Raymie Nightingale

“Maybe it was a fairy tale that hadn’t been told yet.”

Raymie is referring to Mrs. Sylvester, who looks like a fairy tale character standing by Swip Pond feeding the swans. This is a prophetic thought since this book progresses like a fairy tale, filled with trials, horrors, missions, and an uplifting ending that happens at Swip Pond.

“Have you ever in your life come to realize that everything, absolutely everything, depends on you?”

Louisiana asks Raymie this question soon after they meet, echoing exactly how Raymie feels about getting her father back. Raymie’s soul is mentioned for the first time after she hears Louisiana ask this in response to meeting a like-minded person.

“‘People are doing that pathetic kind of thing all the time,’ said Beverly. ‘Creeping down hallways in the dark with their shoes in their hand, leaving without telling anyone good-bye.’”

Beverly has not told Raymie that her father abandoned her when she was younger. Beverly says this in response to Raymie’s confession about her father, leaving Raymie confused and hurt and the reader with an inkling of what Beverly is referring to. 

“For some reason those words felt like a punch to the stomach. They felt like someone sneaking down a hallway in the middle of the night, carrying their shoes in their hand—leaving without saying goodbye.”

This is Raymie’s reaction to Beverly, who has just left another unsuccessful lesson with the words “You’re never going to see me again” (37). Raymie’s response to that threat is visceral, and she immediately pictures the identical dark abandonment image Beverly previously painted.

“Mr. Staphopoulos only ever asked one question: ‘are you going to be a problem causer or a problem solver?’”

This question underlies the entire narrative and is relevant for each of the girls. Beverly starts as a problem causer but becomes a problem solver; Raymie initially believes she has to solve all problems by herself but eventually realizes that not all problems need to be solved; and Louisiana, a natural problem solver, also learns that problems do not need to be solved alone.

“She felt a wave of panic. Her father had only been gone for two days, and she couldn’t remember his face. She had to bring him back!”

This quote illustrates the strength with which Raymie believes that she must get her father back. She is still at the point where the thought of him never returning is terrifying.

“It was the most terrifying noise Raimy had ever heard in her life. It was the sound of pure pain, pure need. Alice Nebbley’s scream pierced something inside of Raymie. She felt her soul whoosh into nothingness.”

This moment captures both the pain and the neglect in Golden Glen. It also illustrates Raymie’s empathic response to someone else’s suffering, reflected in her perception of her soul.

“That is the first rule of baton twirling, to stand as if you value yourself and your place in the world.”

These are words spoken by Ida Nee to the three girls. Their message is relevant for Raymie, who suffers from crippling self-doubt, and for all three girls, who are trying to find their place in the world. It is also ironic since Ida Nee has lost all sense of her value and place in the world, turning to alcohol and living in the past.

“We’re us. And we’re the Rancheros. We’ll rescue each other.”

Louisiana has just come up with the name “the Three Rancheros” for their little band of three friends. Even though Beverly balks at Louisiana saying they will rescue each other, this turns out to be true, both literally—Raymie saves Louisiana’s life—and figuratively, since their friendship rescues each of them from emotional despair.

“‘I don’t want anything,’ said Beverly. ‘I don’t believe you,’ said Louisiana. ‘Everybody wants something; Everybody wishes.’ ‘I don’t wish. I sabotage.’”

This quote exemplifies the two different ways in which Louisiana and Beverly approach the world—Louisiana with hopes and wishes, and Beverly fiercely independent with a jaded, bitter outlook.

“Don’t get all upset. That’s just how things go. People leave and they don’t come back. Somebody has to tell you the truth.”

Raymie has just told Beverly that her father has not come back, and this quote is Beverly’s response. It is representative of Beverly’s pessimistic but also realistic view of life, and it is though this matter-of-fact friendship with Beverly that Raymie gains some perspective on her father’s departure.

“Raymie understood that, technically, she should be afraid. She was in a car that was being driven too fast by a person who was invisible. Plus the car sounded like it might fall apart at any minute.

But Louisiana was on one side of her—with her Bunny barrettes and her sequence and the Florence Nightingale book in her arms; and Beverly was on the other side of her—bruised, grubby-handed, and smelling like some strange combination of motor oil and cotton candy. And there was a gigantic wind blowing into the car, and Raymie’s soul was as big as it had ever been before and she felt not one bit afraid.”

This quote encompasses underlying theme of fear being overcome by trust, friendship, and hope. Raymie has put her trust in the old wagon being driven by tiny Granny, and she is feeling love for her two completely different friends, who are there to unconditionally love and support her, too. Raymie feels happy.

