The
connotation of “howler’ appears to be frightening to the wide-eyed recipient
Ron, and entertaining for his snickering peers. The deep red color of the
howler itself suggests the fury with which Mrs. Weasley, Ron’s mother, wrote
the letter. It’s clear that the delivered message is not going to be pleasant.
“Ronald Weasley!”
From the get-go, Mrs. Weasley addresses her audience. This scolding is for Ron and Ron alone. Moreover her tone, for instance referring to her son as ‘Ronald’ rather than ‘Ron’, reflects her displeasure with him.
“How dare you steal that car?!?”
Here
Mrs. Weasley asks Ron a rhetorical question, using it, rather than to get a
reply, to persuade Ron to consider her viewpoint.
“Your father’s facing an inquiry at work,
and it’s entirely you fault!”
Again Ron’s mother continues her formal tone by referring to Mr. Weasley rather than ‘dad’. Claiming that her husband’s inquiry is entirely Ron’s fault, Mrs. Weasely aims to give Ron guilt, or involve him emotionally.
“If you put another toe out of line,
we’ll bring you straight home!”
Mrs. Weasley’s use of a hyperbole emphasizes her point to Ron. It is not meant to be taken literally as there is no line to be physically crossed, but it is meant to express her great displeasure with Ron and her willingness to further punish him if he misbehaves again.
In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, Howlers are used to deliver a message of anger or great displeasure “in a manner which standard writing cannot adequately convey.”1 In my opinion, if using rhetoric correctly, perhaps such a thing would not be necessary. Mrs. Weasley’s voice, however, sure is effective. Ron was intimidated, as was I!
1http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Howler
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