Role of Women and Men During the Civil War in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Literature Essay Example)

The book I decided to read was Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. In this story, she showed the role of women and men during the Civil war. Alcott alternates between stories about each of the March sisters throughout the book because each sister had their own story to tell. Each March sister had a different personality, making them each have their own problems. For example, Jo was a tomboy; everyone disliked the fact that she wasn’t well behaved and that she didn’t play the role of a well-respected woman. She would accidentally mess up things just to apologize and make another mistake. Jo had a dream of becoming a famous writer, but with her father being out in war she also had to be the “man” of the house. At the beginning of the book, it was close to Christmas and the girls are huddled together wishing to use their money to buy themselves something of their own to please themselves. Each of the things they wanted to but represented them, and what they wanted to become in the future. So, when the characters start to grow up Alcott separates their lives to show how they make their own succession and living. She also alternates between chapters with the March sister’s life to show how they depend on each other and how they branch off into their own personality. For example, when the March sisters lived together they depend on each other to tell them when and what they are doing wrong. As they started marrying and having kids they had to learn to depend on themselves to learn not to bother anyone and figure out things themselves.

Many people know what the two words “little” and “woman” mean, but author Louisa May Alcott used these two words to represent a significant period (1860’s). At this time the Civil war was active and most of the men went out to war, leaving their wives and children to provide for themselves. Because of this women started taking men-like jobs, and this is when the roles of when and women started to change. At the beginning of the story, the girls were talking ungratefully about the things they wanted until their mother had come home from a long day of work. It had come to that point of poverty where not only the mom but the girls themselves had to work. For example, the girl made a play just to earn the little money they could. As the story went along the girl started representing the newspaper, where Jo took the advantage to publish several of her stories. Some of her family members scorned her for it saying that it wasn’t in a woman’s place to do such things.