User:Little women

Little Women By Bradee, Sonja, Helen and Rikki Characters:

Josephine (Jo) -

* Protagonist * Very independent * Tomboy * Full of pride * Stubborn as a mule * Generous * Good writer
 * Jo's personality stays the same throughout the book, however she gains control of her temper and learns to love Mr. Bhaer.
 * Jo character is portrayed indirectly throughout the book, it changes a little but you still get a strong sense of Jo.

Margaret (Meg) - * Oldest * Has the best manners * Longs for riches * Tender hearted * Materialistic
 * Meg grows throughout the book, by the end of the book she has learned material objects are not everything in life. She has also learned to love herself even though she is a poor man's wife.
 * Meg's character is shown indirectly right away when she shows her materialistic side about her family's poorness.

Elizabeth (Beth) -

* Shy * Mother like * Musically inclined * Loving, caring * Most generous of all the girls
 * Elizabeth does not have a chance to grow very much in the book, however she does take a big step in accepting death.
 * Beth's character is shown indirectly right away when she is content with her family and doesn't need extra gifts.

Amy -

* Youngest * Learns a lot of life’s lessons * Annoying, but sweet * Very artistic * Materialistic * Selfish
 * Amy changes when she accepts Laurie’s proposal even though Frankie was richer, she loved Laurie. It was a big step for her to do something out of love and not for money.
 * Amy's character is shown indirectly when she complains about not having everything she wants.

Theodore (Laurie) - * Friendly * Joyful * Musical * Prankster * Helpful * Caring
 * Laurie grew a lot in the book when he had to get over his puppy love for Jo and found true love with Amy.
 * Laurie's character is direct because we get his personality from the girls before he is even in the book.

Mrs. March (Marmee) - * Strong * Caring * Independent * Motivating
 * Marmee stayed as the rock of the family throughout the entire book. She taught the girls a lot of lessons.
 * Marmee's character is indirect because you can see her character through her actions.

Conflicts:

Internal Conflicts-

Finding happiness- everyone is sad that father has gone off to war. They each have something they want deep down inside that they don’t have and they are struggling to accept it.

Beth's Sickness- the family knows that Beth is doing poorly, but they want to keep their spirits up, so they can keep Beth as long as they can.

LEARNING LIFE LESSONS- all the girls are growing up and maturing...everyday they are learning and maturing through lessons and new events happening in their life

External Conflicts-

Amy and Jo- They have a hard time getting along at some points in the book.

Jo and Laurie- Laurie had always loved Jo and his love for her was growing, but Jo did not feel the same and turned him down.

Jo and her sisters- She was sad that they were getting married and breaking up the family.

Mr. Lawrence and Laurie- Mr. Lawrence wants what is best for Laurie but Laurie thinks he is just trying to shelter him.

The antagonist is Beth's Scarlet Fever. Beth is Jo's whole world, and anything to discourage Beth brings Jo down.

The protagonist is Jo, she is what the book is based off of. The story is mainly written around her.

Mood-

Happiness covering up the truth..Always cheerful..Make the best out of everything. The atmosphere of the book played a role in their always cheerful mood, the weather always seemed to be sunny. However when it did rain it was a low time in the book. An example of the mood in the book is when their father is at war but they still always seem to be happy and make the best out of everything. Another example is when Beth is sick but they tried not to be worried and went on with daily life.

Tone-

Deep and meaningful, teaches life lessons about the heart.

Devices:

Symbolism-

A. Conventional Symbols: -Jo's writing symbolizes the way of protecting her family, and showing her care for them. She writes to earn money for her family.

-The plays the girls perform symbolize the love, fun, and friendship that the girls have for each other.

-Mr. Brooke kept Meg's glove which symbolizes his love for her.

