Erika Djuric
English 226
Teresa Coronado
9 December 2014
Values, Life,
and Education of 1855
Ruth Elmer:
A Tale for School Girls was published
by the American Sunday-School Union with no listed author. This inspirational
book was published in 1855. The American Sunday-School Union was created in
1824 and was the first Sunday school in the country created for missionary
purposes (The American 2). This union was composed of ministers who often were
authors. This makes it a possibility that Ruth
Elmer: A Tale for School Girls may have been written by a minister of the
time for the youth of their Sunday school society. The American Sunday-School
Union was successful in writing thousands of children’s books which were very
uncommon prior to the union’s creation. This union also provided Sunday school
lessons for thousands of children each year, provided families with Bibles,
children’s books, and papers in the name of God’s word (21). Many of these
published books “taught that any problem, secular or spiritual, could be broken
into manageable components and thereby mastered; and they encouraged the hope
that under the sponsorship of God and within the value system of Protestant
Christianity, effort would equal success” (Gillespie 5). Ruth
Elmer: A Tale for School Girls is a particularly important book of the
nineteenth century because it gives readers insight into how education was for
females and the struggles that they had to face. It is a book that can serve as
a guide to acting morally as well as being a reminder of where family, faith,
and education can lead people. After
reading this book, these values may be instilled upon children because they
want to live a happy life. Ruth Elmer: A
Tale for School Girls is an important book to have in literature because it
is relevant to today’s society and helps both adult and young readers to
understand the culture of 1855 through prominent family values, educational
values, religious values and differing reactions when facing adversity.
Ruth Elmer: A Tale for School Girls features a young woman, Ruth Elmer, who dares to go
outside of what was considered normal and expectations of society by having
high educational values. Even though Ruth and her family experienced rough
times, she was still able to prove the readers’ expectations wrong. She shows
that what is “expected” and what is “normal” is different for everyone.
Everything depends on the way a person is raised and the experiences that they
have. Ruth’s type of character may appeal to young audiences of today’s society
because a strong, courageous female character is frequently seen in both films
and books. Ruth said, in regards to school, “I love it because – because it
does me good, and because I hope it will make me so that I can do good to others,
some time” (American 8). This is important because Ruth is admitting she wants
more out of life than an education, she actually wants to use it. This is
outside of the norm because girls were never expected to further their
education. They were expected to be mothers or housewives. It is also not a
typical 11 year old response, which presents Ruth as a mature young lady. This
is an important aspect to consider when selecting books to be canonized because
books should always leave the reader thinking and present them with a new type
of knowledge. In this case the knowledge gained from reading the text is that
even back in the 1850’s, when women didn’t have rights, they still had dreams,
goals, and desires. This is relatable to today because, though women now have
rights, some people struggle daily with finding the confidence to stand up for
themselves and their beliefs. Ruth is a character who is desirable in real
life. The Sunday-School Union created a protagonist that young readers could
find relatable, but also that they could strive to be like. So, not only does
this book show the culture of 1855 through educational values, but also prompts
readers to compare themselves to Ruth , opening up the possibility for change.
Along with education,
family values are present throughout the book. Although Ruth Elmer did not want
to be a housewife, she still had very strong family values. She was raised to
respect and obey her parents. This can be seen when she says “I love to study,
gain knowledge, and to please my parent…surely we ought to try to make our
parents happy” (12). Ruth was not selfish when it came to family either. She
did not abandon them when her father lost his money; she worked as a school
teacher to help support her family. Even when times were rough, Ruth was able
to come through for them. This type of sacrifice is so important to acknowledge
because people of today’s society seem to be far more selfish than they were in
the nineteenth century. So, a reason this book should be canonized is because it
allows readers of all ages to realize what was important in life before so that
they can compare it to what is viewed as important in life today. It also could
provoke interest because it gives readers insight into how children in the time
period were raised to behave and act. It may help readers understand that times
were not always like they are today. There were no smart phones, or technology
for that matter, allowing for more abundant quality family time. This book
should be a part of today’s literature because it allows people to think of
life outside the age of technology and realize that other cultures did and do
exist.
