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Little Women
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
Laurie believes he has borne Jo's refusal well because he complains to no one, and Amy calls the same silence and drifting selfish and lazy, so which of them is right about what bearing a loss well looks like?
The tension The chapter watches two friends form opinions of each other and lets each have a case. Laurie is generous with everything but effort, drifts because one woman was cold to him, and prides himself on making no moan; Amy studies him and despises what she sees, then softens when the old ring tells her why. Her lecture is sharpened by her own choices, which cut both ways: she has given up her art because talent is not genius, and she means to marry Fred for money, which disappoints Laurie in a way he cannot explain and which he says sounds odd from one of her mother's girls. The two sketches, the lazy dreamer and the boy taming a horse, do what words could not, and he leaves grateful and cold.
Notice what Amy sees in Laurie at Nice, what she says to him, and how each of them leaves the afternoon at Valrosa.
Laurie stays a month at Nice with Amy. One afternoon at Valrosa she scolds him, guesses why he has changed, and shows him two sketches. He leaves the next morning for his grandfather, with a note that jokes and thanks her.
Start with Laurie's "It's all right, ma'am." Ask whether it settles anything for Amy.
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the month at Nice, the drive, the roses, the talk about Fred and art, the lecture, the sketches and the note.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes three short sentences: what someone believed about himself, what a friend's words showed him, and what he could not do afterward.
Debate Take sides: did Amy have the right to lecture Laurie? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why the author ends with a secret discontent in each of them.
Easier Read the two sketches aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 4 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 compare what Amy says about her own choices with what she says to Laurie, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Amy starts to say he is “so changed,” and Laurie answers, “It’s all right, ma’am.” Does that settle her worry, or does he steer her away from it?Inference
What it asks It asks what a short reassurance does between two friends, and whether it answers Amy's worry or closes the subject.
It settles her worry: he says it the way he used to say it to her mother, and she takes it as true.
just as he used to say it to her mother
That satisfied her and set at rest the doubts that had begun to worry her lately.
It steers her away: he answers briefly, as he has all afternoon, and soon changes the subject.
Natural depravity, I suppose.
changing the subject abruptly after another pause
A strong answer Amy leaves her sentence unfinished, and Laurie answers as he used to answer her mother; the chapter says that satisfied her and set her doubts at rest. But his answers all afternoon are short, he says short answers save trouble, and he changes the subject abruptly when it comes near him. A strong answer can say his words calm her for now and still leave her question unanswered.
2. Laurie says Amy's plan to make a good match “sounds odd from the lips of one of your mother’s girls.” She answers, “True, nevertheless.” What do you make of that exchange?Character
What it asks It asks what Laurie finds out of tune in Amy's plan and why she holds to it so plainly.
Laurie is disappointed because the plan sounds like a bargain, not like the Amy he knows.
it sounds odd from the lips of one of your mother’s girls
laid himself down again, with a sense of disappointment which he could not explain
Amy means it, and her firmness covers a little discomfort.
feeling a little ashamed of herself, in spite of the sincerity of her intentions
True, nevertheless.
A strong answer Amy lists what she values, that he is rich, a gentleman and has delightful manners, and Laurie says it sounds odd from her mother's girl. Her answer is short and quiet, and the narrator says that decision contrasts curiously with how young she is. She is sincere and a little ashamed at once, and Laurie feels a disappointment he cannot explain. A strong answer names both feelings in Amy and what might lie behind his.
3. Laurie says, “Wait till you’ve tried it yourself.” Does Amy have the right to lecture him?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether a friend may speak hard truths she has no experience of, and what gives someone standing to do it.
She has the right: she has watched him closely and speaks out of care for him.
I don’t pretend to be wise, but I am observing, and I see a great deal more than you’d imagine.
we are all so fond and proud of you, I couldn’t bear to think they should be disappointed in you at home as I have been
She does not: she says it herself, and the narrator says she knew nothing about such loss.
I know I have no right to talk so to you, Laurie
with the decision of one who knew nothing about it
A strong answer Amy admits she has no right to talk so to him, and the narrator says she spoke with the decision of one who knew nothing about such a loss. But she also says she is observing, and that everyone at home is fond and proud of him, and she apologizes once she understands. A strong answer weighs her care and her close watching against her lack of experience and says what makes a lecture fair.
4. Amy finishes with two sketches, the figure on the grass and Laurie taming a horse, instead of another speech. Why might Alcott let pictures have the last word?Author's choice
What it asks It asks why the author puts the turning point of the scene in drawings, and what they do that speech could not.
The pictures reach him where words did not: he sees himself, then his past, and changes.
Amy saw him flush up and fold his lips together as if he read and accepted the little lesson she had given him
it recalled the past so vividly that a sudden change swept over the young man’s face
He turns the pictures aside with praise and manners, and the lesson works more quietly.
returned the pictures with a smile and a bow
He tried to resume his former easy, indifferent air, but it was an affectation now
A strong answer The sketches show Laurie to himself, first as he is and then as he was, and Amy sees him flush and fold his lips as if he accepted the lesson. But he answers with praise of her drawing and a bow and goes back to his easy manner, which the narrator calls an affectation now. A strong answer says what a picture can do that a speech cannot and uses one moment of his response.
5. Laurie's goodbye note is signed “Telemachus” and jokes about a “blissful honeymoon at Valrosa.” What is the tone, and what might it cover?Tone
What it asks It asks the student to hear the voice of a short note and to decide whether the lightness is real or covers something.
The tone is light and grateful: he takes the scolding well and teases her back.
exult within yourself, for ‘Lazy Laurence’ has gone to his grandpa, like the best of boys
Yours gratefully, Telemachus
The lightness covers hurt and distance, as the goodbye the day before did.
a handshake almost painful in its heartiness
there was a secret discontent in the heart of each
A strong answer The note is full of jokes: Laurie calls himself Telemachus, calls Amy his Mentor, teases her about a honeymoon and tells her to give Fred his congratulations. It may be real gratitude, since he signs yours gratefully and has gone to his grandfather. But the chapter also says each of them left the afternoon with a secret discontent, and Amy answers, "Yes, I am glad, but how I shall miss him!" A strong answer says what the jokes do and what they may cover.
1. Amy puts together “various hints and trifles” about Laurie in a minute. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what she notices and what she decides.
What it asks It asks the student to list the small signs Amy gathers and to say what they add up to for her.
She reads what he avoids: he never speaks of Jo, and her name changes his face.
She remembered that Laurie never spoke voluntarily of Jo
she recalled the shadow on his face just now, the change in his character
She reads the ring and the hand, which he hides as if it were precious.
the wearing of the little old ring, which was no ornament to a handsome hand
the hand that wore the ring nestled down into the grass, as if to hide something too precious or too tender to be spoken of
A strong answer Amy recalls that Laurie never speaks voluntarily of Jo and that her name brought a shadow to his face. She also sees the little old ring on his hand and the way the hand nestled into the grass as if to hide something tender. The narrator says she had fancied a love trouble was at the bottom of it, and now she was sure. A strong answer uses two different signs and says what Amy decides from them.
2. Amy tells Laurie she will not try art any more. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why.
What it asks It asks what reasons Amy gives for giving up art, and what they show about how she judges herself.
Seeing great work in Rome humbled her.
Rome took all the vanity out of me; for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live
gave up all my foolish hopes in despair
She will not settle for being ordinary: it is greatness or nothing.
talent isn’t genius, and no amount of energy can make it so
I want to be great, or nothing. I won’t be a commonplace dauber
A strong answer Amy says Rome took all the vanity out of her and that after seeing the wonders there she felt too insignificant to live. She also says talent is not genius and she wants to be great or nothing, not a commonplace dauber. So she turns to polishing her other talents. A strong answer uses one piece of evidence for what she saw in Rome and one for what she will not accept.
3. Amy and Laurie “never quarrelled,” even when she teases him about his gloves. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why they get along.
What it asks It asks the student to find what keeps two friends from quarrelling: their natures, their need of each other, or both.
Their temperaments keep the peace: she is well-bred and he is too lazy.
The two never quarrelled—Amy was too well-bred, and just now Laurie was too lazy
she answered with a smile, and they went on together in the most amicable manner
They need each other: each stands for home to the other.
she was very glad to see him now, and quite clung to him, feeling that he was the representative of the dear family for whom she longed more than she would confess
They naturally took comfort in each other’s society
A strong answer The narrator gives a reason of temper: Amy was too well-bred to quarrel and Laurie just now too lazy. The chapter also gives a reason of need: Amy clings to him as the representative of the family she longs for, and they take comfort in each other. A strong answer gives one reason of each kind and says whether the peace is a good one or an easy one.