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Little Women
Trailblazers · 4th–6th
When Jo sighs "What richness!" in the Laurence library and Laurie answers that a fellow can't live on books, what is each of them counting as riches, and which kind actually crosses the hedge that afternoon?
The tension The chapter sets the stately stone mansion, which the narrator calls lonely and lifeless, against the shabby brown house that Laurie watches like a picture with a mother's face in it. Jo enters sure she knows what Laurie needs (jolly boys, a party) and finds a boy who wants quiet talk and a family table. Her blunt way of being neighborly, snowball, broom, and unasked advice, is set against the good breeding of the Laurences, yet it is her bluntness that Mr. Laurence calls her grandfather's spirit. The visit warms everyone, and still ends on a discord the girls cannot mend: the old man does not like to hear the boy play.
Notice what Jo thinks Laurie needs, what he says he wants, and what the visit gives each of them.
Jo sees Laurie at his window, tosses up a snowball, and then visits him with blancmange and Beth's kittens. They talk and tour the library, where Jo meets Mr. Laurence in front of his portrait. After tea and the conservatory, Laurie plays the grand piano, and the evening ends with Mr. Laurence not pleased at his playing.
Start with the two houses and ask the student what Jo sees when she looks at the big house, and what Laurie sees when he looks at hers.
Retell The student tells the afternoon back in order: the snowball, the room, the library, Mr. Laurence, the conservatory, and the piano.
Imitate the author After copying Laurie's speech, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern about something they watch from a distance and what it makes them feel.
Debate Take sides: in the library, is Jo or Laurie counting riches more truly? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Alcott ends a warm visit with Mr. Laurence not pleased at the piano.
Easier Read the window 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 thing that crosses the hedge between the two houses, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
1. Before Jo crosses the hedge, Alcott describes the two houses side by side. What do you think she wants us to notice about each?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the narrator's picture of the two houses sets up before anyone speaks, and what the reader carries into the visit.
She wants us to see that the stone house has every comfort and still feels empty, with no young ones and no mother at its windows.
plainly betokening every sort of comfort and luxury
a lonely, lifeless sort of house; for no children frolicked on the lawn, no motherly face ever smiled at the windows
She wants us to see the houses through Jo, who finds the grand one glamorous, while the brown house looks bare beside it.
To Jo’s lively fancy, this fine house seemed a kind of enchanted palace, full of splendors and delights, which no one enjoyed.
looking rather bare and shabby, robbed of the vines that in summer covered its walls
A strong answer The stone mansion is described by what it has: a coach-house, a conservatory, rich curtains. The brown house is described by what winter has taken from it, its vines and flowers. Then the narrator says the mansion seems lonely and lifeless, and Jo's fancy turns it into an enchanted palace nobody enjoys. So the reader enters the story holding two pictures at once, one from the narrator and one from Jo. A strong answer says what each house shows and does not decide ahead of time which is better.
2. Jo thinks Laurie needs “a party of jolly boys to play with.” What does he actually seem to want?Inference
What it asks It asks the student to set Jo's guess beside what Laurie says and does, and work out what he is reaching for.
He wants quiet company and someone to talk to, not noise.
There isn’t anyone I’d like to see. Boys make such a row, and my head is weak.
Thank you; I’ve read all those, and if you don’t mind, I’d rather talk
He wants a family around him, the kind he watches through the Marches' window.
it’s like looking at a picture to see the fire, and you all round the table with your mother
I haven’t got any mother, you know;
A strong answer Jo guesses that he is suffering for society and fun, but Laurie says boys make such a row and his head is weak. When she offers to read aloud he would rather talk. Later he says he watches the Marches' lighted window, with a mother's face behind the flowers. A strong answer names what he turns down and what he reaches for, and can say whether he wants quiet, or a family, or both.
3. Jo tells Laurie to make an effort and stop being bashful, and he is not offended. Why does her bluntness work on him?Character
What it asks It asks why blunt advice from a near stranger lands as kindness, and what Jo and Laurie each bring to that.
Jo means well, and Laurie can hear it.
there was so much goodwill in Jo, it was impossible not to take her blunt speeches as kindly as they were meant
Never mind being bashful; it won’t last long if you keep going.
Laurie is so lonely that any friendly visit is welcome, even a bossy one.
Laurie was in a flutter of excitement at the idea of having company
began Laurie, brightening more and more
A strong answer Jo tells Laurie he ought to make an effort and not be bashful, which could sound like a scolding. The narrator says there was so much goodwill in Jo that her blunt speeches were taken as kindly as meant. It also helps that Laurie is lonely and excited to have company, so he brightens more and more. A strong answer weighs Jo's goodwill against Laurie's loneliness and can ask whether the same words would work from someone else.