‘‘‘Beware of the broken hearted,’ said the grandmother, ‘for they will lead you astray.’

‘That’s all of us, though, granny, isn’t it?’ said Louisiana over the noise of the rain. “Aren’t we all broken hearted?’”

At Granny’s house Beverly has just angrily revealed that her father left her and her mother. Louisiana’s response to her grandmother’s comment is profound and true. Each of the main characters has suffered loss and trauma, and the fact that it is Louisiana who makes this comment shows her understanding of everyone’s tragic situation, despite her cheery facade. 

“The world went on. People left and people died and people went to memorial services and put orange blocks of cheese into their purses. People confess to you that they were hungry all the time. And then you got up in the morning and pretended that none of it had happened.”

Raymie is beginning to understand that life goes trudging on despite the tragedies facing her and everyone around her. In this moment Raymie is slipping into hopelessness. This quote is also an example of DiCamillo’s clear, short, vibrant prose.

“Mrs. Borkowski had asked Raymie a question. She had said, ‘tell me why does the world exist?’ And Raymie had looked up at Mrs. Borkowski’s face, into her sad eyes, and said, ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Exactly,’ said Mrs. Borkowski. ‘You don’t know. No one knows. No one knows.’

Here Mrs. Borkowski is asking Raymie existential questions that Raymie also worries about. Raymie is still searching for her place and meaning in the world, and Mrs. Borkowski’s philosophy that it is not possible to know why the world exists does nothing to reassure Raymie about the meaning of life.

“How long are you supposed to wait? That was another question that Ramey wished she had asked Mrs. Borkowski. How long should you wait, and when should you stop waiting?”

Even though Raymie is thinking about how long Clara Wingtip waited for her husband before her death by suicide, the question she is asking really applies to herself. How long she should wait for her father to return? How long before her mother feels better? How long before she understands why the world exists?

“Remi thought that it was maybe the bravest thing she had ever seen, someone demanding back something that was already gone.”

This quote is referring to Louisiana demanding Archie back at the shelter. Raymie does not yet see the bravery she is also showing in her determination to get her father back, even though he, too, has already gone. 

“‘The rancheros don’t exist,’ said Beverly. ‘They’re only in your head.’ ‘They do exist,’ said Louisiana, ‘because we exist. We’re here.’”

Louisiana, Raymie, and Beverly have developed a strong bond, but this quote illustrates that friendship is not an easy, straightforward path. Beverly insists that Archie is dead and trying to rescue him is a waste of time, while Louisiana is determined to try but needs the support of her friends. Louisiana points out that their pledge of support and friendship exists because they are there together in that moment, a point that Beverly reluctantly concedes.

“Where did Louisiana get such strange ideas? And what would it be like to be rainy Nightingale? What would it be like to walk the bright and shining path and carry a lamp over your head?”

Even though Raymie finds it funny that Louisiana thought her last name was Nightingale, Raymie does consider for the first time what it would be like to be a leader and a rescuer, rather than full of self-doubt. This quote also shows that Louisiana already sees Raymie as a savior, which turns out to be a prescient observation.

“Florence Nightingale helps those who have fallen on the battlefield of life. She comes to them with her magic globe.”

This is an important quote, spoken by Louisiana, since the battlefield of life is that of parental abandonment, loss, and abuse. Each girl is each other’s Florence Nightingale, rescuing her friends with the globe of trust and hope.

“‘I wonder where Archie is,’ said Louisiana. ‘And I wonder what will become of us. Don’t you wonder what will become of us?’ No one answered her.”

Louisiana poses this question to Raymie and Beverly as they sit outside the shelter having rescued Bunny. This is the overarching question of the book and one that still hangs in the air at the end of the book, as it does at the end of this quote.

“Louisiana wasn’t breathing. And Beverly was crying, which was almost as terrifying as Louisiana not breathing.”

This is the moment when Raymie and the readers see that Beverly is not as tough as she likes to portray, a scary image for Raymie, who has always relied upon Beverly to fearlessly take the lead in every situation. For the first time Raymie is the one taking control of the situation, and Beverly is taking a backseat, finally giving in to her emotions.

“Raymie couldn’t think of what to say to him. She stood and held the phone up to her ear. There was nothing but a great silence. It was like listening for the ocean in a seashell and not ever hearing it.”

This quote sums up the emptiness of all the hope that Raymie had put into this phone call from her father. All of the anticipation of how it would go dissolves in the reality of their broken relationship and the realization that he will not be coming back. This realization is not devastating to Raymie, who has grown emotionally through the eventful journey with her friends to a point of acceptance.