by Shelly Barclay

Created on: April 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 09, 2009

The great thing about classical literature is that it not only presents us with a story that we can delve into, but it also gives us an opportunity to glimpse how people may have lived in another time. Another great thing about classic novels is that you know they must be good(for the most part)because people are still reading and talking about them today.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott published 1868

Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. Her family moved to Boston in 1834. Louisa was the second of four daughters. Her father Amos Joseph Alcott was a famous transcendentalist and her mother Abigail May Alcott was an activist and one of the first payed social workers in Massachusetts. Louisa May was a noted novelist(published under the pseudonym A.M. Barnard), activist and feminist. Her most popular novel was Little Women.

Little Women is the story of the four March sisters and their mother. Much of the novel is set in the March home, called Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. The story's main character is Josephine "Jo" March, a tomboy and aspiring writer. Jo's oldest sister is Margaret "Meg" March who works as a governess and acts as a sensible and helpful presence in her sisters' lives. The second youngest sister is Elizabeth "Beth" March. Beth is an avid pianist and charity worker, and she is also very kind, sweet and loyal. Amy is the youngest of the March sisters she cares much for looks and wealth, but despite her vain and selfish personality she truly loves her sisters and wants to be loved by them. Margaret "Marmee" March is the girls' mother and spends her life devoted to the proper teaching of her daughters, gently showing them how to be kind yet strong creatures.

For most of the novel "Little Women" the girls' father Mr.March is acting as a chaplain in the Civil War. As a result of the war and Mr.March's absence the family is near destitute yet they still find a way to help people in need and each other. There are many instances of charity by the March family in Little Women, but two really stand out. The family receives a message that Mr.March has been injured and is in a hospital in Washington. Marmee sends Jo to ask for money for a train ticket from their wealthy Aunt Josephine.Instead Jo goes to a wig shop and sells her long, beautiful hair in order to pay for Marmee's ticket. The other shining example of the March's generosity is Beth's dedication to the Hummels, a poor immigrant family. Beth does everything she

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