Ramona the Pest

“Nobody but a genuine grown-up was going to take her to school. If she had to, she would make a great big noisy fuss, and when Ramona made a great big noisy fuss, she usually got her own way. Great big noisy fusses were often necessary when a girl was the youngest member of her family and the youngest person on her block.” 

Ramona refuses to let Mary Jane, a friend of Beezus, walk her to school. The reader is taken through Ramona’s logic: Only a “genuine grown-up” should be allowed to take her to school, since older kids like Mary Jane are inclined to make themselves seem more grown up by treating younger kids like Ramona like a baby—and there is nothing Ramona dislikes more than being treated like a baby. This passage highlights two features of Ramona’s psychology: Her desire to not appear like a baby and why it is occasionally necessary for her to cause a “great noisy fuss.” 

“Ramona considered. Kindergarten had not turned out as she had expected. Still, even though she had not been given a present and Miss Binney did not love her, she had liked being with boys and girls her own age.” 

The reader is privy to Ramona’s thoughts and therefore learns the logic that Ramona uses to come to different conclusions. Here, the reader learns that, after her first day of kindergarten, Ramona seems to believe that Miss Binney “does not love her,” and Ramona is still somewhat disappointed about the misunderstanding over the present—these are uniquely child-like thoughts. However, Ramona weighs these negatives against the fact that she enjoyed being with children her own age. 

“Ramona looked forward to many things—her first loose tooth, riding a bicycle instead of a tricycle, wearing lipstick like her mother—but most of all she looked forward to Show and Tell.” 

In early childhood, life is filled with many firsts. The prospect of every new experience, particularly for an enthusiastic girl like Ramona, excites her. For Ramona, she looks forward to all the exciting events that come with growing up, one of the major themes of the book. 

“Share! Ramona had learned about sharing in nursery school, where she either had to share something of her own that she did not want to share or she had to share something that belonged to someone else that she did not want to share either.” 

In this scene, Ramona’s mother asks her to share a toy with Howie so that he may have something to present at Show and Tell. This passage is Ramona’s inner monologue about sharing, one that she does not voice to her mother, Mrs. Kemp, or Howie. Throughout Ramona the Pest, the reader is put inside the mind of a child, to learn and understand the way they think. This is one example of that motif. 

“Boing, thought Ramona, as she always did when those curls caught her attention.” 

Ramona is drawn to mischief in a way that is almost unconscious. Susan’s curls, a recurring motif throughout the book, show how powerful—and uncontrollable—Ramona can feel over her own desires at times. However, Ramona’s urge to pull on Susan’s curls is not malicious; it is playful.

“There were two kinds of children who went to kindergarten—those who lined up beside the door before school, as they were supposed to, and those who ran around the playground and scrambled to get into line when they saw Miss Binney approaching.” 

Cleary paints a realistic portrait of life in early childhood, as seen through Ramona’s eyes, and draws a distinction between different kinds of students in kindergarten: those who have more rambunctious energy, and those who are more eager to follow the rules. Of the main characters, Ramona is the former and Susan is the latter.

“Ramona found it difficult to sit still, because she was always interested in what everyone else was doi

In this scene, Ramona has trouble concentrating on her “seat work.” “Seat work,” as Ramona explains, is more focused work, like practicing their handwriting and learning to read. As usual, Ramona has a lot of energy, and she has trouble focusing on her assignment. 

“Ramona printed her name correctly. Ramona hugged herself with happiness and love for Miss Binney. Soon, she was sure, she would be able to join her letters together and write her name in the same rumply grown-up way that Beezus wrote her name.” 

Ramona is the youngest in her family, and she longs to grow up. Here, she is excited just at the prospect of learning to write in cursive (i.e. the “rumply grown-up way”). Beezus, as the older sister, is often the yardstick by which Ramona measures what being a grown-up entails.

“Between crossing the street without a grown-up and getting so much attention from Henry, Ramona felt that her day was off to a good start.” 

In this passage, Ramona delights in crossing the street by herself and in getting attention from Henry. These are two of Ramona’s favorite things: a sign that she is growing up and receiving acknowledgement from her peers. Both things are deep-seated desires in Ramona, ones that affect the course of much of her behavior throughout the book. 

“Ramona thought this idea was babyish of Susan. She had seen what happened to boys and girls who ran home from kindergarten. Their mothers marched them right straight back again, that’s what happened. No, going home would not do.” “Ramona thought this idea was babyish of Susan. She had seen what happened to boys and girls who ran home from kindergarten. Their mothers marched them right straight back again, that’s what happened. No, going home would not do.” 

Ramona abhors anything that is “babyish,” and she frequently uses this as a criticism against her classmates and peers. One of her main motivations in this novel is to learn and experience as many new things as possible—in other words, Ramona desires to grow up. As such, she rejects all that is “babyish” and will do anything to avoid being perceived as a little kid. 

“Forgetting the loneliness and discomfort of the morning, she drew a most satisfying row of Q’s, Ramona-style, and decided that having a substitute teacher was not so bad after all.” 

Ramona’s feelings are subject to change at any moment. This is a common feature of children and yet another way in which Cleary portrays Ramona as a lifelike little girl. In this passage, we also see Ramona embracing her individuality, as drawing a row of Q’s “Ramona-style,” brings her comfort.

“Only grown-ups would say boots were for keeping feet dry. Anyone in kindergarten knew that a girl should wear shiny red or white boots on the first rainy day, not to keep her feet dry, but to show off. That’s what boots were for—showing off, wading, splashing, stamping.” 

In Chapter 5, Ramona gives her logic on the primary purposes of rainboots: Showing off, wading, splashing, stamping. To understand Ramona (and why children behave the way that they do), Cleary breaks down the unique, sometimes unexpected, reasoning of children. 