4. Mr. Laurence says Jo has her grandfather's spirit, if not his face. What do you think he values in a person?Theme
What it asks It asks what Mr. Laurence admires, judging by what he says to Jo and what he has just heard her say.
He values bravery and honesty over looks.
You’ve got your grandfather’s spirit, if you haven’t his face. He was a fine man, my dear; but, what is better, he was a brave and an honest one, and I was proud to be his friend.
He values plain speech, even when it is aimed at him.
“Yes, I do, sir.”
He liked Jo, for her odd, blunt ways suited him
A strong answer Jo has just said, about his portrait, that his mouth is grim but his eyes are kind, and that she likes him. When he asks whether she likes him in spite of his tremendous will, she says yes, and that pleases him. He tells her she has her grandfather's spirit and says a brave and honest man is better than a handsome one. A strong answer points to bravery, honesty, or plain speech, and says how Jo's answer showed it.
5. Mr. Laurence stops Jo's praise of Laurie's playing: “Too many sugarplums are not good for him.” Is he caring for the boy or being unfair to him?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks whether an old man's cutting remark is good care or unkindness, and what the scene supports.
He is caring for Laurie: he has just decided the boy is lonely, and he wants him to do well at more than music.
Too many sugarplums are not good for him. His music isn’t bad, but I hope he will do as well in more important things.
She’s right; the lad is lonely. I’ll see what these little girls can do for him
He is being unfair: the praise was earned, and Laurie is left feeling his playing displeases his grandfather.
He shook hands kindly, but looked as if something did not please him.
No, it was me; he doesn’t like to hear me play.
A strong answer Jo praises Laurie until he is abashed, and his grandfather steps in, saying too many sugarplums are not good for him and hoping he will do as well in more important things. That can be read as a careful guardian who has just decided the boy needs company. But Mr. Laurence looks as if something did not please him, and Laurie says his grandfather does not like to hear him play, without explaining, saying only 'I’ll tell you some day.' A strong answer takes a side and admits the scene does not say why.
1. Jo says she knew Laurie would laugh at Beth's kittens. Using two pieces of evidence, explain why they turned out to be just the thing.
What it asks It asks what Beth's funny loan does for Laurie that a polite gift might not, using two pieces of evidence.
The kittens make him laugh, and laughing melts his shyness.
in laughing over the kits, Laurie forgot his bashfulness, and grew sociable at once
I knew you’d laugh at them, but I couldn’t refuse, she was so anxious to do something.
The kittens carry the Marches' kindness, so Laurie feels the whole family reaching out.
Mother sent her love, and was glad if I could do anything for you.
Beth thought her cats would be comforting
A strong answer Laurie laughs over the kittens and forgets his bashfulness, becoming sociable at once. Jo says Beth thought her cats would be comforting and was so anxious to do something, so the kittens carry Beth's wish to help. A strong answer uses one piece about what the kittens do to Laurie and one about what they say from the Marches, and explains why that mattered more than the gift's size.
2. Jo tidies Laurie's room in two minutes while she talks. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how Laurie takes it.
What it asks It asks why tidying a stranger's room is welcome and not rude, using two pieces of evidence.
Laurie welcomes it because the mess was already bothering him.
It might be if it was kept nice; but the maids are lazy, and I don’t know how to make them mind. It worries me, though.
How kind you are! Yes, that’s what it wanted.
Jo does it lightly and cheerfully, so it feels like a favor and not a criticism.
as she laughed and talked, Jo had whisked things into place, and given quite a different air to the room
Laurie watched her in respectful silence
A strong answer Laurie has just said that the untidy room worries him, and afterward he says gratefully that it is just what it wanted. Jo also tidies as she laughs and talks, and he watches in respectful silence. A strong answer uses one line Laurie says and one thing about how Jo does it, and explains why the help was welcome.
3. Mr. Laurence says little at tea but watches the young people. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what he notices and what he decides.
What it asks It asks the student to follow Mr. Laurence's thoughts at tea and find what moves him, using two pieces of evidence.
What moves him is the change in Laurie, which he can see in the boy's face.
the change in his grandson did not escape him
There was color, light, and life in the boy’s face now, vivacity in his manner, and genuine merriment in his laugh.
What moves him is Jo herself, whose blunt ways suit him and who understands the boy.
She’s right; the lad is lonely. I’ll see what these little girls can do for him
He liked Jo, for her odd, blunt ways suited him; and she seemed to understand the boy almost as well as if she had been one herself.
A strong answer Mr. Laurence sees color, light, and life in Laurie's face, and he thinks Jo was right that the lad is lonely and decides to see what these little girls can do for him. He also likes Jo's odd, blunt ways, which suit him. A strong answer uses one thing he sees and one thing he thinks, and explains which of them did more to change his mind.