...Little Women Little Women was written in 1868-1869, the setting is New England in the 19th Century during and after the Civil War. The story begins at Christmas time. The girl’s father is away in the war. It is Christmas and there are memories of better times. But this Christmas their father is in the war and they have no means of support and very little money. There will be no presents and the beautiful breakfast they had put together is given away to a family who has no food. It is not a happy time for the sisters and their mother, who they call Marmee. The main characters are the March sisters. The oldest sister is Meg. She is kind, responsible and very moral. She watches out for her younger sisters and makes sure they do not act inappropriately. She is very aware of social expectations for them as young women of the time. Josephine March is the second oldest sister and is referred to as Jo. She is the protagonist of the novel and her character is probably based on the author, Louisa May Alcott herself. Jo has a temper and is outspoken. She is very intelligent and wants to be a writer. Beth is the third sister and is very shy and reserved. She has a very caring and tender personality and loves to play the piano. Amy is the youngest sister. She is very beautiful and artistic and dreams of marrying a wealthy man who will take care of her. Her character serves as a foil for Jo’s character. Amy wishes and dreams of marrying a wealthy man and being taken care...
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...Barbara Myers Dr. Hohehleitner ENG 3014 November 7, 2014 Annotated Bibliography Abate, Michelle Ann. Tomboys: A Literary And Cultural History. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 4 Nov. 2014. In chapter 2 of this book, the author “discusses how Little Woman chronicles the civil war that is raging within its gender-bending female character over her participation in tomboyism.” The author discusses Alcott’s journals and her participation in the Civil War. Abate discusses how the Civil War is a metaphor for Jo March’s experiences in the novel, Little Women. Foote, Stephanie. "Resentful Little Women: Gender And Class Feeling In Louisa May Alcott." College Literature 32.1 (2005): 63-85. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 2 Nov. 2014. In this article, Foote examines class and gender in the novel Little Women. The first section in the article discusses anger and resentment. Details how the girls in the novel deal with gender, anger, and repression. The home is a safeguard for the March girls. The second section discusses the gender roles learned at home and the March girls going out into the world. The failures and successes, and how the roles in the family set their roles in society. Foote writes how Jo’s ambiguousness for society made it harder for her to become accepted in society, and as Meg’s love of the social graces gave her an open door for her future. Amy’s domestic life choices make her the first sister to...
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...Film Discussion – Little Women One of the most prominent changes is the theme of morality; the movie removes a lot of the morality present in the book. In the beginning of the book, the girls are set a moral goal by their father: “conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women” (Alcott chapter 1). This is a very important scene of the book but the movie does not make any reference to this goal. Even though I feel like the book over-emphasized morality, by removing a lot of that morality, the movie removes the piety from the family and doesn’t sow the journey the girls make from little girls into little women, which is the crux of the book. The movie seldom talks about religion or what it is to be good and instead gives a modern take on morality; Meg refuses to wear silk dresses because of child labor used in producing them, which reflects a more modern moral concern. Many moral lessons in the book were removed from the movie, such as the girls buying Christmas presents for Marmee instead of themselves, Jo’s conversation with her mother about her temper where her mother admits that she is: “ I am angry nearly every day of my life, Jo, but I have learned not to show it, and I still hope to learn not to feel it, though it may take me another forty years to do so “(Alcott chapter 8). I believe the omissions were made as they did not fit in with the new modern ideas being integrated in the movie. The movie...
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...One of the most prominent changes is the theme of morality; the movie removes a lot of the morality present in the book. In the beginning of the book, the girls are set a moral goal by their father: “conquer themselves so beautifully that when I come back to them I may be fonder and prouder than ever of my little women” (Alcott chapter 1). This is a very important scene of the book but the movie does not make any reference to this goal. Even though I feel like the book over-emphasized morality, by removing a lot of that morality, the movie removes the piety from the family and doesn’t sow the journey the girls make from little girls into little women, which is the crux of the book. The movie seldom talks about religion or what it is to be good and instead gives a modern take on morality; Meg refuses to wear silk dresses because of child labor used in producing them, which reflects a more modern moral concern. Many moral lessons in the book were removed from the movie, such as the girls buying Christmas presents for Marmee instead of themselves, Jo’s conversation with her mother about her temper where her mother admits that she is: “ I am angry nearly every day of my life, Jo, but I have learned not to show it, and I still hope to learn not to feel it, though it may take me another forty years to do so “(Alcott chapter 8). I believe the omissions were made as they did not fit in with the new modern ideas being integrated in the movie. The movie has a modern feminist theme and...
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...Defying Expectations From A Young Age In the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the four March girls are all close in age and relation but so different when it comes to their personalities and attitudes. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy are all loving sisters who journey from adolescence into womanhood experiencing many captivating moments along the way. Jo, unlike her “prim and proper” sisters, goes about life in a very different way than that of a typical nineteenth century woman. She recognizes her disparities and strives to be different when she says, “I want to do something splendid...something heroic or wonderful that won’t be forgotten after I’m dead. I don’t know what, but I’m on the watch for it and mean to astonish you all someday”...
