Little Women

Reaction paper by John Michael Umali

The story is about the march sisters that experience growing pains, financial
difficulties, family tragedies, and romantic rivalry. Jo strives for independence and
occasionally fights with her adored mother and sisters Meg, Amy, and Beth. She also
has to deal with their grumpy Aunt March, their rash neighbor Laurie, and the gentle
linguistics professor Friedrich Bhaer.

I very loved this masterpiece of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Woman, it super
relatable even Im not a girl, Im relate from what they struggle as human and citizen and
same as having a sibling I can relate in characters of the story in how they cared and
love each other and because of watching this movie I learn that persistent is the key in
life and also the film saying to me that all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when
we're young, and how, through a series of choices, we choose and narrow our destiny
to add more, I also learn how to pronounce the name of Friedrich because of this movie.

Little woman is a Drama movie adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Novel. The
main protagonist film is Jo March along with her sisters, Beth March her most closest
but died because of scarlet fever, Meg March her oldest sister who became wife of Mr.
Brooke, who is tutor of Mr. Laurie, Amy March, their youngest sister, is also an artist
and become the wife of Mr. Laurie the rich man and their neighbor. Although the
characters of this film are fictional, it is actually based in her real-life family.

Plot:
The little woman starts with the March sisters growing up in Concord,
Massachusetts during the American Civil war. Their father is serving in the military, with
their strong mother Marmee they struggle in major problems in 19th century New
england. Jo loves to write stories and play them. They became close friend with their
wealthy neighbor Mr. laurie the grandson of Mr. Laurence. And Meg fall in love with the
Laurie’s tutor Mr. Brooke.

Then they receive a letter that their father was wounded, Jo sells her hair for her
mother to ride the train to nurse her father, and Beth gets scarlet fever from the
struggling immigrant family. Amy was sent away to live safely with their aunt March.
Amy laments to Laurie that she may die without ever being kissed. He promises to kiss
her before she dies if she becomes ill.
 Four years pass; Meg (now 20) marries John, and Beth's health deteriorates.
Laurie proposes to Jo (now 19) after graduating from college and invites her to London,
but she declines, regarding him more as a brother than a lover. Jo is dismayed when
Aunt March decides to take 17-year-old Amy instead of taking her to Europe. She has
accompanied Aunt March and hopes to complete her artistic skills in Europe. Jo,
unhappy, travels to New York City to pursue her writing and to live her life. There she
meets Friedrich Bhaer, a German professor who intellectually challenges and inspires
her, introducing her to opera and philosophy and urging her to write better stories than
the lurid Victorian melodramas she has written. Amy and Laurie reunited again.

Jo receives a call to the house of eighteen-year-old Beth, who succumbs to the

ravages of scarlet fever that has tormented her for the previous four years. Jo,
depressed, escapes to the attic to write her life tale. She mails it to Professor Bhaer
after it's finished. Demi and Daisy are Meg's fraternal twins. Amy's letter informs them
that Aunt March is too unwell to travel and that Amy must remain in Europe with her.
Laurie receives a letter from Jo concerning Beth's death, stating that Amy is in Vevey
and unable to return home. He instantly rushes to Amy's aid. They eventually return to
the March house as married, much to Jo's astonishment and happiness.

Aunt March passes away, leaving Jo with her home. She transforms it into a
school. Professor Bhaer arrives with the printed galley copies of her book, but because
he believes Jo is married, he leaves to take a train to the West to accept a chair. Jo
chases him down, clarifying the confusion. She begs him not to go, and he proposes,
which she gladly accepts. The end.

The theme of this movie is women’s struggle between familial duty and personal
growth. The conflict in the story is the March sisters struggle to improve their various
flaws as they grow into adults. Jo dreams of becoming a great writer and does not want
to become a conventional adult woman, furthermore the story tries to tell us about how
all of life seems to stretch ahead of us when we're young, and how, through a series of
choices, we choose and narrow our destiny. The setting of the story is during and after
the civil war in a small town in New England.

The film uses the symbolism of gloves, burns, and flowers in Little Women to depict the
conflict between adhering to societal conventions and remaining true to oneself. Gloves
represent the girls' struggles as they seek to meet the societal expectations of young
ladies. The perspective of the film is third person because the narrator focuses not only
on her but on different characters in the film.