Little women

Abstract:

“Little Women” is based on the author’s family life and the clue of emotional entanglements among the family members. It described natural bonds and relationship in March’s family. The four sisters in March’s family: Meg is willing to love and poverty; Jo wanted to be a writer by her struggle; Beth is calm before the death; Amy helped the weak as her responsibility. They are all brave and independence, although with the different ideals and destiny. Describe that the girls are sentimentally attached to their family, their loyalty to love and their desire for affection between family members.

Keywords:

Family ,love ,wealth, ideal.

“Little Women (or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy)” is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March—and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. The first volume was an immediate commercial and critical success, prompting the composition of the book's second volume titled Good Wives, which was successful as well. The publication of the book in the form of a single volume first occurred in 1880. Alcott followed Little Women with two sequels, also featuring the March sisters, Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Little Women has been adapted as a play, a musical, an opera, a film, and animation.

Before I read this book, I had watched a cartoon movie made by Japan. So I have a strong interest on it. It all begins in the dead of winter; The Christmas Season. The coldest one of all, were the war has made fuel for heating very scarce. While her husband is off at war, Marmee is left alone to raise their four daughters: Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy. On Christmas Eve, Marmee has just arrived home from passing out food to the less fortunate with a letter from her husband, the girls' father. The all gather together around the fire to read the letter. Afterwards, the girls are teary eyed. Marmee kisses them and they are off to bed. Jo is longing to become a writer. So, every night she stays up late writing the script for soap operas. As morning comes she is the last one awake. The table is set, and food prepared for their Christmas feast. As dusk falls, the girls are all up in the attic acting out Jo's play, which she reads from the local (fake) newspaper. As they are performing, their rich, next-door neighbours

grandson watches from the window. The 2 oldest girls: Jo and Meg, get ready to attend the Christmas Ball. While Jo is curling Meg’s hair, there is a strange smell to the air. Amy screams, Meg’s hair is being singed. They continue digging through the old clothes bin for a pair of white gloves. One of the prominent themes in Little Women is the coming of age or maturation of the girls. During the course of the novel we see them grow in many ways -- physically, intellectually, and especially emotionally. One question which readers must ask themselves is whether the views the characters have on the coming of age process are shared by Alcott. If they aren't, what are Alcott's views and how do they differ from those of the women in her story? It is interesting to examine the last half of Chapter 20, "Confidential." Jo addresses the maturation issue as she speaks with Marmee of the situation between Meg and Mr. Brooke. The possible love between these two represents one of the very important aspects in coming of age for a teenage girl. Jo treats this natural process as if it were some sort of disease, however. Jo cannot understand why Meg would want to stop behaving "like a sensible creature", and refers to love as "such nonsense." This book tells me how to deal with the family affairs. We should know the love between the members.

All the young girls would face and experience, which you can find in this book: first love’s sweet memory and worried; the difference between emotion and intellect; the distance of ideal and reality; the contradiction of poverty and wealth.

The storyline is simply and reality but very touching. Since it published a hundred year ago, it has been adapted as film many times and translated into many different languages and become the classical work of the world treasure literary. In this book, it promote loyalty, selfless, generous, dignity, tolerance, perseverance, courage, which is also the pursuit of mankind forever and virtue and beliefs. All of these, give the book beyond the vitality of times and countries, this is her become immortal classic charm and reason.

第二篇：Little Women英文读后感

Little Women: Optimism And Strong

Before reading this novel, I saw the film version of Little Women. This 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved children’s book tells the story of the four March daughters and their mother –how they live and keep their family strong during the Civil War.

There were four sisters in the March family, they were kind to each other and love each other, hardworking, stayed with neighbor Laurence friendly. Their kind and patient and optimism and strong really impressed me.

After reading this novel, I learned a lot from it. Although these four girls born in a poor family. They are not perfect, but they all have good attitude and warm hearts. They are independent, confidence. I appreciate them.

These four girls were very different, I like Joy. I love Jo for her free and easy, likes her for the steadfast determination which she struggles for dream. She may not the most beautiful girl: she was very tall and thin. She has a comical nose and sharp, gray eyes. Her long, thick hair was her beauty. Meg , the eldest of the four, she was sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft, brown hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands. Beth, she was very cute. She was thirteen with a shy manner, a timid voice, and a peaceful expression which was seldom disturbed. I love Beth for her tranquil characteristic, doing anything without any complain. Like her good personal character which always considers for others, she loves music and feels shy with strangers, so she always does some housework with her mother at home. Amy was the most special one, she has her own thought, she was the youngest girl with blue eyes, and yellow hair curling on her shoulders, pale and slender.

In their eyes, their family was not poor, it was warm. They loved their mum, and they used their own hands and created a better world. They were all good person, if I can live with them, I think my left will become rich and colorful.

From this novel, I learned that we really need to treasure all the good things around us, like your parents, time and so on.

We should keep hope for future. And we must make great efforts to make our dreams come true, just like these four cute girls. These four girls live forever in my heart……

金华二中

高一（13）班

钱丹妮