Little Women
Chapter 8 — 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's grief over the burnt book is real and Amy's apology comes quickly, so what turns a fair grievance into the little demon that lets Amy skate out onto the rotten ice?
The tension The chapter refuses to make Jo's anger simply wrong: the book was the loving work of several years, a loss that seemed small to others, and Amy burned it to make Jo pay. Yet the same chapter shows anger cherished until it takes possession, tears refused as unmanly weakness, and a bitter satisfaction in a sister's troubles, until a warning goes unrepeated. Beside this sits Marmee's confession that she has controlled but not cured a temper she still feels every day, which sets what Jo begs for (a cure) against what her mother can offer (a lifetime of checking hasty words with help).
Today's focus
Follow Jo's anger from the burnt book to the river, and listen to what Marmee says about her own.
Two core ideas
- Jo's grievance is real: the book was years of loving work. Alcott then shows what happens to anger that is kept: it grows strong and takes possession.
- Marmee does not promise a cure. She offers forty years of watching, a friend's small signal, and the plain fact that she is angry nearly every day.
The shape at a glance
Jo and Meg go to the theatre without Amy. Amy burns Jo's book, Jo will not forgive her, and the evening at home is out of tune. Jo goes skating with Laurie, and Amy follows onto thin ice. Laurie and Jo pull her out, and Marmee tells Jo about her own temper. The chapter ends with one hearty kiss.
A way in
Start with the burnt book and ask what it was worth to Jo, before anyone talks about forgiving.
Lesson plan
Retell The student tells the chapter back in order: the theatre, the book, the evening, the river, and Marmee's talk.
Imitate the author After copying the passage, the student writes two sentences in the same pattern about a feeling that grew stronger because it was kept.
Debate Take sides: should Amy's apology have been enough for Jo? Each side must use at least one quote from the chapter.
Purpose Close by asking why Alcott gives Marmee a hard confession and not a simple cure.
Easier Read the river scene aloud together and talk through discussion questions 1 and 5 only.
On level Talk through all five discussion questions, then have the student write one critical-thinking answer with two pieces of evidence.
Harder Ask the student to find one more place where someone in the chapter holds back words or feelings, and to add it to a critical-thinking answer.
Discussion
- Amy burns Jo's book and says she told Jo she'd “make you pay for being so cross yesterday.” What do you make of that reason?Character
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Amy's own reason for the burning: a wrong she felt done to her, or a wrong she chose to do.
One reading
Amy was hurt and angry herself, and the book was her way of answering Jo's sharpness.
Her tone and manner angered Amy
Yes, I did! I told you I’d make you pay for being so cross yesterday, and I have
Another reading
Amy knew she had done wrong: she hid it, and she regretted it more than anyone.
Amy poked the fire, and said nothing.
the act which she now regretted more than any of them
Listen for
- Uses what Jo said and did the day before.
- Notices that Amy hides the burning and later regrets it.
If stuck
- What did Jo say to Amy about the theatre?
- What does Amy do when Jo asks who took the book?
- How does Amy feel by the time Marmee talks to her?
A strong answer Jo was sharp with Amy about the theatre, and Amy had threatened that Jo would be sorry. So part of her reason is a sense that she was wronged. But she burned the book of a sister she loved, hid it when asked, and felt more sorry than anyone once her mother spoke to her. A strong answer can say that a real hurt does not make the act right, and uses the chapter's own lines for both halves.
- Jo's book was the loving work of several years, and Amy says she is “very, very sorry.” How much should an apology weigh against a loss like that?Moral reasoning
What it asks It asks how much a sincere apology can repair a loss that cannot be made up, and what forgiveness owes to each.
One reading
Amy's apology should count for a great deal: it cost her courage, and she said it first.
it took all Amy’s courage to say meekly
Please forgive me, Jo; I’m very, very sorry.
Another reading
Words cannot replace what was lost, so the apology cannot settle it yet.
I never can write it again, and I’ll never forgive you as long as I live.
it never could be made up to her
Listen for
- Names what the book was to Jo.