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...The production of Allan Knee’s “Little Women” conducted by the University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts produced a musical of the struggle of a family of all women. The production challenged the idea of feminism and many aspects of it in the time the Civil War. The overall play was in the narrative position of a character named Jo March, who faced issues as a female writer in a time where women were challenging the standards of women, but were unable to overcome many problems that arose. By having the main character, Jo, consistently trying to become more than her female role within the social standards, the idea of an independent women role is created. Throughout the plot the character comes to face with many problems that initially any normal women character would fine no trouble with, but due the this reoccurring idea of an independent women, Jo finds trouble with her current lifestyle. The eventful move from the old childhood home to the life in New York, Jo becomes the independent...
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...Theme Analysis Little Women is a coming of age story of four sisters in Civil War New England. Together they face hardships and poverty all the while trying to reach their Castles in the Air. More than that however, Little Women is a morality tale. Each chapter not only contains the lives and adventures of the four sisters, but lessons on how to be a good person, and how to achieve happiness in life. These values are centered upon God, family, and love. Though money, people, hair, and childhood dreams come and go, Marmee's wisdom about happiness never seems to falter. The dreams of the writer, artist, and pianist in the family all fall behind the happiness they find in their respective households. In some respects, Little Women is also a child-rearing guidebook. When Marmee's harvesting time came, she had three happy well-rounded children and a fourth with God. Each lesson she taught was not just told to them, but demonstrated, and enforced with kindness and with love. She inspired her girls to be the best they could be, and did not try to change them even if they were as awkward and tomboyish as Jo. Most importantly, she let them make the choices for their life and did not sway their decisions once the girls made them. Little Women today remains a classic because it shows that every young person goes through trials and decision points. Death's of loved ones, family crisis's, and the mending of broken hearts are something all young people go through and are acturatly...
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...Gilliam Armstrong exemplifies how women must defy traditional feminine expectations through perseverance and ambition in order to thrive outside the private sphere, in her film of Louisa May Alcott’s Bildungsroman Little Women. Mrs. “Marmee” March, matriarch of the impoverished March family during the Civil War era, cares for her four daughters while her husband is away at war. She is idealized as the perfect woman, able to bear children and running a proper household. Mr. March’s absence highlights the rest of his family’s ability to care for each other without male dependency. Second-oldest sister Jo disregards the stereotypical feminine role of house confinement. She instead focuses on pursuing her dream of becoming an author, characterized...
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...Little Women by Louisa Alcott would definitely appeal to women of all types and ages. Little Women appeals to a broad audience, its full of the values and beliefs, and it paints a very real picture of most American’s lives at the time. The reason for this book appealing to such a broad audience lies in all the characters’ personalities. Mrs. March is a strong, independent woman who never falters, therefore she relates to all independent women; but she is also a mother who plants strong values in her girls and is the rock foundation of the family, with that she relates to all mothers. Margaret’s desire for luxury is a desire that we all can relate to and her properness is a trait most girls can relate to. Jo’s mischievous demeanor and talent for writing is something that if one cannot relate, admire to have. Beth is the insecure, sweet, homebody in all of us. Amy represents the beauty and talent, and sometimes moral code, which all women have. Laurie represents all the men that wish to be loved any uncommon-but-beautiful woman. This book is full of the values and beliefs of its time. The March family, that were once-upon-a-time a rich family, were still connected to the “higher” society. As a result, they were sometimes willingly and sometimes forced to commune with people who looked down on them for being poor. The book taking place during and after the period of the civil war there was a lot of tension concerning Blacks. Some of the values Mrs. March teaches her girls is...
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...The Absence of Men in Little Women In her critical essay, “The House-Band”: The Education of Men in Little Women, Anne Dalke argues that the success of the women lies not in their independence, but in the remaking of the men on a female pattern. According to Dalke, the March women could not self-actualize without the men re-orienting their way of thinking. Male and female roles were clearly defined in the nineteenth century, but Dalke points out that by crossing the gender line, the men are able to realize their own identity, and become nurturing husbands and fathers. By learning new ways of being men, and reworking their masculinity they become equal partners to their wives, and respected members of the March family circle. Dalke presents a strong feminist view of the March women, but points out their success lies in the equal involvement of both partners and their mutual commitment to nurture each other. I agree with Dalke’s interpretation, but would also recognize, that it is the absence of a maternal figure in the lives of the men that ultimately attracts them to the March family. Furthermore, the willingness of the men to change their attitudes is because they are not capable of functioning in the expected traditional male role. The women choose independence over conformity but in an untraditional way, they teach the men the value of equality within a marriage. The women become equal with their men but only within the confines of their home, a small step perhaps...
