Ramona Quimby Age 8

“Ramona pretended she was riding a stagecoach pursued by robbers.”

Though Ramona has matured in her emotional intelligence, she still retains her imaginative sense of adventure and creativity. Envisioning her bus ride as a wild west romp illustrates that Ramona still has a childlike sense of wonder and playfulness.

“[I]n the distance, the snow-capped peak of Mount Hood looking like a giant licked ice-cream cone.”

Cleary uses a simile, where something is compared to something else using “like” or “as,” to describe the view of Mount Hood from Ramona’s classroom—in this case comparing it to “a giant licked ice-cream cone.” This quote establishes the setting for the novel. All the books in the Ramona series take place in Portland, Oregon, in a fictional neighborhood on Klickitat Street.

“‘Bruce who doesn’t wee-wee in the sandbox,’ was Willa Jean’s prompt answer.”

This quote exemplifies Cleary’s use of humor in her novels. Like a younger Ramona, Willa Jean speaks what’s on her mind without any filtering. Before her friend Bruce arrives, she explains who he is to Ramona in the best way she knows how—that he is potty-trained. 

“There were two ways of doing so, by a lot of timid little raps or by one big whack. Sara was a rapper.”

Loud noises, particularly those made by children, are a common motif in all of Cleary’s novels. The kids get a thrill from cracking eggs at lunch and emphasize the sounds the eggs make. Always wanting to be the center of attention, Ramona chooses the loudest, most daring method, which ends in disaster.

“Ramona has always been fond of Q, the only letter of the alphabet with a neat little tail.”

Writing her name uniquely has been a part of Ramona’s identity since Beezus first taught her to write it. For a time, she made the Q look like a cat, but now that she is older, Ramona changes her signature to fit her more mature identity. She also now writes in cursive.

“Her father’s foot looked like a flipper.”

Mr. Quimby is studying to become an art teacher, but ironically, he struggles with a self-portrait assignment to draw his foot. For most of the novel, he struggles to complete the sketch. Ramona joins him for support and attempts to sketch her own foot, exemplifying Ramona’s close relationship with her father and their shared love of drawing. Here, Cleary uses another simile, comparing Mr. Quimby’s sketched foot to a “flipper.”

“Picky-picky, purring like a rusty motor, walked into the dining room and rubbed against legs to remind the family that he should eat too.”

The Quimby’s cat Picky-picky regularly appears in the series, and Ramona’s relationship with the cat develops throughout the series as she matures. Cleary uses a simile to describe the way the purring sounds, comparing it to a “rusty motor.” The cat’s name is ironic since it is begging for table scraps from a meal that the much pickier sisters refuse to eat.

“The sisters scowled.”

This sentence is alliterative in that the consonant sound of “s” repeats. The quote conveys a rare moment of solidarity between Ramona and Beezus. In earlier novels in the series, the sisters struggle to get along since they have different personalities and interests.

“‘Here, let me hold it,’ said Ramona, who was not squeamish about touching such things as worms or raw meat.”

Ramona doesn’t mind touching the raw chicken skin because she isn’t sensitive to slimy textures. This quote illustrates the differences between the sisters and how they use those differences to work together to prepare the meal.

“Grit, grit, grit sounded under the girls’ feet.”

Ramona spills Cream of Wheat on the kitchen floor as she substitutes the cereal for cornmeal. Cleary uses onomatopoeia—“Grit, grit, grit”—to give a sensory experience of the chaotic kitchen scene. The moment is humorous because Ramona adds a hot breakfast cereal to a cornbread mixture. 

“Beezus and Ramona were silently grateful to their parents for enjoying—or pretending to enjoy—their cooking.”

This quote illustrates Ramona’s growing emotional intelligence. She is now old enough to know that her parents didn’t really love the food and that sometimes parents pretend or even outright lie to their children out of kindness. She also understands her part to play in the game. The ritual of cooking the meal helped heal something in their family, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

“‘Grr-rrr-rrr,’ she said, imitating the sound of the motor.”

