Conservative Elements and Interpellation in Beverly
Cleary’s Ramona Series
Katie Hampton
ENGL 380-50
The Ramona series, by Beverly Cleary,
consists of eight books following Ramona from the time she was four until her
tenth birthday. Ramona is the youngest
in her family and always seems to be causing trouble. When Cleary thought up the character, she saw
a lot of herself in Ramona. Both Ramona
and Cleary had trouble with reading in elementary school. Cleary was in the “bluebird” reading group
which was the lowest of the groups in her first grade class (Trelease). Although Cleary was not a good reader at a
young age, she, like Ramona, still loved and longed to read. Therefore she did not hesitate to use large
words in her writing. This goes against
common assumptions about childhood, which state that children like books with
simple texts and simple stories. While
the Ramona stories are next
extensively complex, the text is not simple which challenges children and
retains their interest in the story.
While the text
was created to challenge common assumptions about childhood, a conservative
theme is present throughout the entire Ramona
series. In each of the books, Ramona
realizes the wisdom of adults and looks up to the adults. Each of the adult figures seems to be nearly
perfect and do no wrong. The first
example of Ramona’s adoration for adults is seen in her teacher. “Ramona loved Miss Binney so much she did not
want to disappoint her. Not ever. Miss Binney was the nicest teacher in the
whole world,” (Ramona the Pest, 80). Ramona sees Miss Binney as perfect although
she has faults too simply because she is an adult and that is what is
right.
In the series,
Ramona tries to impress her teachers so they will love her. Ramona is “a bright, creative child who wants
to please her teacher but who also enjoys the attention of her peers,
[therefore] Ramona experiences some frustrations adjusting to school,”
(Poe). Ramona’s frustrations are shown
through her internal struggle about Susan’s curls. Ramona loves Susan’s curly hair and longs to
pull on a curl to watch it boing
back, but she knows if she does she will disappoint Miss Binney. Finally, it becomes too much for her and she
gives in to her desire. Miss Binney saw
her and she was punished. “Ramona was
shocked. Miss Binney did not love her
anymore. The class was suddenly quiet,
and Ramona could almost feel their stares against her back as she stood there
looking at the floor,” (Ramona the Pest,
163). Although she knows what she did is
wrong, she still believes that no one will love her if she misbehaves. This thought shows Ramona’s strong admiration
for all adults because she does not want to let them down.
Ramona sees
her parents as perfect even though she hears them fight a lot. Finally, after listening to them fight,
Ramona has an outburst and says, “grown-ups aren’t supposed to fight…grown-ups
are supposed to be perfect,” (Ramona and
her Mother, 112). This comment shows
a very conservative view. In
conservative books, adults are good and have few faults. By Ramona saying that she believes adults are
perfect, she is portraying strong conservative views.
The Ramona series also shows its
conservative nature because the text reaffirms common assumptions about
childhood and the books are written for children. Ramona has many experiences in the books that
are common to most children. In Ramona the Brave, she felt that “nobody
understood how she felt. Nobody
understood what it was like to be six years old and the littlest one in the
family,” (Ramona the Brave, 25-26). As the youngest in my family, often I felt
that no one knew what I was going through.
Like many younger siblings, Ramona is often seen as a pest or a
tag-along. Children can understand this
feeling so they can relate to Ramona. Children
can also relate to Ramona’s fear of school.
When Ramona moved from kindergarten into the main building for first
grade, she “felt much smaller and less sure of herself as she made her way up
the steps of the big brick building with the older boys and girls. She felt smaller still as they jostled her in
the hall on her way to the room she had looked forward to for so long,” (Ramona the Brave, 62). Most children, as well as most adults, are
nervous when entering new situations.
Entering school is something that every child does, so it is something
that every child can relate to.
In the first
seven books of the series, Ramona is the youngest child. Although she often feels left out and like no
one understands her, she still likes being the youngest child. In Ramona
Forever, Ramona becomes a big sister and does not like it one bit. Ramona feels left out and unloved when her
parents begin to give attention to her baby sister instead of her. When Ramona’s parents consciously attempt to
give her more attention she quickly gets over her jealousy and falls in love
with her baby sister. This is a problem
that many siblings go through. Any child
who has a younger sibling will be able to relate to Ramona’s insecurities about
accepting a new member into her family.
Another
conservative element that is present in many of the Ramona books is their didactic tone which conveys the typical
“lesson” at the end of each of the stories.
In the first of the series, Beezus
and Ramona, the sisters are constantly fighting. Both sisters even go so far as to say that
they do not love the other. In what
seems like an epiphany at the end of the story Beezus says, “Maybe that was
just the way things were with sisters. A
lovely feeling of relief came over Beezus.
What if she didn’t love Ramona
all the time? It didn’t matter at
all. She was just like any other
sister,” (Beezus and Ramona, 157). This is showing the girls that all sisters
fight. In Ramona and her Mother, Mr. and Mrs. Quimby get into a fight and do
not talk all night. Ramona worries all
night and finally speaks her mind the next morning. Her parents tell her that all parents fight
and that is okay. This conversation
between Ramona and her mother is a lesson to children that parents are not
perfect and not to worry when they fight.
All of the lessons in the Ramona
series are about their family life which is meant to show children that
families are not perfect.
The Ramona series also contains
interpellation, which is another conservative element of the books. The most interpellation is seen regarding
gender. Beezus has very typical gender
expectations. When Ramona asks Beezus to
read her a book, Beezus replies, “Why did she have to like a book about a steam
shovel anyway? Girls weren’t supposed to
like machinery. Why couldn’t she like
something quiet, like Peter Rabbit,”
(Beezus and Ramona, 14). Beezus believes that girls are supposed to
like quiet, nice things and loud things like machinery are for boys. This gender interpellation influences
children to believe that that is how things should really be for boys and
girls.
Although the
majority of the series is very conservative, some progressive elements are
present. In Ramona and her Father, Beezus and Ramona take on the role of the
parents when they give their father a hard time for smoking. At dinner, Beezus has an outburst and says, “Cigarettes
can kill you. Your lungs will turn black
and you’ll die! We made posters about it
at school. And besides, cigarettes
pollute the air!” (Ramona and her Father,
80). Ramona and her sister take on the
role of the adult when they chastise their father for smoking and try to make
him quit. This is the first time that
the adults in the series do anything that could be frowned upon. While this is one progressive element, the entire
series is still overwhelmingly conservative.
When writing
the series, Cleary hoped to convey childhood, rather than a specific time
period. Cleary says, “I’m writing about
growing up. What interests me is what
children go through while growing up.
Some people think the books are more serious, but I think children, as
they grow up, are more aware of life’s problems,” (Drennan). By writing about growing up, Beverly Cleary
appeals to a vast number of readers because they are able to relate to her
work. While Cleary tries not to shelter
her intended readers from the facts of life, she still presents them in a
conservative way.
Works Cited
Cleary,
Cleary,
Cleary,
Cleary,
Cleary,
Cleary,
Drennan,
Miriam. “I Can See Cleary Now.” August 1999.
29 November 2005. http://www.bookpage.com/9908bp/beverly_cleary.html
Poe,
Trelease,
Jim. “Author Profile: