Little Women
Chapter 34 — Teaching Companion
Louisa May Alcott · Trailblazers 4th–6th
Coaching, not a script — and not an answer key: every question here has more than one defensible answer.
This chapter's big question
Jo writes sensation stories in secret to buy comforts for Beth and insists they are only silly, never bad, yet she blushes at a bad paper and then burns three months' work, so what actually convinces her the work is wrong, and is the money she keeps honestly earned?
The tension The chapter grants Jo the best of motives, strawberries in winter and an organ for Beth, and then shows the means: a hidden name, a secret from home, moral reflections struck out, librarians made suspicious by requests for poison. The narrator says she was feeding heart and fancy on dangerous food; Jo says her tales are only silly. Bhaer never accuses her; he burns a paper and says no one has the right to put poison in the sugarplum, and Jo feels the Volcano printed on her forehead. She burns the stories, keeps the wages, swings to a sermon that will not sell, refuses to write a juvenile story to order, and ends by saying she knows nothing and will sweep mud in the street instead.
Today's focus
Follow Jo's secret work, Bhaer's quiet answer, and what she keeps and what she gives up by the end.
Two core ideas
- Jo gives good reasons for writing sensation stories and keeps them secret; the chapter lets both the reasons and the secret stand.
- Bhaer never accuses her, and the chapter shows what he does and what she does in answer.
The shape at a glance
Jo takes a story to the Weekly Volcano and begins selling sensation tales for Beth's sake. She studies Professor Bhaer and sees him hold his ground at a symposium. A paper cap and a burned newspaper lead to her burning her stories. She tries other kinds of writing, then leaves for home with a friend and no book.
A way in
Start with "a friend of mine." Ask why Jo would use a made-up friend, and what she might be guarding.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the Weekly Volcano, the secret, the symposium, the paper cap, the burning, the tries that failed and the goodbye.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern: a person reads her own work with someone else's eyes, then says what she sees.
Debate Take sides: did Bhaer's quiet way help Jo more than a scolding would have? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking what Jo gains and what she gives up, and how the narrator wants us to feel about it.
Easier Read the cocked-hat scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 2 and 3 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence from the chapter.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where the narrator speaks to the reader or to Jo, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Jo tells Mr. Dashwood the story is for “a friend of mine.” What does that little fiction tell us about how she feels about what she is doing?Inference
What it asks It asks what a made-up friend reveals about Jo: shame, nerves, caution, or all three.
One reading
She is hiding it because she expects disapproval from people she loves.
She had a feeling that father and mother would not approve, and preferred to have her own way first, and beg pardon afterward.
None at all, if you please; she doesn’t wish her name to appear, and has no nom de plume
Another reading
She is nervous about walking into a room of men, and the fiction is a shield.
Somewhat daunted by this reception, Jo hesitated on the threshold
blushing redder and redder with each sentence
Listen for
- Uses what Jo does and says in the office, not only what the narrator says.
- Keeps nerves and secrecy apart, or shows how they fit.
If stuck
- What does Jo wear to the office, and why?
- What do the men do when they hear "my friend"?
- Does Jo tell anyone at home about the stories?
A strong answer The fiction covers two things at once. In the office Jo is daunted and blushing, so it is partly a shield against a smoky room of men. It is also the first step in a secret she keeps from home, because she expects her father and mother would not approve and means to beg pardon afterward. A strong answer names what the made-up friend protects Jo from and uses one moment from the office and one from the narrator.
- Jo says that if there is a demand for sensation stories, she sees no harm in supplying it. Bhaer answers, “There is a demand for whiskey.” Whose reasoning is stronger?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks the student to test a claim that demand makes a trade honest against an example that seems to break it.
One reading
Bhaer's is stronger: people can want things that hurt them, so demand does not settle it.
They haf no right to put poison in the sugarplum, and let the small ones eat it.
If the respectable people knew what harm they did, they would not feel that the living was honest.
Another reading
Jo's has something to it: not all of it is bad, and honest people earn a living this way.
All may not be bad, only silly, you know
Many very respectable people make an honest living out of what are called sensation stories
Listen for
- Takes Bhaer's whiskey example seriously and says what it is meant to show.
- Notices what kind of paper started the talk.
If stuck
- What is on the paper that Bhaer unfolds?
- Who does Bhaer say is hurt by the stories?
- Does Bhaer say every sensation story is bad, or the ones made for young readers?
A strong answer Bhaer's whiskey shows that a demand does not make a thing harmless, and he worries about small ones eating poisoned sugarplum. Jo's answer has something in it too: she says not all is bad, only silly, and that respectable people earn a living this way. The paper that started the talk shows a lunatic, a corpse, a villain and a viper, and it is not clear Jo's own tales are like that. A strong answer weighs both and says what would settle it, without deciding for Jo.
- At the symposium Bhaer, who is “slow to offer his own opinions,” blazes up with “honest indignation.” What does that show us about him?Character
What it asks It asks what makes a shy, slow-spoken man speak out, and what Jo learns from watching it.
One reading
His conscience would not let him stay silent, whatever it cost him.
because his conscience would not let him be silent
he didn’t know when he was beaten, and stood to his colors like a man
Another reading
He speaks out of care for the young people listening.
fearing that some inflammable young soul would be led astray by the rockets
he knit his brows, and longed to speak
Listen for
- Says why he speaks, not only that he speaks.
- Connects what Jo sees to her rising respect for him.
If stuck
- What does the narrator say about Bhaer's opinions before he speaks?
- Who is he looking at when he frowns?
- What does Jo want to do when he finishes?
A strong answer The narrator says his opinions are not unsettled, only too sincere and earnest to be lightly spoken, and that his conscience would not let him be silent. He also looks from Jo to other young people and fears an inflammable young soul led astray. So his plainness and his care work together. A strong answer names what moved him to speak and says what Jo sees in it.
- After Jo burns her stories, the narrator breaks in with “Ah, Jo, instead of wishing that, thank God.” Why might the narrator speak to her directly?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author turns from telling the story to addressing Jo, and what tone that gives the moment.
One reading
The narrator is fond and scolding at once, like a friend who sees Jo's mistake.
I almost wish I hadn’t any conscience, it’s so inconvenient.
I can’t help wishing sometimes, that father and mother hadn’t been so particular about such things.
Another reading
The narrator is preaching, in the very manner the chapter later laughs at when Jo writes a sermon.
which may seem like prison-walls to impatient youth, but which will prove sure foundations to build character upon in womanhood
a tale which might have been more properly called an essay or a sermon, so intensely moral was it
Listen for
- Says what the aside does to the feeling of the scene.
- Compares the aside with the chapter's joke about the sermon.
If stuck
- What has Jo just said that the narrator answers?
- Who does the narrator say should be pitied?
- What does the narrator say about the tale Jo writes next?
A strong answer The aside answers Jo's wish that her father and mother had been less particular, and the narrator speaks like a fond elder who thinks she is wrong. But the same chapter soon calls Jo's own moral tale a sermon that nobody buys, so the narrator's sermon is open to the same laugh. A strong answer says what the aside adds and whether the narrator seems to see the joke on herself.
- Jo leaves thinking, “I’ve written no books, earned no fortune; but I’ve made a friend worth having.” Did she gain or lose this winter?Theme
What it asks It asks the student to add up what Jo gains and gives up in the chapter, and to decide how to weigh a friend against a fortune.
One reading
She gained: a friend, and a clearer sense of what she will not write.
I’ve made a friend worth having, and I’ll try to keep him all my life.
while her pen lay idle, she was learning other lessons beside German
Another reading
She lost: her work is ash, her stories have found no buyer, and she goes home with nothing written.
nothing remained of all her three months’ work except a heap of ashes, and the money in her lap
So nothing came of these trials; and Jo corked up her inkstand
Listen for
- Lists both gains and losses from the chapter.
