The Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling is a fantastic example of children’s literature that brought a unique world of magic and fantasy, that is still talked about by them even as adults. When the Harry Potter movies were announced, everyone was excited as the magical world that they had built in their minds would be portrayed in reality. People were more excited to see the famous trio; Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger come to life. However; they were met with disappointment when one of their favorite characters; Ron Weasley, was turned into a dim-witted joker of the group. This paper will focus on the character of Ron Weasley from the fourth book and movie; Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the fourth installment of the movie did the most damage to his character.
Ron Weasley came from a poor family with his hand-me-down robes but he had a heart of gold, was furiously loyal, would stand up to bullies even if he got beaten down and he was witty, however; in the movie, he was anything but those characteristics. In the fourth part of the movie and book, he fights with Harry for not telling him that Harry was putting his name in the goblet. This turns into the longest fight the two ever had but in the book, Ron is seen lurking around Harry trying to make up with him as he is ashamed of his actions but in the movie he is seen sneering and throwing nasty looks in Harry’s direction which made him look like a false friend. Then later in the movie, he is seen relaying a message through Hermione to Harry who is having trouble understanding his message. This scene was unnecessary as it was just added to show that Ron and Harry were fighting as if it was not obvious enough. It made him look dim-witted as he was not even to relay a message properly (Newell). This scene was not in the book.
Unfortunately, this was not the worst of the scenes in the movie. During the Yule Ball, Hermione and Ron have a spat but in the book, this fight takes place in their common room, when everyone has gone to sleep so no one witnesses the fight (Rowling). However; in the movie, this fight happens in front of the whole school. This little change in the scene tarnished the character of Ron even more as due to this scene he came off as a shallow and self-centered person who cared only about the things that he wants.
When these movies were first planned to be produced, Rowling was worried that people would like Ron more than Hermione as she might come off as unlikeable, however; Rowling did not have to worry about it as the movie writers completely ruined Ron’s character and turned him into an unlikeable character. Rowling wrote the trio’s personality beautifully as each of their traits made the group stronger. Harry was brave and took risks to protect everyone, Hermione was smart and witty while Ron was loyal, and even if he was afraid he would fight to protect his loved ones. Unfortunately, the movie turned him into comic relief and effectively portrayed him as useless. The majority of people, who only watched the movies, dislike Ron but the people who have read the books know that this is not the Ron that they know and love (Rauscher). The Harry Potter movies did many things wrong by changing, omitting, or making up scenes. These movies do not live up to the books, these movies have not done justice to many other characters but none of them got the treatment that the character of Ron Weasley did.
Works Cited
Newell, Mike. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Warner Bros., Heyday Films, Patalex IV Productions Limited, 2005.
Rauscher, Melody. “Ron Weasley vs Ron Weasley.” Geeks, 2018, https://vocal.media/geeks/ron-weasley-vs-ron-weasley.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Paperback, vol. 4, 2000, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6.Harry_Potter_and_the_Goblet_of_Fire.