Along with strong
family values, Ruth Elmer had a strong sense of faith. From the very beginning
she expresses her faith through her words, actions and behavior. She says “God
will call us to account for the way we spend our time” (10). This shows Ruth’s
motivation to be the best daughter, student, and overall person she can be. When
she says, “You were not created just to please yourself” it shows that Ruth had
a knowledge and faith from a very young age (18). Ruth frequently quotes the
Bible. These quotes show the belief system that Ruth grew up on. These beliefs
influenced how she treated other people, fairly, and with care and love. Even
though she was hurt by not being invited to the student’s picnic, she listened
to her mother’s advice and was a bigger person who forgave Sophy and the
participants in the bullying. She even helped to teach Sophy even though she
was cruel to Ruth (42). This shows that Ruth’s faith allowed her to set aside
her negative feelings and channel them into positive behavior. The differing
behaviors of Sophy and Ruth were likely due to the ways they were raised and
the values and beliefs they grew up with. When relating this to the culture of
1855, it shows that faith was very important for some people because when times
get rough and people feel like they lose everything, their faith may always be
there to guide them. It also shows that not everyone has the same beliefs and
that people placed faith on different priority levels. This adds another reason
as to why this book is relatable: it shows that, like today, everyone’s faith
means something different to them. This makes the text not only relatable, but
also gives insight to the role religion played in the US in the past, making it
an important piece of literature to read.
Another reason that
reading this text is so important is that Ruth never gave up, no matter what
life threw at her. This optimistic outlook on life can be contrasted with
Sophy’s attitude towards life’s twists and turns. Sophy was very negative about
her schooling process. She wound up with a more unhappy life than did Ruth who
kept her head up and plowed through the tough times. Ruth also had the power of
forgiveness, which was prompted by her faith. This allowed her to be a more
positive person, which can be seen when she says, in regards to why she was
being nice to Sophy after Sophy was so mean, “Oh, never mind that, that is all
past” (42). Ruth did not dwell on the past and continued living her life more
happily. Ruth’s actions showed that she assumed her mother’s beliefs that holding
a grudge will not get people anywhere. This quote alone gives a reason as to
why this text should be read because attitude is everything. It shows a few of
the ways that people acted back in the 1800’s.
Some people today still act the way Ruth did, and some have the same
attitude and behavior as Sophy. This makes the text relevant to today’s
society. This text is important because it show that even though the book was
written and set in the 1800’s many of the different outlooks on life remain
true today.
Ruth Elmer: A Tale for School Girls should be read today because it gives both adults
and children the opportunity to see how important an education was in the
nineteenth century and that even though schools were gender specific in that
era, children still had many of the same outlooks about learning as children do
today. The book also shows how important faith was, and that along with the
growing need for education, can be easily related to today. Ruth Elmer can be
seen as a role model to kids today. She proposed an important moral message
throughout the book- making the effort to be nice (even when difficult) will
gain respect from others. Her displays of morality are important because of the
behavioral history it provides. She showed that dedication to family, religion,
and education pushed her towards having a happy, successful life. The mention
of bullying and excluding others, though mentioned only briefly, also allows
for the readers to relate to the story. This is an important book to be
included in today’s elementary/ adolescent literature because it can teach
children both a moral lesson, but also it gives them knowledge of faith,
education, and behaviors seen in history. It allows for young minds to learn
from an early age about how things are both similar and different in today’s
society compared to in history. Adults should also read this book because they
can read the book and compare their memories of childhood to the lives of the
children presented in the book. It should appeal to them because it can allow
them to see if their childhoods were at all similar. The historical views of
the education system that were presented, differing moral values, and various
levels of faith seen should all give people today motivation to read Ruth Elmer: a Tale for School Girls
because most of the ideas and characteristics are still relevant today.
Works Cited
American Sunday-School Union. Ruth Elmer: a Tale for School Girls. Philadelphia: American
Sunday-School Union, 1855. Print.
Gillespie, Joanna. "Schooling through
Fiction." Children's Literature 14.1 (1986): 61-81. Project MUSE. Web. 27
Sep. 2014.
The American Sunday School Union. Its Origin, History, and Work. Chicago:
American Sunday-School Union, 1898. PDF.
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