PERSISTENCE AND GRIT
LITTLE WOMEN
Lousia May Alcott
WORD MEANINGS
1. Unprecedented – never done or known
before
2. Anxious – worry, nervousness
3. Mild – gentle, moderate
4. Despair –complete loss of hope
5. Acquaintance – familiared person
6. Dispatched – send off to a destination
7. Manuscript –piece of writing
8. Intense – extreme
9. Promptly – without delay, immediately
10. Plump – fat or rounded
11. Trembling – shaking, anxious
12. Disposed – willing
13. Omit – remove, exclude
14. Fame – reputation
15. Preached – giving lecture
16. Interrupted – stopped in between
17. Jumbled – mixed up
18. Ogre – monster or giant
19. Fable – short story with moral
20. Trifle – thing of little value or
importance
21. Agony – physical or mental suffering/pain
A. 2 WOEK IN PAIR
a. How do you think Jo’s family felt when she won the prize?
For a minute unable to believe that she was holding the prize she won. She felt very happy with her achievement. Every family member praised her success and there was a great jubilee in her family. They also gave her a piece of advice on how she could improve on it.
b. Why do you think Jo felt herself to be a power in the house?
Jo felt herself to be a power in the house because her wrtings turned into the source of income with which she now could provide comforts for the family in different ways.
A. 3 FROM THE TEXT
What has been
referred to as the magic slip of paper and why?
The cheque for hundred
dollars has been referred to as the magic slip of paper. It has been referred
so because along with the appreciation she got, this cheque would help to
support her family’s poor financial condition.
What does Jo mean by chop it up to suit purchasers?
Jo means to say by chop it
up to suit purchasers that she would cut down one third and omit all the parts
which she particularly admired. This she would do to suit purchasers, who
otherwise would not sponsor for printing the novel.
A. 11 ANSWER THE FORLLOWING QUESTIONS
a. Her experience and
miscellaneous reading were of service now… How were Jo’s experience and
miscellaneous reading useful to her?
Jo’s experience and
miscellaneous reading were useful for her because they gave her some idea of
dramatic effects and supplied plot, language and costumes to her stories. Her
reading experience acquainted her with ability to deal with uncomfortable
emotions.
b. Jo valued the
letter more than the money. Why do you think Jo valued the letter more than say
this?
Jo valued the letter more
than the money because it was encouraging, and after years of effort it was so
pleasant to find that she had learned to do something worthy of appreciation
and recognition. It was an overwhelming experience for her.
c. Wealth is
certainly a most desirable thing, but poverty has its sunny side. Why does the
author say this?
The author says so as she
receives the appreciation that she never imagined. The March family was going
though a rough patch when she was appreciated for her novel, and she also
received some money. The feeling of satisfaction amidst adversity, which only
comes from hard work, is a blessing.
d. … she resolved to
make a bold stroke for fame and fortune. What did Jo resolve to do? Why do you
think the author has referred to the act as bold?
Jo resolved to make a bold
stroke for fame and fortune. She read her novel to her family and friends
especially the parts she admired. This was a bold step to please the
publishers. She opted to cut down on the content, especially the parts she
admired. This was a bold step to please the publishers.
c. “… Let it wait and
ripen”, was her father’s advice… Do you think Jo should have followed her
father’s advice? Why/Why not?
I do not think Jo should have followed her father’s advice of ‘Let it wait and ripen’. This is because it would have not been correct to keep it waiting. The better way would have been to allow outsiders to read the novel and give their impartial views as family and friends could be partial, but the views of the other readers could be useful. Criticism helps one improve the work.
A. 12 ANSWER THE FORLLOWING QUESTIONS
c. In the hope of pleasing everyone she took everyone’s advice...
Do you think taking everyone’s advice with aim of pleasing everyone is a smart thing to do? Why/Why not? What would you have done had you been in Jo’s place?
No, I don’t think, it is a smart thing to take everybody’s advice and try to please everyone. It is practically impossible to please everyone, as the choice and taste varies from person to person. Unable to pay for printing by herself, she should have tried to convince the publishers to print without cutting the parts she wanted. But no publishers were willing to print the whole novel as she wanted. What else could she do but to agree to the conditions of the publishers? I too would have done the same. The only difference is that, I would not try to please anyone, as I had the confidence after the success of my first story.
d. ... she got three hundred dollars for it, likewise sprint your praise and blame both so much greater than you expected that she was thrown into the state of bewilderment from which it doesn’t time to recover.
Why do you think Jo got both praise and blame to a much greater degree than she had expected? What does this tell you about the joys and sorrows that new authors experience when they get famous?
An author who is new to the readers and is just growing, will have limited readers and therefore, the scope of praise and blame is also less. Likewise as the number of readers grow, it also brings more praise and blame from the readers who have read her book.
This tells us that she was becoming a famous and well known writer. She was generally a good writer but initially lacked confidence in oneself. Hence, she tried to please everyone. As her novel was read by more people, she was now famous. Hence, praise and the blame both were also more than she had expected. As a new author she could not strike a balance between praise and criticism. She was thrown into a state of bewilderment from which it took her some time to recover.
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