B. Literary Symbols: -In Little Women, umbrellas symbolize the protection a man offers a women. Jo is finally giving up here stubborn nature to Mr. Bhaer, this is shown when he opens up his umbrella over her head in the end of the book. She is accepting his love and protection. Also Jo gets mad at Mr. Brooke's umbrella because he is getting married to Meg, and is taking her away from the girls.

Metaphors/Similes: -"That boy is a perfect Cyclops, isn't he?"

Personification: -"....the piano suffers for want of use." -"....killed with kindness

Foreshadowing: -There is foreshadowing in the book when Amy complains that she is never going to get kissed, but Laurie promises that he will kiss her before he dies. This is leading you to the future, and their marriage.

Style-
 * Louisa May Alcott didn't use many similes/metaphors or personifications we got her point through daily events happening, and the strong familiarity we got from the characters.

The style is more traditional and proper than we are used to now. There was a lot of foreshadowing in the book that lead onto what was going to happen. Literary Techniques-

There is a presence of morals, but the author does not come right out and tell what you are supposed to do.

Point of View-

The book was in third person however Jo was the most talked about leading on to her being the main character. This point of view provides a good insight into all the characters feelings we don't just get one characters feeling for every situation. The story might have seemed like they were desperately poor if the book was from Meg's point of view. We would not get Jo's character as strongly if the point of view was from anything but third person. The story couldn't have been from Beth's point of view because the story would end quite sooner.

Theme-

One theme is on growth. The girls growing from children to adults, being able to take care of themselves, and wanting to live a meaningful, happy life. In the book it gives examples of the girls learning from their mistakes. One example is when Amy and Jo get into a fight. Amy throws all of Jo's stories into the fire, which really hurts Jo. Jo feels like she will never be able to forgive Amy for what she has done. Later Amy tags along with Jo and Laurie to go ice skating. Amy is following along when Jo realizes she falls through the ice. Jo is able to save her, and realizes how much she means to her.

Another theme is being happy with what you have and learning to find happiness throughout daily life. When the girls break away from usual chores and dwell on fancy things, they tend to become unhappy. They eventually get over their desires for wealth and find that they can make their own happiness. The themes of the book are revealed in many different ways, point of view, arrangement of events, and changes in characters.

The theme has meaning outside the story because it was written for young girls as a way to live life to the fullest, and take care of themselves and their family. Life is not about materialistic things, and the goal is to live a meaningful and happy life. The author wanted young girls to be able to relate to that. The title of the book represents the girls in their young age, during the book it tells how they grow into lovely mothers and wives.

Context:

Settings-

About the author Louisa May Alcott:
 * This book took place in the 1860s during the Civil War in a generic New England town there is no actual town. There were also parts of the book in New York and all over Western Europe.
 * During this time ladies were very prim and proper. Jo was quite modern for a girl back then especially when she declined Laurie's proposal because most girls would jump at an opportunity to be taken care of.
 * The time period contributes to the plot because back then life was prim and proper like the girls acted.
 * This book took place during the end of the Civil War and most people were poor and going through economic crisis. This was not directly stated in the book. This book was during the Gilded Age and that is really shown in the mood of the book because they cover the truth with a gold layer.
 * The girls felt out of place when they were around the crowd that they used to fit in with because they lost all their money.
 * Jo was very out of place because she was more a modern girl than a proper lady.
 * The book described all the seasons, it described the girls being inside and outside, and all parts of the day.

- Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania on November 29, 1832 - Three sisters: Anna, Elizabeth, and May - Educated by their father who was a philosopher/teacher - Was a "tom boy"-"No boy could be her friend till she had beaten him in a race," she claimed," and no girl if she refused to climb trees, leap fences...." - Published over 30 books and collections of stories - Died on March 6, 1888 - in this book Louisa is Jo. It's about her life growing up with her three sisters in poverty. This book was her way of getting her feelings out and making money to support her mother and father because her father didn't work.

