Stories: Underestimated Artifacts
Stories are written with a certain purpose in mind. Ramona was written by Helen Hunt Jackson after she had been introduced to California tribal cultural and experienced the lowliness Native American Indians had been subjected to. Jackson wrote this story to bring awareness to the inhumanity shown towards American Indians. Within this essay, I am going to explain how Ramona can be considered and artifact of history as well as explore a few things this story teaches us about history and how it does so in a different way than you would experience through a history book.
The story of Ramona was written in the year 1884. At this time in American history, American Indians were forced, against their will, to either conform with general society or stay on designated Indian reservations. Their entire standard of living had been reconstructed in a far from positive way. Jackson attempted to elicit an emotional response from the reader to view American Indians in a different way; to humanize them, by showing an interpersonal connection between the reader and the characters, through a love story. By Google definition, an artifact is “an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest” (Google). By this simple definition, it is clear and obvious to see the story of Ramona as an artifact of history.
The content of the story is deeper than a forbidden romance. For the purpose of this essay, I will contain my analysis on the short excerpt of Ramona which concludes just as Alessandro, Ramona’s forbidden love, first lays eyes on Ramona. The history the reader absorbs from the small portion of Chapter 4 is that of the negative feelings towards Native Americans, from the Catholic population in Southern California, the social status among households and ethnicities, as well how as simple things such as transportation were a luxury.
An elderly priest was traveling a day’s journey by foot. He was thinking to himself about the sadness he felt over losing his Missions. “He had lost heart; stretched out wearily as he brooded over sad memories and still sadder anticipations, -- the downfall of the Missions, the loss of their vast estates, and the growing power of the ungodly in the land.” (pg. 269, 270). Our history books teach us very one-sided “facts”. With the help of this story, we can unravel a different side of the facts. Through researching “the downfall of the California Missions”, I was directed to the California Missions Resource Center and found that “in 1831-32 the missions were “secularized” by the Mexican government. Land was distributed to the Indians (most of who were quickly hoodwinked out of their holdings.)” (Why Did the Mission System End). With this knowledge, I am now able to understand the priest’s frustration toward the Indians and why he held them responsible for the Missions demise. He felt he had been robbed by the Indians as well as the government who granted “the ungodly” the land; however, he did not know that many of these tribes had lost their designated land just as quickly as they had been granted it (pg. 270). The Indians, too, were hit with a terrible blow.
It is also important to address the idea of beauty expressed within chapter four. Ramona was of Indian and Caucasian ancestry and was fostered in a Mexican culture. She describes the character Felipe, the full Mexican son of her foster mother, by exclaiming to herself, “How beautiful Felipe is!” “How much handsomer brown eyes are than blue! I wish my eyes were the color of Felipe’s!” (pg. 273). She would compare his favorable features to her “ugly” ones. All the while the author describes Ramona as “unconscious of her own beauty”, furthermore, Felipe is equally infatuated with her beauty (pg. 273). It is apparent that Ramona has been raised within a culture of anger and dislike towards Indians that has cultivated a level of self-loathing towards the part of herself that resembles Indian characteristics. She is unable to find the beauty within herself and feels that others could not love her or could not love her as much as they might love someone who is not of Indian descent.
While referencing the beauty of Felipe, Ramona states, “If I had been beautiful like that, she would have liked me better.” (273). She then continued to list distinguishable characteristics of her Indian genetics, such as her thick, dark eyebrows to his delicate eyebrows. Ramona believed that her foster mother would have been able to love her if she was not part Indian. While her foster mother still provided the same accommodations as Felipe, Ramona could feel the lack of love from her. Ramona was still known as a “Señorita” of the house, but there is a difference between status and love. Ramona had made herself believe this lack of love stemmed from the fact that Ramona was of Indian descent. Because of this Ramona resented her heritage and viewed her physical features as ugly.
The relationship between Ramona, who was a Señorita of the household, and Margarita, the maid, gives the reader a sense of the expectations of the house maids of this time and of this culture. Margarita had been responsible to care for an altar-cloth which she had badly torn. Margarita was terrified to admit this to the lady of the house; Señora Moreno, Ramona’s foster mother. It is unclear if Margarita is afraid of a physical punishment, but it is clear that she did not want to disappoint Señora Moreno. Ramona sees her terror and immediately tries to help the maid and mend the cloth which was to be used for mass the next morning. Even though Ramona is treated as one of the Señora’s own children, Ramona still sees herself as an outsider and is compelled out of compassion to help Margarita in her time of desperation. This segment regarding the alter-cloth also gives the reader insight of the importance to the maids of maintaining favor with the head of the household, or in this situation Señora Moreno. “I prayed to the Virgin to let me die. The Señora will never forgive me.” (pg. 274). Stated by Margarita to Ramona when she felt she had completely ruined a handmade cloth sewn by Señora Moreno many years ago. The thought of losing Señora Moreno’s favor was crippling to Margarita.