- Says what an apology can do and what it cannot.
If stuck
- What had Jo done with her old manuscript?
- How does Amy say sorry, and how does Jo answer?
- What does Amy feel while she waits for Jo to answer?
A strong answer The chapter gives the book real weight: half a dozen fairy tales Jo had worked over patiently, just copied, with the old manuscript destroyed. It also gives Amy's apology real weight, since it took all her courage and she meant it. A strong answer says what each side is owed, and is honest that an apology can be sincere without undoing the loss.
- Jo wants to cry on Marmee's shoulder, but says gruffly that Amy “don’t deserve to be forgiven.” Why might she say that instead?Inference
What it asks It asks why Jo hides what she wants and says something harder, and whether the harder words are true.
One reading
She will not show weakness, least of all with Amy listening, so she covers her grief with hard words.
Jo wanted to lay her head down on that motherly bosom, and cry her grief and anger all away; but tears were an unmanly weakness
said, gruffly because Amy was listening
Another reading
She still means it: she feels too hurt to forgive yet, and the words match how she feels.
she felt so deeply injured that she really couldn’t quite forgive yet
I never shall forgive you
Listen for
- Sets what Jo wants to do beside what she says.
- Says why Amy being there matters.
If stuck
- What does Marmee whisper to Jo at goodnight?
- What does Jo want to do as her mother kisses her?
- Who is listening when Jo speaks?
A strong answer Marmee whispers that Jo should not let the sun go down upon her anger. Jo wants to cry her grief away, but she thinks tears are an unmanly weakness and Amy is listening, so she speaks gruffly. The chapter also says she really could not quite forgive yet. A strong answer can say the words are partly a cover and partly true, and points to the lines for each.
- Marmee says she has tried to cure her temper for forty years and is still angry nearly every day. Does that comfort Jo, discourage her, or both?Theme
What it asks It asks what it means for Jo to hear that even her mother has not cured her temper, and what she takes from it.
One reading
It comforts her: she learns her mother shares the fault and keeps trying.
the knowledge that her mother had a fault like hers, and tried to mend it, made her own easier to bear and strengthened her resolution to cure it
Yours, mother? Why, you are never angry!
Another reading
It is hard to hear that the work may last a lifetime, when she hoped for a cure.
I’ve been trying to cure it for forty years, and have only succeeded in controlling it.
forty years seemed rather a long time to watch and pray, to a girl of fifteen
Listen for
- Notices that Jo thought her mother was never angry.
- Weighs the comfort against the forty years.
If stuck
- What did Jo think of her mother's temper before this?
- What does Marmee say she has managed and not managed?
- What does the narrator say about forty years?
A strong answer Jo is surprised, since she thought her mother was never angry, and the chapter says she was comforted to learn her mother had a fault like hers and worked at it. But Marmee has only controlled her temper in forty years and hopes to stop feeling it in forty more, which seemed a long time to a girl of fifteen. A strong answer holds both and says what Jo might do with them.
- Laurie shouts, “Keep near the shore; it isn’t safe in the middle.” Jo hears it and Amy does not. Why might Alcott arrange it that way?Author's choice
What it asks It asks what the author gains by letting one sister hear a warning and the other miss it, and what that does to the moment.
One reading
It puts a choice in Jo's hands alone: she knows what Amy does not, and whatever comes next is hers.
Jo heard, but Amy was just struggling to her feet, and did not catch a word.
No matter whether she heard or not, let her take care of herself.
Another reading
It keeps the blame unclear, so the reader cannot decide easily how much is Jo's fault and how much chance.
Laurie had vanished round the bend; Jo was just at the turn, and Amy, far behind, striking out toward the smoother ice in the middle of the river.
Laurie did it all; I only let her go.
Listen for
- Says who knew what at the moment of the warning.
- Notices what Jo does and does not do next.
If stuck
- Where is Laurie when he shouts?
- Why does Amy not hear him?
- What does Jo do for a minute after she looks back?
