detailed, believable character in the book, but also because he is a stronger friend, student, and magician. In the movies, he is often trailing along, but in the books he is Harry and Hermione's peer.

I couldn't agree more than with the last comment! Book Ron has so much more to offer. Unfortunately the director of the films loved Emma Watson too much and ended up giving Hermione many of his best lines.

I hadn't thought specifically about the dialog, but now that I do, I believe you are right. And as such, Hermione becomes a different character in the movies than in the book. She becomes bigger than life in the movies and the watcher loses the empathy that they reader has.Thank you for this insight.

One of the best examples I can think of is in the third film, when Hermione is given the line something like 'if you want to kill Harry you'll have to kill us to' to Sirius Black. In the books, Ron, with a badly broken leg, forces himself to stand up in front of Harry to say this but in the films he's just lying there

[Strangeminds]

It is true that the movies portray ron as a dumb character. But if you've read the books, then you would have a different opinion. In the books, we can see that Ron's character develops from a scaredy cat to a very loyal friend who becomes very brave when his friend is in danger. I'd say that if there is a trait that is prominent in ron, it is loyalty. The difference between the books and the movies is that while the book focuses on almost all of the main characters and their mental thoughts and feelings-which makes us more close to them - the movie focuses mainly on the outside world and the magical happenings and therefore does not give us an insight into the character's mind. I personally felt that the movies were a letdown in the portrayal of Ron. I actually really love Ron's character.