The story of Ramona was written in the year 1884. At this time in American history, American Indians were forced, against their will, to either conform with general society or stay on designated Indian reservations. Their entire standard of living had been reconstructed in a far from positive way. Jackson attempted to elicit an emotional response from the reader to view American Indians in a different way; to humanize them, by showing an interpersonal connection between the reader and the characters, through a love story. By Google definition, an artifact is “an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest” (Google). By this simple definition, it is clear and obvious to see the story of Ramona as an artifact of history.
The content of the story is deeper than a forbidden romance. For the purpose of this essay, I will contain my analysis on the short excerpt of Ramona which concludes just as Alessandro, Ramona’s forbidden love, first lays eyes on Ramona. The history the reader absorbs from the small portion of Chapter 4 is that of the negative feelings towards Native Americans, from the Catholic population in Southern California, the social status among households and ethnicities, as well how as simple things such as transportation were a luxury.
An elderly priest was traveling a day’s journey by foot. He was thinking to himself about the sadness he felt over losing his Missions. “He had lost heart; stretched out wearily as he brooded over sad memories and still sadder anticipations, -- the downfall of the Missions, the loss of their vast estates, and the growing power of the ungodly in the land.” (pg. 269, 270). Our history books teach us very one-sided “facts”. With the help of this story, we can unravel a different side of the facts. Through researching “the downfall of the California Missions”, I was directed to the California Missions Resource Center and found that “in 1831-32 the missions were “secularized” by the Mexican government. Land was distributed to the Indians (most of who were quickly hoodwinked out of their holdings.)” (Why Did the Mission System End). With this knowledge, I am now able to understand the priest’s frustration toward the Indians and why he held them responsible for the Missions demise. He felt he had been robbed by the Indians as well as the government who granted “the ungodly” the land; however, he did not know that many of these tribes had lost their designated land just as quickly as they had been granted it (pg. 270). The Indians, too, were hit with a terrible blow.
It is also important to address the idea of beauty expressed within chapter four. Ramona was of Indian and Caucasian ancestry and was fostered in a Mexican culture. She describes the character Felipe, the full Mexican son of her foster mother, by exclaiming to herself, “How beautiful Felipe is!” “How much handsomer brown eyes are than blue! I wish my eyes were the color of Felipe’s!” (pg. 273). She would compare his favorable features to her “ugly” ones. All the while the author describes Ramona as “unconscious of her own beauty”, furthermore, Felipe is equally infatuated with her beauty (pg. 273). It is apparent that Ramona has been raised within a culture of anger and dislike towards Indians that has cultivated a level of self-loathing towards the part of herself that resembles Indian characteristics. She is unable to find the beauty within herself and feels that others could not love her or could not love her as much as they might love someone who is not of Indian descent.
While referencing the beauty of Felipe, Ramona states, “If I had been beautiful like that, she would have liked me better.” (273). She then continued to list distinguishable characteristics of her Indian genetics, such as her thick, dark eyebrows to his delicate eyebrows. Ramona believed that her foster mother would have been able to love her if she was not part Indian. While her foster mother still provided the same accommodations as Felipe, Ramona could feel the lack of love from her. Ramona was still known as a “Señorita” of the house, but there is a difference between status and love. Ramona had made herself believe this lack of love stemmed from the fact that Ramona was of Indian descent. Because of this Ramona resented her heritage and viewed her physical features as ugly.
The relationship between Ramona, who was a Señorita of the household, and Margarita, the maid, gives the reader a sense of the expectations of the house maids of this time and of this culture. Margarita had been responsible to care for an altar-cloth which she had badly torn. Margarita was terrified to admit this to the lady of the house; Señora Moreno, Ramona’s foster mother. It is unclear if Margarita is afraid of a physical punishment, but it is clear that she did not want to disappoint Señora Moreno. Ramona sees her terror and immediately tries to help the maid and mend the cloth which was to be used for mass the next morning. Even though Ramona is treated as one of the Señora’s own children, Ramona still sees herself as an outsider and is compelled out of compassion to help Margarita in her time of desperation. This segment regarding the alter-cloth also gives the reader insight of the importance to the maids of maintaining favor with the head of the household, or in this situation Señora Moreno. “I prayed to the Virgin to let me die. The Señora will never forgive me.” (pg. 274). Stated by Margarita to Ramona when she felt she had completely ruined a handmade cloth sewn by Señora Moreno many years ago. The thought of losing Señora Moreno’s favor was crippling to Margarita.
