Lesson Overview:

This lesson encourages students to explore various methods Louisa May Alcott uses to develop characterization in her semi-autobiographical novel Little Women. Students will be engaged in a series of activities, such as written analysis and research. They will design an "ideal" school, compose a dramatic monologue, act out a ballroom scene, create their own Little Women dolls, and/or write essays.

Length of Lesson:

Five 45-minute periods

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• draw conclusions about the structural dynamics of the narrative of Little Women.
• experience growth in the writing process, oral skills, skills of research, contextual analysis, and collaboration.
• explore the inferential power of images and literary allusions to enhance characterization.
• gain new appreciation for why Little Women has sustained as one of America’s most valued novels.
• illuminate aspects of the Alcott text through studies of comparative analysis.
• perceive specific ways Louisa May Alcott crafted the specific characters in Little Women.
• recognize the semi-autobiographical undercurrents in Little Women.
• recognize the threads of impending social and cultural change insinuated in the text.
• understand ways the text mirrors attitudes, values, fashions, manners and mores of the time period.

Supplies:

• VCR or DVD player (optional)
• Video: recording of a film version of Little Women
• Louisa May Alcott's novel, Little Women
• Optional texts: Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Selected poems by Emily Dickinson, and Henry James's Daisy Miller

Instructional Plan:

Introduction

Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—these are Louisa May Alcott's beloved "little women." Their adventures have been a must-read for generation after generation of children, and their compelling personalities have been the inspirational source for designs of collector dolls, paper dolls, and fashions; Hollywood films; television and video productions; live dramatic scripts; and even operettas and an opera.

How did Alcott build such enduring characters as Marmee, Hannah, Laurie, Mr Laurence, Mr. March, Aunt March, John, the twins, and the Professor? Through what devices did she create the mystique of these endearing personalities? The following activities are dedicated to helping students gain insight into specific devices of characterization Alcott used to bring alive and achieve the sustaining power of the characters in Little Women (first published in 1868).

In this series of activities, students will explore the methods that Alcott uses to build characterization in Little Women.

Activity A

After assigning the class to read Little Women, divide the class into working pairs for a close study of character development within the text. Explain that each pair will be responsible for tracing specific ways Alcott develops one assigned character in the novel. Each pair will also prepare a specifically defined written analysis, complete with careful documentation from the text, to be handed in.

Tell each of the pairs to investigate one of the following characters: Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy, Marmee, Hannah, Mr. March, Laurie, John, Mr. Laurence, Aunt March, Professor Bhaer, Daisy and Demi (treat as one), and Sallie Moffatt.

Advise students that their analysis should be in-depth, cover a range of topics, and be based on the Guidelines for Character Analysis handout.

Activity B

Alcott uses the following attributes, images, personality and behavioral traits to develop her characters into “real people” for the reader:

• impatience
• malapropisms
• shyness
• the “Pickwick Club”
• “the church of one member”
• “Telemachus”
• “little homilies”
• frequent use of literary references
• “little cricket on the hearth”
• social grace
• “Byronic fits of gloom”
• “accomplished Artful Dodgers”
• lack of “social grace”
• metaphysical discussions
• “little Dorcal”
• “brave St. Martin”
• “Tarlatan and tulle”
• “ ________ is faithfulness itself”

Consider conducting an oral “matching game,” in which students identify the character to which each reference (read aloud by teacher or student) applies. Or use all or part of the list for a written quiz. Ask students to clarify what implication is inherent in the reference that helps to explain some aspect of the “matching” character (i.e., “Telemachus”).

Suggestions for Arts-Integrated Projects

Assign the students one or more of the following projects, or allow them to choose one project to complete and share with the class.

Topic A: Visual Arts and Design
At the end of Little Women, Jo and her husband, Professor Bhaer, open a boy’s school at Plumfield. Throughout the text, there are other references made to teaching—for instance, the school scene in which Amy is punished; Jo’s governess duties at Mrs. Kirke’s place; Professor Bhaer’s teaching methods; and attitudes expressed by Dr. and Mrs. March. The argument has been made that Little Women’s references to education mirror the outlook of her father, Bronson Alcott, who had attempted to establish innovative schools in New England that promoted the Socratic method of learning and other designs he thought would interest children in learning.

As a special project, first research some of the background of Bronson Alcott’s (and that of his Concord, Massachusetts, neighbor, Henry David Thoreau) attempts to establish a new type of school. Consider exploring other theories about education, for instance, that of John Dewey, Irving Babbitt, Mortimer Adler, and perhaps some contemporary theorists such as Ted Sizer and Howard Gardner.

As the main part of the project, construct your personal design for an “ideal” school, giving attention to such aspects as goals, purposes, building design, method of teaching, what you would include in the curriculum, types of assignments, class structure (tracking, non-tracking, integrated grades), attitude toward rules and discipline.

Accompany the outline of the design for your school with a well-developed written statement of rationale. That is, support your design with explanations of specific ways students would benefit from your plans. Consider making a drawing of the design, keeping in mind ways the facilities would support the curriculum and teaching methods.

Topic B: Drama
The argument has been made that the character of Jo in Little Women mirrors Alcott's temperament, personality, attitudes, talents, and life experiences. As a special project, have students research details about Louisa May Alcott and her life experiences, then identify specific parallels between Alcott and Jo as they come through the text of Little Women. The students should then compose a dramatic monologue from the viewpoint of Louisa May Alcott, talking about her creation and subsequent characterization of Jo. If time allows, have students perform their monologues for the class.