About American Realism:

- Realism is a technique - Represents middle class life - Encompasses the period of time from the Civil War to the turn of the century - As the United States grew rapidly after the Civil War, the increasing rates of democracy and literacy, the rapid growth in industrialism and urbanization, an expanding population base due to immigration, and a relative rise in middle-class provided a literary movement - Sets itself at work to consider characters and events, which are apparently the most ordinary and uninteresting in order to extract from these their full value and true meaning

Comprehension/Plot:

Exposition: At the beginning of the story the characters were telling the reader about whom they were. They weren't exactly forward with their characteristics, but it was easy to catch on and figure out who the characters were.

Rising Action: The parties that the girls attended to find themselves husbands, and all the life lessons that they are learning teach them how to love themselves before they can love someone else with their whole heart. The sisters staring to mature, them meeting Laurie, and Meg getting married are also part of the rising action.

Climax: When Jo turns down Laurie's proposal, and proves her independence.

Resolution: When Jo admits to loving Mr. Bhaer, and realizes that everything is changing and things are not going to be the same as they were when they were little girls.

Falling Action: When they are all settled in. Meg has her children, her house, and her husband. Jo has Mr. Bhaer and they decide to start a boarding school for boys. Amy has Laurie, Laurie takes over the family business, and Amy takes care of Mr. Laurence.

Plot (Summary)-

At the beginning of the story there were four young girls, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. It was close to Christmas and the girls were feeling sorry for themselves because they were not wealthy anymore, and couldn’t buy all the nice things they wanted. They wanted to buy each other one present, but decide to all buy their mother a present because she was such a good mother. The girls’ father was away at war, and they received a letter from him, which inspired the girls to be less selfish and complain less about their poverty. On Christmas morning the girls all woke up to find a beautiful book under each of their pillows. Their mother “Marmee” came home with news that there was a family with many children and a sick mother that needed their Christmas breakfast more than they did. The girls all helped Marmee bring the family their food and make the family’s living conditions for that Christmas morning the best that they could. The Marches lived next to a wealthy old man, Mr. Laurence, who had a young grandson named Laurie. Mr. Laurence appreciated the girls for how they helped the poor family even though they weren’t that wealthy and gave them a giant feast for dinner. The oldest girls, Meg, and Jo, were invited to attend Sally Gardiner’s New Years party. That was where they officially met Laurie. The Marches and the Laurence’s became very close friends. Mr. Laurence became very fond of Beth. Since Beth was a very musical child and always went over to the Laurence house to play piano, Mr. Laurence, gave Beth her own little piano. The Marches found things to do to keep them from boredom they formed a Pickwick Club where they wrote a family newspaper. Laurie became a member of the club as well. The Marches received a telegram that Mr. March was sick in the hospital and Mrs. March needed to get to him as soon as possible. She packed up and left with a nice young man named Mr. Brooke, and the sad little women stayed at home with Hannah. During this time Beth had been at a family’s house trying to care for a baby who had Scarlet Fever. Beth contracted the Scarlet fever and almost died, she recovered, but not fully and was weak after that. Meg fell in love with Mr. Brooke and they became engaged. Three years had passed between part one and part two. Meg and Mr. Brooke were married and moved in together. Meg struggled for a while trying to get the hang of living in her own house and doing all the chores and caring for her husband. Mr. Brooke and Meg had twins, a boy and a girl named Demi and Daisy. Jo finally published a book that she had been working on. Amy got to go to Paris instead of Jo because she was more ladylike. Jo moved to New York to get away from Laurie because she did not want to marry him, and those were Laurie’s intentions. Jo thought that Beth was in love with Laurie and wanted to get out of the way. Jo found an Old professor named Mr. Bhaer. Beth died and the family lamented. Amy and Laurie met up again in France. Realized they were fond of each other, and got married. They had a daughter named Beth after, their sister that died. Jo married Mr. Bhaer. Jo’s Aunt March died and Jo inherited Plumfield, Aunt March’s old house. They turn it into a boarding school for boys. At the end of the story the family was all together and thankful for what they had.