First half:
What acts of dispossession motivated Jackson’s writing of this novel? Is she concerned about more than one form of dispossession?
What are some distinctive features of the narrative’s descriptions of the labor necessary on a hacienda? Does this partly divert focus from the heroine/hero-centered nature of the plot?
What other aspects of the setting are carefully described? (plants, natural features, household)
What do we learn from the opening scene and the descriptions of Senora Moreno?
Do aspects of the plot and setting resemble those of a drama? (e. g., all the balcony and veranda scenes, the overhearing, jealous maids)
What are some plot motifs or themes which are recognizable from famous prior works? (e. g., Daniel Deronda, Mill on the Floss, Ivanhoe, David Copperfield)
How is the theme of Catholicism treated? From reading this book would one assume that the Catholic fathers’ rule of southern California was completely benign?
How realistic do you find the treatment of the native peoples? Is it sentimentalized? Stereotyped?
How are registers of language and dialect used throughout? Would these usages have been consistent with those of other novels of the time?
Ramona was first serialized in the Christian Union chapter by chapter. Can you see ways in which its construction was influenced by serialization?
Second half:
How is the notion of "home" used to increase the poignance of Alessandro and Ramona's travails? Where are Alessandro and Ramona happiest, and does this setting have symbolic significance?
To what extent is Felipe redeemed as a character at the end? What losses or changes of heart must he undergo for this to be possible? (death of mother frees him from Freudian bond)
What ethnic identifications are manifested in Ramona's shifts of name and the appearance of her two daughters? Is it significant that the child with the native name dies?
What role is served by presenting Indian sympathizers with the couple? By showing an Anglo family who are sincerely attached to the couple?
Does the mode of Alessandro's death fit consistently within the plot? Do you think the horse-stealing is introduced to give some more socially acceptable motivation for the murder? What do we later learn about Alessandro's behavior when accosted by his assassin?
What do you think about the romantic closure in which Ramona reunites with Felipe? As a half-native wife, would it have been equally plausible for her to marry another native?
What is demonstrated by the couple's imminent move to Mexico?
What have been the virtues and limitations of this novel? Which aspects of its plot and tone seem designed to please -- and to avoid offending -- an Anglo audience whose compatriots have engaged/are engaging in what is now termed the "California genocide"?