F.A.3 ACTIVITY Submitted By :

Group Leader: Manaswinee Das Group MEMBERS: Sonali Behera Shilpi simony mohanty Subhranshu bhusan Mohapatra Abhisek Khuntia Bibhu prasad sathpathy SUBMITTED TO:

Purna chandra rath (english teacher)

LITTLE WOMENBy Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott (November 29, 1832 – March 6, 1888) was an American novelist best known as author of the novel LITTLE WomEN and its sequels Good Wives, LITTLE WOMEN and JO’S BOYS. . In her early years she worked at a variety of tasks to make money to help her family, including teaching, sewing, and housework. At sixteen she wrote a book, Flower Fables & she wrote a number of plays that were never produced. By 1860 her stories and poems were being published in the Atlantic Monthly. Alcott died on March 6, 1888, in Boston, Massachusetts.

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

Alcott’s story begins with the four March girls—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—sitting in their living room, lamenting their poverty. The girls decide that they will each buy themselves a present in order to brighten their Christmas. On Christmas morning, the girls wake up to find books, probably copies of The Pilgrim’s Progress,under their pillows. Later that day, Marmee encourages them to give away their breakfast to a poor family, the Hummels. Their elderly neighbor, Mr. Laurence, whom the girls have never met, rewards their charitable activities by sending over a feast. Soon, Meg and Jo are invited to attend a New Year’s Party at the home of Meg’s wealthy friend, Sally Gardiner.

summary

… At the party, Jo retreats to an alcove, and there

meets Laurie, the boy who lives with Mr. Laurence. While dancing, Meg sprains her ankle. Laurie escorts the sisters home. The Marches regret having to return to their daily routine after the holiday festivities. Jo visits Laurie when he is sick, and meets his grandfather, Mr. Laurence. Their elderly neighbor, Mr. Laurence, whom the girls have never met, rewards their charitable activities by sending over a feast. . Meg attends her friend Annie Moffat’s party and, after allowing the other girls to dress her up in high style, learns that appearances are not everything. While at the party, she hears that people think she intends to marry Laurie for his money…

…

One dark day, the family receives a telegram saying that Mr. March is sick in the hospital in Washington, D.C. Marmee goes to tend to him, and Jo sells her hair to help finance the trip. Mr. Brooke, Laurie’s tutor, falls in love with Meg, much to Jo’s dismay. Mr. Brooke and Meg are engaged. Jo begins to think that Beth loves Laurie. In order to escape Laurie’s affections for her, Jo moves to New York so as to give Beth a chance to win his affections.The novel ends with the family happily gathered together, each sister thankful for her blessings and for each other.

charactersJO MARCH When we first meet Jo March,

she's a tomboyish, hot-tempered, fifteen-year-old girl. Jo also loves literature, both reading and writing it. She composes plays for her sisters to perform and writes stories that eventually gets published.

MEG MARCH Meg, short for Margaret, is the oldest and the prettiest of the four March sisters. She's also the most typical of the sisters . Meg is sweet-natured, dutiful, and not at all flirtatious – in fact, she's unrealistically good and proper.

BETH MARCH Beth is one of those children in a novel who is so good, sweet and perfect . Beth's only earthly love is music. She adores playing the piano and singing, and the only material thing that she wants is a nicer piano, since her family's is old and out of tune.

AMY MARCH

Amy's vanity begins with her appearance – she's a pretty child and turns into a beautiful, stately woman, with lovely golden hair and blue eyes. . Amy's great ambition is to be a gentlewoman. She tries to make the most of her clothes and accessories, cultivates grace and politeness, and makes social calls on the family's wealthy friends and neighbors. She's pretty successful at it, too. Amy's interest in high society might be shallow, but her kind heart is deep, and people appreciate her classy behavior.

MARMEE MARCH "Marmee" is the affectionate name that

the March girls use for their mother, Mrs. March ,she works hard but is never too busy to console and counsel her daughters ,she's an ideal housekeeper, a loving mother and a highly principled woman. She never loses her temper, she never misses anything and she protects her children while still allowing them to make mistakes and learn their own lessons. Marmee is a bit of a mystery; we don't really know how she manages to have so much emotional strength.

Mr. march The March girls' father, like their mother,

is essentially perfect. However, he's also absent, or silently in the background, for most of the novel. He's far away, serving as a chaplain in the Civil War. When he does come back, he proves to be a quiet, thoughtful man who busies himself with thinking about philosophical issues. Although he's a source of moral guidance for the family – and indeed for the whole community – he's still only a character sketch, the outline of a person instead of a fully-rounded individual.

LAURIE Laurie, short for Theodore Laurence, is

the March girls' wealthy next-door neighbor. He's a high-spirited young man about the same age as Jo. Until the March girls come along, he's moody, bad-tempered, and often bored. Like many other teenagers, he has plans for his life that are pretty different than his guardian's.

Laurie's feelings eventually turn romantic, but Jo insists that she could never fall in love with Laurie.

MR. LAURENCE Mr. Laurence, Laurie's grandfather, is a

wealthy old man who lives next door to the March family. Although old Mr. Laurence often seems crabby or intimidating, he's actually a very compassionate.

PROFESSOR BHAER Professor Bhaer is an expatriate German

professor working as a tutor in New York in order to support his orphaned, half-American nephews. Jo meets him while she is working as his landlady.

JOHN BROOKE John Brooke is a hard-working, orphaned

young man who is forced to take a job as Laurie's tutor in order to support himself – despite the fact that he is only a few years older than Laurie.

DAISY & DEMI BROOKE

Daisy and Demi are the twin children of Meg and John Brooke. They are loosely named for their parents – "Daisy" is a nickname for Margaret, which is Meg's full name

AUNT MARCH Aunt March, not to be confused

with Aunt Carrol, is, as her name suggests, the March girls' aunt.

HANNAH Hannah is the March family

servant. She has lived with them and served them since Meg's birth, and even though the family has fallen on hard times she feels loyal to them and continues to work.

THE HUMMELS

The Hummels are a poor, fatherless German immigrant family who live in a run-down shack. All of the Marches, but especially Beth and Marmee, help care for the Hummel children, bringing them food, etc.

THE MOFFATS The Moffats are a wealthy local family with whom the older

March girls sometimes socialize. When Meg goes to stay with the Moffat girls for a party, she is enchanted by their wealth.

SALLIE GARDINER

Sallie Gardiner is a friend of Meg's, about the same age, but with far more money and a higher social status. Meg constantly compares herself to Sallie.

THE VAUGHNS The Vaughns are an aristocratic

British family and friends of the Laurences. The March girls meet them at a picnic hosted by Laurie, and there is much friendly British-versus-American banter.

AUNT CARROL & FLORENCE

Aunt Carrol is as her name suggests, the March girls' aunt and the mother of their cousin Florence, also known as Flo.