“There she sat with Howie’s dingy old brown boots beside her. How could she smile? A babyish nursery-school girl, who was wearing new red boots, was rocking joyously on the shoe store’s rocking horse while her mother paid for the boots.” 

In Chapter 5, Ramona hates her brown, second-hand rainboots that used to be Howie’s. In the shoe store, Ramona catches sight of a “babyish” little girl wearing “new red boots.” This scene contains many things that annoy Ramona and seem to make her bad day worse (anything “babyish,” the red boots that Ramona lacks, etc.).  

“She was a pony. No, she was one of the three Billy Goats Gruff, the littlest one, trip-trapping over the bridge that the troll was hiding under. Ramona trip-trapped joyfully all the way to the parked car.” 

Ramona is a creative young girl. In this passage, a new pair of shoes inspires her imagination to run wild. The “trip-trapping” sound the shoes make inspire her to make-believe that she is a pony and a Billy goat. This is one example of Ramona creating a new narrative for herself. She does the same when she draws her house with Santa stuck in the chimney.

“Ramona peeked cautiously in the mirror, backed away, and then gathered her courage for a longer look. That’s really me in there, she told herself and felt better.” 

In Chapter 6, which is set during Halloween, Ramona wants to be “the baddest witch in the world” (149). Her mother buys her a mask that is so terrifying that Ramona can barely stand to look at it. However, in this moment (and, in general, is true for Ramona’s character), she is able to muster up her courage to gaze upon herself in the mask. In addition to being energetic and highly imaginative, one of Ramona’s key traits is that she is brave. 

“That’s me, the baddest witch in the world, thought Ramona. At the same time, she was a little surprised. That the others really would not know that she was behind her mask never occurred to her.” 

Ramona begins to realize that, with her mask on, no one will recognize her. In fact, this realization takes her by “surprise.” That Ramona would come to this realization slowly is a very true-to-life in the way that children process information, and just one example of why Ramona the Pest is a work of “realistic” fiction. The mask also symbolizes her fear of her new grown-up identity. While she wants to wear the mask, just as she wants to grow up, she fears that it will change her to the point where her mother won’t recognize her, just as growing up (in a child’s mind) might. 

“The feeling was the scariest one Ramona had ever experienced. She felt lost inside her costume. She wondered if her mother would know which witch was which, and the thought that her own mother might not know her frightened Ramona even more.” 

Just before the Halloween parade in Chapter 6, Ramona realizes that, with her mask on, no one recognizes her—with it on, she is completely anonymous. At first, this realization fills her with joy because she can make as much mischief as she likes; however, moments later, this complete anonymity terrifies her. The heightened emotions, along with feelings that are prone to changing quickly are realistic portrayals of how children operate. Likewise, being anonymous goes against Ramona’s goal of gaining attention. This passage also further develops the symbol of the mask as a new identity. 

“Ramona loved Miss Binney for understanding. She loved Miss Binney for not being cross when she was late for school. She loved Miss Binney for telling her she was a brave girl.” 

Ramona loves her teacher Miss Binney, as evidenced in this passage. One of Ramona’s primary motivations throughout the book, for doing anything, is pleasing Miss Binney. Above all, Ramona seeks to be “understood,” not just by Miss Binney, but by her friends and family at large.

“Ramona was filled with the glory of losing her first tooth and love for her teacher. Miss Binney had said she was brave! This day was the most wonderful day in the world!” 

When Ramona feels anything, whether it be happy or sad, that emotion consumes her. In this passage, Ramona is “filled” with joy from losing her first tooth and thinking about how much she loves Miss Binney. It is the “most wonderful day in the world.” Children tend to think in these kinds of extremes, as they learn to process and navigate their own emotions. This is yet another way in which Cleary portrays Ramona as a very real little girl. 

“Ramona did not answer. Her feet, no longer light with joy, carried her slowly toward home. She could never go to kindergarten, because Miss Binney did not love her anymore.” 

Ramona gets in trouble with Miss Binney in Chapter 7 when she refuses to stop pulling Susan’s hair. Just as quickly as Ramona proclaims that she is having the “most wonderful day in the world” (172) she decides that she could “never go to kindergarten” because she believes that Miss Binney is angry with her. Ramona, like many children, have feelings that can go from one extreme to the next in a matter of seconds. Cleary walks the reader through this thought process, to spark a sense of empathy and understanding in the reader. 

“She did not feel like smiling, and not having a tooth to leave for the tooth fairy was only a small part of her trouble.” 

Ramona is devastated at the thought that Miss Binney is angry with her. In this passage, we see the inner workings of Ramona’s mind and learn how deeply upset she is at the situation. For a child her age, it is no small thing to lose a tooth and her being in Miss Binney’s favor is also significant—at this moment in Chapter 8, Ramona is in two very stressful situations for a kid.

“‘Yes, I feel all right,’ answered Ramona., meaning that she did not have a broken leg, a skinned knee, or a sore throat.” 

After the hair-pulling incident at school in Chapter 7, Ramona’s mother can tell something is wrong as soon as Ramona enters the family home. When she asks Ramona if she is feeling well, Ramona responds with “yes,” but the reader knows otherwise. Ramona is hurting, emotionally speaking. This kind of sideways response is typical in children and adds to the overall realism of the book. 

 “Beezus was right and she was wrong. She was nothing but a girl who used to go to kindergarten and who got everything wrong and made everyone laugh. She was a stupid little sister. A dumb little sister, who never did anything right.” 

Adding insult to the injury of what is happening with Miss Binney, Ramona feels hurt later that night when her family laughs at her misguided idea that a “dawnzer” is a lamp. For children, especially ones as imaginative as Ramona, they feel emotions in extremes. In this passage, we see how deeply Ramona is hurting—she feels that she is “stupid” and that she “never” does anything right.