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...The Little House of Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Ingalls Wilder was an amazing author of the twentieth century. The younger generations rarely recognize her work, however, older generations look up to her as a heroine. Wilder once stated, “Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then don't remember me at all.” The children of this decade will never truly understand the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder, but it is a true belief that her books enlighten children and adults alike of a world before technology, before cars and skyscrapers, and the materialistic values of the people of today. Wilder’s childhood was far different from anything that the children of today...
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...Fixon Ball Clicker Erasable: Appealing to Younger Women There is a young American girl in the middle of the page. She is wearing a collared shirt and a sweater vest, she has her hand on her forehead as to show “oh no, not anther mistake.” She appears to be sitting at a desk in a classroom working on drawing pictures of animals. Above the girl’s head are the words “Erase every ‘Oops.’” in red, italicized font. At the bottom of the page there is a long red pen that takes up three-fourths of the width of the page. On the pen it says Frixon Ball Clicker Erasable. On the left side of the pen there is a picture of a hand using the pen to begin to erase the words Incredible, Erasable ink, in red little font. Under that illustration there is the logo for the Frixon Ball Clicker in blue font. Next to that, in the middle of the page, there is a brief description of the product. On the right side of the description, there is the logo for Pilot in blue and in the bottom right corner under that it says “Power to the Pen!” in black. The ad, placed in the Women’s Day magazine, is very effective in targeting the audience if mothers of young children. However, this audience is not the only ones that read this particular magazine. Young women, starting their own careers, and some still in college also read this magazine. This magazine provides many great ideas for women; ranging from healthy recipes, to relationship advice, to DIY home décor ideas. In this advertisement analysis and proposal...
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...PROFESSIONS FOR WOMEN by Virginia Woolf “Professions for Women” is an abbreviated version of the speech Virginia Woolf delivered before a branch of the National Society for Women’s Service on January 21, 1931; it was published posthumously in The Death of the Moth and Other Essays. On the day before the speech, she wrote in her diary: “I have this moment, while having my bath, conceived an entire new book—a sequel to a Room of One’s Own—about the sexual life of women: to be called Professions for Women perhaps—Lord how exciting!” More than a year and a half later, on October 11, 1932, Virginia Woolf began to write her new book: “THE PARGITERS: An Essay based upon a paper read to the London/National Society for women’s service.” “The Pargiters” evolved into The Years and was published in 1937. The book that eventually did become the sequel to A Room of One’s Own was Three Guineas (1938), and its first working title was “Professions for Women.” The essay printed here concentrates on that Victorian phantom known as the Angel in the House (borrowed from Coventry Patmore’s poem celebrating domestic bliss)—that selfless, sacrificial woman in the nineteenth century whose sole purpose in life was to soothe, to flatter, and to comfort the male half of the world’s population. “Killing the Angel in the House,” wrote Virginia Woolf, “was part of the occupation of a woman writer.” That has proved to be a prophetic statement, for today, not only in the domain of letters, but in the entire...
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...Aging promotes the loss of childhood and innocence. Little girls go from skinned knees and imaginary friends, to running around in their pantyhose and hanging out with their boyfriends. In Sandra Cisneros', "The Monkey Garden", she addresses the emotions that occur during this drastic transition through the view of herself as a little girl. Esperanza tries her best to avoid what is renegade against the normal expectations of women. Esperanza's overwhelmed tone reveals her fear and doggedness to adversity when Sally's game defiles the garden's innocence/purity, exposing Esperanza to the realization that she cannot remain a kid forever. Esperanza's syntax reveals that innocence is irrevocable. Reminiscing of the Monkey Garden,...
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...“Larkin rarely presents women in a positive light” In the light of this statement, compare the ways in which Larkin writes about women in his poems. In many of Larkin’s poems, his presentation of women is often in a negative light. However, In Wild Oats, Broadcast and Talking in Bed it can be interpreted that Larkin portrays women in both a positive and negative light. For example in Wild Oats, Larkin seems to visually prefer the ‘bosomy rose’, however he goes out with the ‘friend in specs’, in Broadcast he describes his love for the woman compared with his love of music, and in Sunny Prestatyn he compares the vandalism of the poster girl with rape. In Wild Oats it can be interpreted that Larkin does present women in a positive light, as he describes the woman as a ‘bosomy English rose’. Here, Larkin uses a ‘rose’ to symbolise the woman, suggesting that Larkin finds her exceedingly beautiful and attractive; portraying women in a positive light as he appreciates and recognises their beauty. However, a contrast is established between the derogatory choice of word ‘bosomy’ and ‘rose’, which implies Larkin has a sexualised view of women, and that he sees them as sexual objects, therefore negatively portraying women. Also, Larkin describes ‘the friend in specs’ as being someone he could talk to. This is a negative portrayal of women as it suggests that she is inferior to the ‘bosomy rose’, and it also suggests Larkin is misogynist as he’s only talking to the ‘friend in specs’...
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