Louisa May Alcott's Influences In Literature

Another big point in Prose’s essay is the assignments associated with high school literature. She argues that teachers make students write around the books and not about the books they read. “No wonder students are rarely asked to consider what was actually written by these hopeless racists and sociopaths. Instead, they’re told to write around the book, or, better yet, write their own books,” (430). The assignments that teachers give these days are nto about the book or the story itself. They usually ask the student to rewrite the ending, or ask what the student would do if they were in the same situation as the character. Prose argues that high school students are seen as having the same experience as some of the characters they read about, such as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. “And is it any wonder that

Often heralded as the world’s greatest nation, the United States is also considered home to the world’s greatest authors. Reputable authors such as Fitzgerald, Twain, and Steinbeck remain relevant even through the washing waves of time. One such timeless author, Ray Bradbury, ventured the hazardous path of taboo to write of change. Through his novels of innocent youths evolving into children enlightened beyond their years, Bradbury utilizes the motif of time, innocence, and the philosophical movements of existentialism, transcendentalism, and romanticism to describe catastrophic events the American culture could face if existing destitute judgments continue to prevail. Ray Bradbury dared to reveal his voice.

Louisa May Alcott’s “My Contraband” explores the controversial aspects of gender roles, interracial relationships, sexual desires, and political imagination during the climax of the American Civil War. Alcott’s viewpoint and argument is framed by utilizing main characters that would have been considered stereotypically inferior peoples at the time: Faith Dane (a female nurse) and Robert (a mixed “mulatto” and freed slave). The author daringly challenges views held by a majority of the U.S. population during this time period and presents Faith and Robert as characters that have seemingly transgressed their respective social spheres. In doing so, Alcott’s writing serves as a “safe” site for the further articulation and exploration of gender, race, class, and sexual conventions already in place. This story effectively reasserts white womanhood as the center of social and political thought while at the same time relegates “blackness” – and everything it stands for in the work – to the margin of its emancipating and hopeful narrative. The foremost notion to understand from Alcott’s “My Contraband” is that the employed moments of white and black interaction, in the form of a white woman and racially mixed black man, allow for the examination of the possibilities and results of transgressing heavily defended racial, gender, and sexual boundaries that were in place in the 19th century.

Many iconic literary works were developed by writers, who wanted to voice their opinion through writing, such as 1984 by George Orwell, one of the most iconic books of all time. For many, it is challenging for one’s voice to heard, especially if it an unpopular opinion, so they turn to writing. This popular writing style allows people to express their opinions through underlying themes in their stories thus allowing writers to be spokespeople of their times. From The Great Gatsby to The Crucible to “I, Too, Sing America,” each author has expressed the values, critiques of society and traits of their times through their stories and poems.

As stated by intellectual Joseph Wong, “influence is our inner ability to lift people up to our perspectives” (Young Ch. 6). Throughout history, numerous writers have utilized their ability to impact their readers to encourage their audience to follow the author’s principles and beliefs. Louisa May Alcott, born in Pennsylvania in 1832, was the type of writer to use her power to influence her lectors’ views on the topics and issues that she was passionate about. Alcott’s father, Amos Bronson Alcott, was a writer, lecturer, and educator, and her mother, Abba May, was a strong-willed and independent woman and bright educator. Her brilliant parents helped Alcott grow to be an intellectual, an independent female, and, as mentioned by Clark Moreland in one of his lectures, “…a dark headed, volatile, and energetic child” (“Lecture 3.4…”). After her parents fell into deep debt, Alcott began to work to support her family. She served as a seamstress, teacher, and, of course, a writer. As an open-minded individual, Alcott was an advocate of many causes and policies, and, through her compositions, she shared her beliefs to guide her readers towards integrating her ideals into their lives. For instance, in 1863, Alcott released her work “My Contraband,” first titled “The Brothers.” The piece featured a Civil War nurse, Faith Dane, in the Union side who was in charge of caring for a captured, dying Confederate captain and

One thing that people seem to forget is that people seem to become desensitized after a certain amount of time. Accomplishing the things that Alcott did during her time of the Civil war, allowed her to become a better person, more mature. Fortunately, Louisa desired to know life in all its uncertainties, being given an opportunity to experience life in “all its true variety”. As a nurse, she saw and bandaged thousands of wounded soldiers, little did she know that maybe she fell in love with one man in

Written works are creative displays of human thoughts. Unlikely stories have captivatedaudiences that transcend generations. Essays have enlightened people and even sparked revolutions.Normal everyday writing has played a vital part in understanding the past, captivating the present, andshaping the future.Writing has been able to fill in the gaps of history. By analyzing primary sources such as old letters, andjournal entries, historians have been able to take note of details in particular time periods. Letters suchas Mary F’s letter (Source E) to her cousin provide specific details on the life of someone living on theprairie in 1863. The failure to preserve common writing, despite their simplicity, would cause history tolack perspective.Today

In this chapter, Foster explains how all literature has roots in works that came before it, obvious or not. One example he uses is that Sarkin Aung Wan of Tim O’Brien’s Going After Cacciato(1978) is a parallel to Sacajawea. This connection is made based on the fact that one, they look similar, but more importantly both guide (white) men, for Sarkin Aung Wan it’s Berlin and for Sacagawea it’s Lewis and Clark., and are the main reason these men succeed. When I read this chapter, I started to think of other important women in history, and came upon Joan of Arc., who most know as the teenager who played a major role in the Hundred Year’s War and was burned at the stake afterwards.

