Week 5 Literary Analysis of Ramona (Jackson)

1. The character I would like to discuss this week the protagonist, and the person who the book is named after, Ramona. I found Ramona's characterization to be very interesting for a couple of reasons. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that she is beautiful and doesn't know it. Everyone she comes across thinks she is gorgeous, including the 80+ year old Father Salvierderra, who's "blood was not too old to not move quicker at the sight of [her]." (Jackson 272). And although everyone seems to think she is beautiful, she looks in the mirror and sees only her imperfections, comparing herself to Felipe. I found her insecurity to be a very familiar feeling in many peoples lives, especially at a young age.

Another aspect of Ramona's character that I enjoyed was her kindness and willingness to help others. Ramona first meets with Father Salvierderra and moves branches out of the old man's way while they walked into town. She then notices that her maid (and friend) Margarita is crying and goes out of her way to help fix a mistake. When you think of a maid-mistress relationship, you do not usually think of the mistress helping the maid to fix a mistake she has made, and I really liked that about Ramona, she has a kind heart and truly wants to help everyone she comes in contact with and make their life better, rather than focusing on her own wants and need. I think that Ramona makes a very entertaining protagonist, because she has it all; brains, beauty, and a kind soul. I enjoyed her character in this chapter that was in our text, and it makes me want to read the entire book to learn more about her.

One theme that I noticed in this chapter of Ramona, was that of young love. I must admit, I skipped over the introduction to this story before reading, so when I first read the story I thought for sure that Ramona and Felipe would be the vessel for young love. Ramona thinks Felipe is beautiful and always compares her own looks to his, she thinks that he is one of a kind, and stares into his eyes with intensity. Felipe is obviously in love with Ramona, but is afraid to tell her, and constantly wonders what she sees when their eyes meet, when in reality the love she has for him is not romantic. Then at the end of the chapter we are introduced to the man Ramona will end up falling in love with, a Native American boy named Alessandro, who felt love at first sight when he was watching the unknowing Ramona down by the water. This chapter sets up a love triangle that I am actually interested in seeing the progression of. I see the theme of young love and how powerful it is in this chapter of the book, and it makes me want to read the rest of it.

One thing I noticed is how the time period this was written in (late 1800's) affected the language of the reading. The use of the word Indian is not really accepted in today's culture, where people insist on being called "Native Americans", however in the time period this was written it was the norm, in fact the author Helen Hunt Jackson had a lot of respect for Native American culture and appalled at the treatment of their people, yet in this book she commonly refers to them as "Indians". I always find it interesting how language is constantly evolving, and this is one example of that right here.