- Says what a friend is worth against a fortune, using Jo's own words.
If stuck
- What was Jo hoping to do with her earnings at the start of the chapter?
- What does she burn, and what does she keep?
- What does she say she has made, in her last line?
A strong answer Jo's own tally puts a friend against books and a fortune, and she thinks the friend is worth having. But the stories are ash, her other tries find no buyer, and she has corked her inkstand, so she has lost the thing she set out to do. A strong answer says what it would count as a gain and what as a loss, and gives a reason for the weight it puts on each.
Critical thinking
- At the second visit Mr. Dashwood takes Jo's story and names a price. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he wants from her stories.
What it asks It asks what the editor is buying: a certain kind of story, or cheap work he can use.
One reading
He wants stories that amuse and thrill, with no moral.
People want to be amused, not preached at, you know.
Tell her to make it short and spicy, and never mind the moral.
Another reading
He wants cheap work he can fill his columns with.
we give from twenty-five to thirty for things of this sort
Mr. Dashwood graciously permitted her to fill his columns at the lowest prices
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- Says what a sentence from Mr. Dashwood shows about what he values.
If stuck
- What does he strike out of Jo's story?
- What does he say to tell "her" about the next story?
- What does the narrator say was the real cause of his welcome?
A strong answer Mr. Dashwood wants what sells: people want to be amused, not preached at, so the moral goes and the next story should be short and spicy. He also wants it cheap, since twenty-five to thirty is the going price and the narrator says he let Jo fill his columns at the lowest prices. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence on the kind of story and one on the price, and says how the two connect.
- Jo sets out to learn why everyone likes Professor Bhaer. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what she decides draws people to him.
What it asks It asks what Jo notices about Bhaer and what conclusion she draws, and whether it is what he gives or how he is.
One reading
What he gives: he is poor and still always giving something away.
He was poor, yet always appeared to be giving something away
the baggy pockets plainly proved that little hands often went in empty and came out full
Another reading
How he is with people: warm and cheerful, like a fire.
he was as attractive as a genial fire, and people seemed to gather about him as naturally as about a warm hearth
he turned only his sunny side to the world
Listen for
- Two different pieces of evidence.
- Uses the word Jo settles on, and what it means.
If stuck
- What is Bhaer not, according to the list of what he lacks?
- What does Jo decide worked the miracle?
- What do his clothes and pockets suggest?
A strong answer Jo lists what he is not: neither rich nor great, young nor handsome. She decides it is benevolence. The pockets that go in empty and come out full show what he gives, and the fire and hearth show how people feel near him. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for each and says how they fit the word Jo chooses.
- Jo writes a sermon and then will not write a story for young readers to order. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what she finds out about her own writing.
What it asks It asks what the two failed tries show Jo: that she cannot write in a borrowed voice, or that she will not write just anything.
One reading
She cannot write in a voice that is not hers.
her lively fancy and girlish romance felt as ill at ease in the new style as she would have done masquerading in the stiff and cumbrous costume of the last century
it found no purchaser
Another reading
She will not write what someone else orders, even for pay.
Jo could not consent to depict all her naughty boys as being eaten by bears or tossed by mad bulls
I don’t know anything; I’ll wait till I do before I try again
Listen for
- One piece of evidence from each attempt.
- Says what Jo decides at the end and how she says it.
If stuck
- How does the narrator say Jo felt writing the sermon?
- What would the worthy gentleman have her do with naughty boys?
- What does she say about what she knows?
A strong answer The sermon shows what happens when she writes in a style that is not hers: her lively fancy feels as ill at ease as in a costume of the last century, and no one buys it. The story for young readers shows a limit: she will not picture naughty boys eaten by bears because they missed a particular Sabbath-school. She ends by saying she knows nothing and will wait. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence from each try and says what they show together.