A strong answer Laurie shouts the warning as he turns the bend, Jo hears it, and Amy is struggling to her feet and catches nothing. That leaves Jo as the only person who knows the ice is unsafe. It also keeps the moment tangled: Jo later says she only let Amy go, and the chapter never says she pushed her or wanted her hurt. A strong answer says what the arrangement makes the reader feel and does not turn it into a verdict.
Critical thinking
- Jo and Meg will not take Amy to the theatre. Using two pieces of evidence, explain whether Amy had a fair complaint.
What it asks It asks the student to weigh Amy's side against Jo's and Meg's in the quarrel before the burning, using two pieces of evidence.
One reading
Amy had a fair complaint: she had been sick and shut up, and Jo was sharp with her.
I’ve been sick with this cold so long, and shut up, I’m dying for some fun.
Her tone and manner angered Amy
Another reading
Amy had little to complain of: her mother did not wish her to go, and Laurie had invited only the two older girls.
Mother doesn’t wish you to go this week, because your eyes are not well enough yet to bear the light of this fairy piece.
after he invited only us, to go and drag in Amy
Listen for
- Two separate pieces of evidence, not one told twice.
- A reason that separates the plan from the way Jo spoke.
If stuck
- What reason does Meg give for Amy staying home?
- How does Jo speak to Amy?
A strong answer Amy has been sick and shut up for a long time, and Jo answers her crossly, which gives her something to complain of. But Meg says Mother does not want her to go this week because of her eyes, and Jo says Laurie invited only them. A strong answer decides whether the complaint is about the plan or the way it was said, and uses one piece of evidence for each.
- Nobody speaks of the burnt book that evening. Using two pieces of evidence, explain what the evening shows about how one sister's anger reaches the family.
What it asks It asks what the quiet evening at home shows about the cost of an unforgiven quarrel and how the family handles it, using two pieces of evidence.
One reading
The anger spreads: the whole home is out of tune.
Jo stood dumb as a stone, and Amy broke down, so Meg and mother sung alone.
something was wanting, and the sweet home-peace was disturbed
Another reading
The family holds back on purpose, waiting for Jo to come round.
No one spoke of the great trouble
the wisest course was to wait till some little accident, or her own generous nature, softened Jo’s resentment, and healed the breach
Listen for
- Evidence from the singing and from the family's silence.
- A reason the family chose to wait.
If stuck
- What happens at singing-time?
- Why does no one speak of the trouble?
A strong answer At singing-time Jo stands dumb, Amy breaks down, and only Meg and Marmee sing, so the quarrel has reached the whole evening. Yet no one scolds Jo, because they have learned that words are wasted while she is in that mood and that the wisest course is to wait. A strong answer uses one piece on each side and says what the family's waiting shows about how they know Jo.
- Marmee says her husband and her daughters helped her with her own temper. Using two pieces of evidence, explain how.
What it asks It asks the student to find what really helped Marmee, in her own words, using two pieces of evidence.
One reading
Their example helped: Father's patience and her daughters' surprise made her ashamed to be sharp.
He never loses patience—never doubts or complains—but always hopes, and works and waits so cheerfully, that one is ashamed to do otherwise before him.
a startled or surprised look from one of you, when I spoke sharply, rebuked me more than any words could have done
Another reading
A small agreed signal helped: a gesture and a look from Father stopped sharp words before they came.
I asked him to help me so, and he never forgot it, but saved me from many a sharp word by that little gesture and kind look.
Listen for
- Evidence from Father and from the girls.
- Notices that Marmee asked for the help.
If stuck
- What does Marmee say Father never does?
- What does Jo say she saw Father do?
- What does Marmee say her daughters' looks did?
A strong answer Marmee says her husband's patience made her ashamed to do otherwise, and her daughters' startled looks rebuked her more than any words. She also says that she asked Father to help with a little gesture and kind look, which saved her from many a sharp word. A strong answer uses one piece about example and one about the signal, and says which she thinks helped more.