Tensions are running high in the Quimby household, and when the family car breaks down, it only adds to their stress and misery. As Ramona listens to the sickly sounds of the car, she realizes that she doesn’t feel well. The bedraggled car mirrors Ramona’s infirmity both in body and spirit.

“The terrible, horrible, dreadful, awful thing happened.”

Using hyperbole or exaggeration, Cleary highlights the fear of being sick at school. Ramona already worries about how her teacher and classmates perceive her. Vomiting on the floor in front of everyone is the peak of humiliation.

“‘How’s my girl?’ he inquired softly. ‘Sick,’ answered Ramona feeling pitiful. ‘How’s the car?’ ‘Still sick.’”

In another tender moment between father and daughter, Mr. Quimby checks on sickly Ramona after dealing with the run-down car. Cleary highlights the struggle of a parent worried about his sick child while also balancing other life stress.

“Ramona was cross with cat-food commercials. Cheaters! She was angry with the whole world.”

The cat food commercials entertain Ramona on her sick day. However, once her mother opens her eyes to the truth of the flashy advertising, Ramona’s attitude sours, and she moves from a place of innocence to awareness about life in the adult world. As the magic of childhood fades, Ramona feels angry and confused by a world in which she doesn’t understand how to exist. 

“Her father understood the importance of sharp-pointed crayons to someone who liked to draw.”

Ramona and her father share a love of drawing, and their connection to art is a recurring motif in the series. Ramona values her art supplies and often turns to coloring and drawing when she feels stressed. She uses her artistic skills to create a visually impressive book report.

“Besides, cream cost too much to give a cat. The most the old people would give a cat was half-and-half, she thought.”

Cleary uses close third-person narration, where she takes the reader inside Ramona’s mind. This quote exemplifies Ramona’s intelligence and straightforward way of seeing life. She struggles to connect with the assigned book because certain details, like feeding a cat expensive heavy cream, don’t add up in her mind. 

“[T]he six horses that pulled the Wells Fargo bank’s stagecoach across the deserts and over mountains.”

Cleary alludes to the real-life bank Wells Fargo and its iconic logo, which dates back to 1892. The company began delivering mail by stagecoach in the West after the gold rush. Its logo features six horses pulling a stagecoach. The reference is one of several cultural allusions in the novel.

“Ramona felt her face turn red behind her mask, and her ears, visible to the class, turned red as well.”

Though Ramona feels safe behind her mask, she can’t hide her reddening ears. She often enjoys being the center of attention, but doesn’t like the spotlight in this instance.

“She pressed her nose against the living-room window, watching the ceaseless rain pelting down as bare black branches clawed at the electric wires in front of the house.”

Cleary uses pathetic fallacy, where human feelings are ascribed to animals or non-sentient entities. In this case, the weather mimics the mood of the characters, and the blustery weather mirrors the emotional storm brewing inside the Quimby home. As the tension mounts between Beezus, Ramona, and her mother, the storm outside grows in intensity. Cleary anthropomorphizes the branches, giving them the human ability to claw and making them come alive.

“[I]n the fireplace a log sullenly refusing to burn.”

Both Beezus and Ramona are being stubborn in their ways. The log’s resistance to catching mimics the sisters’ obstinacy. Every element of family life feels fraught and tense, including the inanimate objects. 

“Nobody in the whole world understood how hard it was to go to the Kemps’ house after school when she did not have a bicycle.”

Ramona’s inner monologue reveals her deep fears and frustrations, and allows her to express her frustration over being Willa Jean’s companion. She longs to be like the other kids and bask in the freedom of unstructured playtime. Her lack of a bike also reminds her of her family’s financial struggles.

“The Quimby’s house seemed to have grown smaller during the day until it was no longer big enough to hold her family and all its problems.”

Ramona feels the full weight of her family’s stress, and her home feels physically and emotionally claustrophobic. Ironically, earlier in the series, the Quimbys expanded their home so Beezus and Ramona could have their own rooms. Now, their problems feel insurmountable and suffocating. In many cases, inanimate objects or entities—the weather, the log, and the home—reflect the characters’ inner states.