Louisa May Alcott is an American Novelist best known as the author of the novel “Little Women”. Louisa was born in November 1982, grew up in Germantown- Washington D.C and was known to be an abolitionist, feminist and also a naturalist. Being a naturalist meant that she believed that nothing existed beyond the natural earth i.e. no such thing as spirituality or the supernatural. Her family suffered from financial difficulties and so Alcott had to work to support her family in an early age. She penned the story “My Contraband” (1869) which was formerly known as “The Brothers” (1863). Contraband was a black slave who escaped to or was brought within union lines (Alcott 759). In “My Contraband”, Louisa

Anna Alcott was the model for Meg March. Both these characters shared common life events. They both married a man called “John” and both gave birth to twins. They were both the eldest in the family. Louisa’s little sister, May, was the model for Amy. They were both graceful and poised at a young age and very materialistic. The youngest of the Alcott girls, Elizabeth was the model for Beth in the novel. Not only did they share the same namesake as the youngest March character Beth; they both shared a childhood death due to scarlet fever. They both died at a very young age. Evidently, Alcott was the model for Jo. They were both tempestuous and of wild nature. They were both females living in the Victorian Era who defied the norms of their times. At the age of fifteen, she wrote in her diary, “I will do something by and by. Don’t care what, teach, sew, act, write anything to help the family and I’ll be rich and famous and happy before I die, see if I won’t” (Laire 10). Women of that time did not normally focus on getting jobs; they left it to their male counterparts to bring home the income. Alcott and her sister both took on teaching jobs, though her dream was to become an actress. By the age of twenty, she knew her real talent was to write. To please the readers, she quickly understood the reading market and started experimenting with different writing styles. This gave her

There are different forms and examples of exemplary and classic literature which have been deemed as significant works that are highly esteemed worldwide. These examples of literature would awe the world with how much literary skill they entailed when they were composed and written: attention to details as to formation of characters, the most crafty of plots, the most eloquent speeches and lines, the most astounding of twists of scenes, and most of all, the most universal and meaningful of themes. The theme of any literary work is what makes it great as it should be able to encompass the immense diversity of the world and as it would be able to transcend the boundaries of religion, age, race, gender, etc. Two examples of this great and

Throughout the book entitled Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Jo March and Theodore Lawrence, or Laurie, become great friends. Although Laurie is very amicable with the whole family, undoubtedly his favorite is Jo. When Laurie ultimately decides he wants to marry Jo, she refuses his proposal. Her decision to reject him, as much as a shock as it may have been to Laurie, was very beneficial to their futures. It may very well have saved them both from a life of misery and disappointment.

Another example that highlighted the theme of sisterhood in the novel was Jo’s decision to move to New York, allowing Beth and Laurence to bond and fall in love. The eldest of the March girls noticed that her younger sister Beth had some affection towards Laurence, their neighbor, yet Laurence had an interest in marrying Jo (Fetterley 378). Thus, as a way of guaranteeing her sister’s happiness, Jo decides to move to New York to allow Beth and Laurence to develop the love within. Even though Laurence ended up marrying Jo’s youngest sister Amy rather than Beth, Jo’s selfless action is a clear depiction of the level of sisterhood that played a huge role among the March sisters.

Indeed, the best works of literature are those which are of relevance to our lives today. Through their relevance, these novels continue to persist and endure on. Through their relevance, we can better comprehend the messages, the themes, and the ideas that are imbued in them. Rather than literature being contradictory and in conflict with the truth and unpleasant reality of daily life, it becomes a weapon through which we can be educated about the existential crises facing our world today. In fact, the statement above could not be more far and distant from the reality of literature today. It is fatally flawed. Literature, whilst at the surface, seems whimsical and amusing is, at its very core, a medium through which we are enlightened

Literature is an imitation of societal values and is thus a reflection of the human experience of a time period. Written works emphasize the elements of culture, by means of characters, particular events, setting and theme, specific to the time period in which it was composed. Furthermore, literature mirrors the troubles or hardships of society and projects the core values that define said society. Thus, as culture has changed over time, literature has remained a critical facet in representing time periods of the past. Essentially, the culture of a time period is manifested through writing in the projection of society’s values, symbolism of the center of community and literature itself.