The story of Ramona is truly filled with historical artifacts. These artifacts are hidden within the character’s expressions and feelings of themselves and of others. Their expressions and feelings divulge truths of how history affected them and how it may have affected other people like them. This story, while fiction, was written from plausible experiences of a difficult time in our country’s history. This story was written to bring awareness to an otherwise disregarded and deteriorating quality of life for Native American Indians. It is important to read about history and learn of it through the eyes of someone who has experienced it directly. Personal experience is not something you can learn from a history book, but it truly is a priceless artifact that we should treasure.
Works Cited
Hicks, Jack, and James D. Houston. “Helen Hunt Jackson” The Literature of California, University of California Press, 2000, pp. 268–278.
“Why Did the Mission System
End?”. California Missions Resource Center, www.missionscalifornia.com/ate/why-mission-system-end.html.
Hello Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your second project of the semester. The story Ramona was awhile back and I had forgotten what it was all about. However, after reading your project I have a better understanding of it now and it was nice to have facts from the story played into your project. The one thing you may be able to improve is less summarizing of the story. I summarized a lot on my first project and got some feedback saying I should do less. Besides that, I think your project number 2 came out very good and it was easy to read and follow your thesis throughout the writing.
Hey Amanda, this project was very interesting! I actually don't really remember reading this story so it was nice to read your project because now I want to go back and read the story and utilize your thoughts on it to get a better understanding. I agree with Logan, in the fact that you summarized a lot and I believe if you used more analysis as opposed to summaries then it would help us understand your thesis a little bit better. Either way, it was a really good project!
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, this story does fit the definition of "artifact" It is made by a human and it is of historical interest. Can you better describe how the author of "Ramona" humanizes Native Americans. It is a shame that that statement has to be made, but we know how we have dehumanized them. Maybe you can focus on what you wrote as, "The history the reader absorbs from the small portion of Chapter 4 is that of the negative feelings towards Native Americans, specifically from the Mexican population.." Why was this so?
Hi Amanda. Great job on the introduction. I like how you explained what you would write about. In the first paragraph I liked how you mentioned the author was trying to get an emotional response from the reader towards the Native Americans, is a positive way. In the third paragraph what if you elaborate on how the Mexicans negatively view the Native Americans? It is great you deciding to google for your project as well. Your fourth paragraph was very strong, and you elaborated well. I am confused in your fifth paragraph you write that Ramona likes Felipe's brown eyes but then you say it is obvious Ramona was raised in a culture who hates Indians. I do not understand because Indians have brown eyes too so how does this support that? I enjoyed reading your project. This is great for it being your first revision. I look forward to reading your second revision of it.
ReplyDeleteHello Amanda, I think that your introduction is fantastic it had me drawn in the minute I started reading it. I think the stories are written for the truth to be hidden. I also love how you explained everything you broke it down and helped the reader understand what was going on. For some reason I ask you when I read this now. I completely agree with you when you say that we should see history through someone else's eyes. To be honest I don't really think that people can speak on certain subjects unless they actually live through it.That's why when you talk about how people can't understand anything through textbooks I totally agree with you. I also love how you said that the artifacts are hidden within the characters expressions. You're a really good writer keep up the good work I loved this. I feel as if now someone understands how I feel about certain things..
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda. In regard to your second project final edit: I noticed you introduce what you will write about in the first paragraph. I do not think you need to introduce what you will write about because the thesis pretty much says it. I like how in your second paragraph you stated that the author wants the readers to see the American Indians in a positive light. Your third paragraph was hard for me to understand at first, but after rereading it I understood. Great choice of words. I like how all your paragraphs are not too long. If they were longer, I would have lost focus. In the fourth paragraph you mentioned that our history books only teach us one-sided "facts", I agree with you one hundred percent. I did not realize that Mexicans hated native Americans before reading your project. Therefore, Ramona started to hate Native Americans as well because she was also Native American. It is sad that her Foster mother made her feel less than. After, reading your project I understood better what this story was about. I really enjoyed reading your project, you did a great job! I look forward to reading your next project.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your constructive criticism as well as your positive remarks. I have never seen myself as much of a writer, in fact, I struggle with reading and writing --it is a constant battle. This class has forced more reading and writing from me than I have ever done and for that I am thankful. Even though we are not given a letter grade on each submission, we are held accountable to ourselves as well as each other to read, write and respond. So, thank you for reading and responding. Your comments are appreciated!
ReplyDelete