Ramona Forever

In Chapters 7-10, the novel reaches its positive resolution as the obstacles presented throughout the narrative are either overcome or shown as manageable challenges. In particular, the author portrays everyday family conflict in a realistic way as the Quimby family copes with the stress of wedding planning and preparing for the new baby, highlighting Children’s Perspectives on Relationships. Aunt Bea and Uncle Hobart have a spat about the church flowers, leading Hobart to wonder aloud why Bea would marry him: “Aunt Bea began by sounding like a teacher. ‘Hobart has asked a good question,’ she said with a pleasant smile before she turned and shouted, ‘Because I love you, you cootie!’ She then burst into tears” (109). As always, Ramona is eager to help resolve the conflict and make everyone happy again, suggesting that they simply gather flowers from the neighborhood for the ceremony, and helping to smooth things over. This miniature happy ending prefigures the later major resolution of the novel’s narrative arc, in particular that a solution—practical or emotional—is inside Ramona’s control.

Ramona has her own outburst when Howie makes light of Aunt Bea’s wedding with an irreverent song: 

Except for his grumpy expression, Ramona thought he actually looked very handsome, until he began to sing, very, very softly, ‘Here comes the bride, big fat and wide. Here comes the groom, skinny as a broom. Here comes the usher, the old toilet-flusher.’ ‘Howie, you shut up!’ ordered Ramona with all the ferocity she could summon in a whisper (119). 

Ramona’s earnest efforts to support Aunt Bea’s wedding show her love for her aunt and her desire for those around her to get along.

In these chapters, Cleary concludes her theme on Children’s Perspectives on Relationships by showing how Ramona’s feelings toward Hobart continue to change for the better. Ramona warms up to her new uncle when he generously treats her and the other kids to ice cream. The author writes, “‘Five double scoops of chocolate mandarin-orange dipped in nuts,’ was Uncle Hobart’s order. ‘Double scoop with nuts. Beezus and Ramona were impressed” (100). Hobart shows his gratitude to Ramona by thanking her for “saving the day” by finding the wedding ring (126). Though Ramona is “ashamed that she had not been nicer” to Hobart (126), she is able to overcome her embarrassment and thank him for his generosity to her, signaling a fresh start for the relationship. Ramona admits to him, “It’s nice, sort of, having an uncle” (127). By showing how Hobart’s sincerity and generosity help Ramona accept him as one of the family, the author encourages the reader to see their relationship from Ramona’s perspective.

In these passages, Ramona also feels closer to her sister Beezus as they enjoy the experience of being their Aunt Bea’s bridesmaids and waiting for their new sister to arrive. This adds to the story’s theme on The Bond Between Siblings as the Quimby girls support each other through these big life changes. When Ramona is upset by her mother’s absence, Beezus is there to comfort her: “To her own surprise, Ramona burst into tears and buried her face in a dish towel. ‘I just want mother to come home,’ she wept” (134). When Beezus “put her arms around Ramona, something she had never done before” (134), Ramona appreciates her sister’s encouragement and feels better. Soon Ramona has another sibling to enjoy, her little sister Roberta. Ramona is surprised by Roberta’s tiny and awkward body. While she doesn’t think that the baby is “darling” or “adorable,” she does find it amazing that she was once a newborn, too. Cleary continues to add her trademark humor to the story, especially from the subversive perspective of the children. For instance, Beezus’s quick thinking solves their shoe problems as she “dropped the two pairs of slippers into a large bouquet of rhododendron blossoms” (120). In this last part, the humor increasingly portrays a shared moment between Ramona and other characters rather than the dramatic irony of Ramona’s own private thoughts or misunderstandings. In this way, the novel’s final chapters transition from a focus on Ramona’s sense of isolation and challenges to the supports and pleasures of family bonds.

The arrival of Roberta also rounds off the story’s theme of The Highs and Lows of Growing Up and provides the final narrative resolution, as the new baby has been the novel’s most consistent arc of tension. Instead, meeting Roberta makes Ramona reflect on how every stage of life comes with its challenges. She insightfully remarks, “‘I think it is hard work to be a baby.’ Ramona spoke as if she had discovered something unknown to the rest of the world. With her words came unexpected love and sympathy for the tiny person in her mother’s arms” (145). By considering how she has grown through so many challenges, from infancy and early childhood through to the present, Ramona reflects on the difficulties of the last few years, such as “loose teeth, real sore throats, quarrels, misunderstandings with her teachers, longing for a bicycle her family could not afford, worrying when her parents bickered” (146). This reflection makes Ramona feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for coming so far, saying, “And now look at me! I’m wonderful me!” (146). This emphatically happy ending teaches that highs and lows are a part of everyone’s childhood, and inspires young readers to adopt Ramona’s sense of optimism and self-belief.