Little Women
Little WomenLittle women book report
In 1868, Louisa May Alcott wrote the book Little Women in
"response to a publisher's request for a 'girl's book'". Louisa wrote
this book by calling upon her own memories of her childhood and putting
them down on paper. This is the story of four young girls, Meg, Jo, Beth,
and Amy March, and how they endure all the trouble and hardships that come
along during their lives. They are raised by their mother and by their
father, and many interesting characters pop up along the way, such as
Laurie, their good-natured next-door neighbor; Laurie later falls in love
with Jo but ends up marrying Amy. In the beginning of the story they are
all fairly young, the youngest being twelve years old, and their mother,
whom they call Marmee, is left to guide them while their father is away
fighting in the war. As they grow and mature, they learn many hard
lessons about life. For instance, there was the time when Amy, the
youngest, suffered her first punishment in school. She carries that
anger, humility, and embarrassment with her for the rest of her life.
There were also more serious lessons to be learned, like when one of the
sisters, Beth, dies. By the end of the book, they really have turned from
little women into real women.
Jo was the second oldest of the four sisters. Her birth name was
Josephine, but she always thought that it sounded too feminine, so she
shortened it to Jo. Clearly, Jo was one of the main characters of the
story because many of the events centered on her and the audience learned
more about who she was. She was a tomboy at heart and hated all the prim
and proper ways of the ladies in those days. Jo was very blunt in her
speaking and always said exactly what was on her mind. However, most
people felt right at ease speaking with her because she had a way of
making them feel comfortable, despite her frankness. Jo was the one who
first had enough courage to go over to the frightening house next door and
talk with the Laurence Boy, whom they knew as Laurie after that, and
became the best of friends with him. Despite that one good trait, Jo has
an uncontrollable temper that can erupt at any time. This is quite
evident one day when Amy burns one of Jo's most precious items-a book that
she wrote stories in and had for years. She is so outraged that she
cannot even look Amy in the face and storms out of the house. Jo then
watches as Amy follows her and Laurie outside to a pond to go ice-skating.
Laurie warns Jo that the ice is very thin in the middle, but Amy does not
hear him and proceeds to skate into the center. Jo does nothing to stop
her. Amy almost died that day, and Jo realized that her selfishness and
anger almost cost...
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