Little Women’s Continuous Appeal
There are many reasons that can be argued on why “Little Women” has remained so popular
even in today’s society; I believe that the biggest reasons are that the book
is not tied down to a specific time period, and the characters are extremely
relatable. These two things are in my opinion what makes this book so appealing.
Even if a reader is not a fan of the book they have to agree that “Little Women” is pretty open when it
comes to time period. Readers will generally also agree that there is at least
one character that reminds them of themselves or someone they know.
I will start with the point on time period and how
the book isn’t tied down to a specific one within the storyline. Within the
story there are some references about war, due to the father being away for it,
yet it’s not a main focal point. The book never directly states what war is
being fought, and since there always seems to be a war going on somewhere the
book isn’t limited to a specific time period. This absence of time limits
assists the people reading the story because they can just imagine it in their
current day and age easily; which makes the story that much more appealing.
The time period can be shown in not only the story
itself in dates and events, but also in language. The language in “Little Women” is easy to read and
understandable, albeit a little dated in terms, but that is easily overlooked.
Readers (especially young readers) can from the start get in the mindset of
these girls, because everyone agrees that “it’s so dreadful to be poor” (1).
While in today’s society we might say “it sucks to be poor” or “being poor is
awful” we can still agree with the concept, and it’s not hard to comprehend.
The point that I believe is the most important is
the fact that the characters in “Little
Women” are relatable. Each character in the book is seemingly meant to
portray a certain type of person, or stereotype. This allows readers to find at
least one character that they can relate to, or that reminds them of someone.
Or if readers don’t relate to a specific character in some way concerning them
or someone they know, the reader can always feel sorry or become attached to a
character. This attachment could come from a character’s traits that the reader
wishes they possessed. Or the reader could become attached to a character
wishing they had someone in their actual live with those particular traits.
There are many possible reasons for an attachment to book characters.
I believe that this is a well written book that is
hard to date. I also think if you gave this book to a teenage girl that had
never heard of it and told her to read it, she would never guess that it was
written in 1880. While some language is a little dated the story itself is
relatable to many time periods. This book is just thought of differently by
each generation, many people now get a lesbian feeling about Jo, something that
years ago wouldn’t have even been thought about, let alone debated. It is a
unique book that can be constantly adapted with the times, which is why it is
still widely read today.
Works Cited
Little Women is definitely a classic and widely known in the public school systems. I do agree that it is very open ended in the sense that nothing was explicated told to us, aside from Amy's Will in which she dates 1861 and gives to Laurie to take with him.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I do believe makes this book hard to relate to is the ultimate goal each of the girls, aside from Beth...RIP Beth, is this idea of marriage being the final piece that fulfills a young woman. Again, I am just a crazy liberal feminist, but the corny romance and totally foreseeable marriages makes this book hard for me to relate.
I do agree though that the characters are very easily identifiable. Anyone who has read the book can name off their Jo, Amy, Beth, and Meg. Alcott has done such a lovely job at developing those characters so differently from one another, which helps show the growth the girls do experience throughout their lives.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your response on Little Women. You’re spot-on: it does appear timeless; the language and syntax is easily understood, even with the idiom of the mid-to-late 19th century. I especially loved your comparison of the phrase “it’s so dreadful to be poor” to “it sucks to be poor”! I laughed out loud!!
Your position regarding the relatability of the characters made for a sound argument. I especially liked with your point that each character is a sort of place holder, which dovetailed nicely with the idea that Alcott’s characters are relatable. They’re not caricatures, because we’ve all known someone “like that.”
Finally, I’m taking your comment one step further, namely that a well-written book is timeless. Very astute.
Emily, I find your two arguments for the continual appeal of Little Women compelling--and that says a lot for me. I'm of the opinion that the novel is dated and that the characters are not relatable; therefore I would discourage this book in the curriculum. However, your strong argument for the novel actually NOT being dated makes me question my own bias, and your argument for the characters being relatable is a strong contention as to why this book is still being read. I know it still surprises me as to how many people I know have said they not only loved this book, but they have read it several times. Your response has helped me take a step out of my own bias and understand a little more of the strengths and successes of this long-lived story. Thank you!!
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