Topic C: Dance
Several social dance scenes are integrated into the text of Little Women. One could argue that the dance scenes are one of the main social "proving grounds" for the March sisters, because considerable attention is given to expected "manners and mores" during the events and to fashionable dress.

As a special project, have the class, or a group of students, create and act out a mid-nineteenth century ballroom scene. Instruct them to pay attention to such aspects as "dance cards," the proper way to ask someone to dance and to accept, and the types of dances that would have been done in New England society of the mid-1800s. Note that the Redowa and Redowa-polka are mentioned in the text of Little Women. The regular waltz and polka were also popular in that time period. Have the students research background on the Redowa and Redowa-polka, and perform a demonstration of the two versions in the ballroom scene. If appropriate, have the students teach the entire class a few steps.

Topic D: Visual Arts and Design
If students are interested in fashion design and drawing, give them the following assignment:

The characters of Little Women have been represented in many doll and paper doll collections. Some of the doll collections are even carved out of wood. There are numerous illustrations of the various characters in different editions of the text. Norman Rockwell, famous for his sketches of American life, developed several delightful illustrations of various scenes from Little Women, and captioned them with quotations from the text. Consider having students make their own Little Women doll, paper doll collection, and/or illustrations of one or more characters or scenes. Try to stay as true to the details of the text as possible in capturing the physical features and personality traits of the characters.

Topic E: Film
Encourage students to watch one or more videos of film productions of Little Women. If time allows, consider showing clips of one or more versions, using the activity as an exercise in visual literacy, comparative analysis of different film versions, and comparative analysis with the text.

Suggestions for Culminating Essays

Give the students a choice of completing a three- to five-page essay on one of the following topics (the topics are also included in the Essay Topics handout):

Essay A:
Consider the following quote carefully:

"The March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy, become metaphors for mid-nineteenth century cultural tensions emerging between the old and the new."

Identify key terms and references that need to be defined in building the central argument of the quote. Draw a range of specific evidence from the text of Little Women to build an essay that clarifies and supports the assertion of the quote.

Essay B:
In an effectively structured essay (not a “laundry list”), build an analysis of details and references in the text of Little Women that you think contributed to the emotional and psychological grounding of the March family in a time of Civil War and cultural change.

Be sure to shape your essay around a clearly defined thesis. In developing your basic points, consider such aspects as setting, interrelationships, “advice” and other modes of “support”, and internal thoughts and general outlook of different characters. Be sure to document your points with specific references from the text.

Essay C:
Cultural shifts and traumatic events affect themes and forms of artistic expression. Alcott lived and wrote in a time period shaken by shifting philosophical outlooks and the build-up, experience, and aftermath of the Civil War. Artists were reaching for new voices to articulate a changing world in which the individual was increasingly becoming faceless in the chaos of mass mentality. Writers like Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Mark Twain and Henry James (Alcott’s contemporaries) were finding their literary voices in individual human consciousness, increasingly in stream-of-consciousness structures.

With the above assertion in mind, develop an assessment of Alcott’s literary form in her novel, Little Women. What relationship, for instance, does Alcott set up with the reader? Is she mainly a recorder of a narrative? Does she become a "persona" in her own right—almost another character in the reader’s perception? Does she use techniques of foreshadowing? Take a position about Alcott’s role as author, and argue your case with specific analysis of applicable units of the text.

Essay D:
Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I feel any personal identification with one of the characters in the text of Little Women? The sisters? Laurie? John?
Do I know someone—a friend or a relative—who reminds me of one of the characters in the book?

Having considered these questions, develop a thoughtful personal assessment essay in which you draw together a specific profile of how you feel you align with one of the characters, or how someone you know aligns with one of the characters. Cover a range of topics in your analysis, considering such aspects as general outlook, special talents and interests, reading habits, etc. Be specific in drawing comparisons between a character and yourself or a character and another person.

Essay E:
Among Alcott’s contemporaries were writers who would become America’s most celebrated authors. The works of several of these writers can be compared to Alcott’s Little Women. Consider developing a comparative study of one or more of the following (either to share orally with the class or as a formal paper):

Suggested areas of focus:

• a comparison of Alcott’s spiritual references and images in Little Women with spiritual references and images in Emily Dickinson’s poetry.
• a comparison of Becky Thatcher in Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with one (or more) of the March sisters.
• a comparison of the relationship of Becky and Tom Sawyer with that of Jo and Laurie and/or Amy and Laurie.
• a comparison of Alcott’s Amy March and Henry James’s Daisy Miller (in James's novel Daisy Miller) as American "ingenues" traveling with a relative in Europe.

Assessment:

Evaluate students based on the following criteria:

• evidence of close reading of assigned text
• level of serious and cooperative participation in research and collaborative assignments
• level of discernment in drawing inferences from the text
• substantive contributions to class discussion, creative activities, and special projects
• range and depth in comparative analysis
• organization, meaningful substance, rhetorical skill, and poise in formal oral presentation
• alignment of written performance with writing process rubric
• willingness to volunteer for special activities
• general level of engagement in all activities and assignments

Sources:

Print:

• Alcott, Louisa May. Little Women. New York: Puffin Books, 1997.
• Anderson, William. The World of Louisa May Alcott. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 1995.
• Meigs, Cornelia. Invincible Louisa. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1968.
• Strobel Desmond F. “The Polka”, International Encyclopedia of Dance, Vol. 5. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Media:

• Armstrong, Gillian (dir.). Little Women-Collector's Edition. Columbia/Tri-Star Studios, 2003. DVD.
• Cukor, George (dir.) . Little Women. Warner Studios, 1933. DVD.

Authors:

• Jayne Karsten, English, Grades 9-12
  The Key School
  Annapolis, MD US