Susan Kushner
Encyclopedia
Susan Kushner is a fictional character
in the Ramona series of novels by Beverly Cleary
.
, and when Ramona starts kindergarten
and when she first pulls her hair, they become rivals through much of the series. In Ramona the Pest
, Susan's S
's look like worm
s crawling, as many students with S's in their names in Ms. Binney's class.
after Howie played the trumpet in Howie and Ramona's parade. When Susan was given applesauce and Fig Newtons, she, along with Howie and all the others, refuse to eat them because of Ramona telling the partygoers that there are worms inside the snack pastries when the filling actually consists of figs, causing the children to scream in disgust and rebel against Ramona before their parents came to the Quimby household to pick them up.
Ramona is fascinated by Susan's ringlets when she sees her on the first day of kindergarten. She longs to pull one glowing tress and see if it "boings." During a game on the first day, Ramona runs by Susan and can't resist. She pulls one of Susan's curls and doesn't let go fast enough. She ends up pulling Susan's hair and gets in trouble.
In first grade, Susan copies Ramona's paper bag owl. The teacher holds up Susan's owl to show the class how pleased she is with her work. Ramona is so angry with Susan for copying and getting all the credit that she crumples up Susan's owl. She gets in trouble for that, too, and is forced to apologize to Susan in front of the entire class the following day.
Later, it becomes difficult for Ramona because her parents become friends with Susan's parents. They are expected to be nice to each other. It is ultimately revealed that Susan is somewhat insecure and has less self-esteem than is assumed by the end of Ramona's World
, and a lot of high expectations placed on her (mainly by her parents), which further depresses her. At her 10th birthday celebration, Ramona (and her best friend by that point, Daisy), realize the extent of this, and determine that helping Susan (who is also present, but not enjoying herself) realize that they can all be friends, despite their differences, is the best approach.
, Susan is portrayed by Sierra McCormick and seen as more of a bully than anywhere else in the series.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the Ramona series of novels by Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary
Beverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
.
Fictional character biography
Susan Kushner is a little girl with long blonde ringlets. Ramona first meets Susan in preschool, in Beezus and RamonaBeezus and Ramona
Beezus and Ramona is a 1955 children's novel written by Beverly Cleary. It is the first of Cleary's books that focus on Ramona Quimby and her sister Beatrice . Beezus and Ramona is told from Beezus' point of view...
, and when Ramona starts kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
and when she first pulls her hair, they become rivals through much of the series. In Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Pest
Ramona the Pest is the first of Beverly Cleary's books to focus on Ramona Quimby as the protagonist. This children's book chronicles the adventures of Ramona's first few months at kindergarten...
, Susan's S
S
S is the nineteenth letter in the ISO basic Latin alphabet.-History: Semitic Šîn represented a voiceless postalveolar fricative . Greek did not have this sound, so the Greek sigma came to represent...
's look like worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s crawling, as many students with S's in their names in Ms. Binney's class.
Relationship between Susan and Ramona
Susan was one of the many preschoolers invited to Ramona's party in the first book, who wanted to play with the vacuum cleanerVacuum cleaner
A vacuum cleaner, commonly referred to as a "vacuum," is a device that uses an air pump to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt, usually from floors, and optionally from other surfaces as well. The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal...
after Howie played the trumpet in Howie and Ramona's parade. When Susan was given applesauce and Fig Newtons, she, along with Howie and all the others, refuse to eat them because of Ramona telling the partygoers that there are worms inside the snack pastries when the filling actually consists of figs, causing the children to scream in disgust and rebel against Ramona before their parents came to the Quimby household to pick them up.
Ramona is fascinated by Susan's ringlets when she sees her on the first day of kindergarten. She longs to pull one glowing tress and see if it "boings." During a game on the first day, Ramona runs by Susan and can't resist. She pulls one of Susan's curls and doesn't let go fast enough. She ends up pulling Susan's hair and gets in trouble.
In first grade, Susan copies Ramona's paper bag owl. The teacher holds up Susan's owl to show the class how pleased she is with her work. Ramona is so angry with Susan for copying and getting all the credit that she crumples up Susan's owl. She gets in trouble for that, too, and is forced to apologize to Susan in front of the entire class the following day.
Later, it becomes difficult for Ramona because her parents become friends with Susan's parents. They are expected to be nice to each other. It is ultimately revealed that Susan is somewhat insecure and has less self-esteem than is assumed by the end of Ramona's World
Ramona's World
Ramona's World is a 1999 juvenile novel written by Beverly Cleary. The current edition was illustrated by Tracy Dockray. It is part of the Ramona Quimby series...
, and a lot of high expectations placed on her (mainly by her parents), which further depresses her. At her 10th birthday celebration, Ramona (and her best friend by that point, Daisy), realize the extent of this, and determine that helping Susan (who is also present, but not enjoying herself) realize that they can all be friends, despite their differences, is the best approach.
Film
In Ramona and BeezusRamona and Beezus
Ramona and Beezus is a 2010 Fox-Walden film adaptation of the Ramona series of novels by Beverly Cleary. The film's title derives from Beezus and Ramona, the first of Cleary's Ramona books, though the plot is mostly based on the sequels, particularly Ramona Forever and Ramona's World.-Plot:The film...
, Susan is portrayed by Sierra McCormick and seen as more of a bully than anywhere else in the series.