'Little Men'

Paper Summary:

In this essay, the writer looks at the book "Little Men" and also looks at the influences on the author Louisa May Alcott. The writer points out that the Alcotts, both father and daughter, lived in an exciting time in history, when liberalism was a nascent concept. In this article, the writer studies the novel "Little Men" and maintains that it is a correlation of true-life experience and the "Plumfield School" is built on the ideals and premises with which the author's father experimented at his Boston Temple School. Further, the writer notes that although 'Little Men' is a condensed, highly idealized tale, it reflects the romanticism inherent in transcendentalism. The writer concludes that although Little Men seems sugar-coated by today's standards, it reflects an important movement in education that, in some modified form, could be useful for today's students.

From the Paper:

"For Little Men, Alcott borrows some characters from her famous book, Little Women, who have now grown up and gone on to live their ideals. The fortunate children at Jo Bhaer's Plumfield School are mostly boys, as well as Jo's own children and her twin niece and nephew. The school also serves as a dormitory, and the children go to their homes only for an occasional visit. Alcott does a fascinating job of attributing a unique personality to each of the children: One is very focused on earth science and botany, one child is mentally slow, one is very pious, one is highly talented in music, one is obsessed with the ocean, one is hot-tempered, one comes from the streets and knows too much about stealing and cursing, one is a food-addict, one loves to cook. Each child in Jo's school is given the opportunity to explore to the fullest his or her own particular talents and interests, including business deals among the boys and a small working kitchen for little Daisy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barger, Robert N. Ph.D. A Summary of Lawrence Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development, University of Notre Dame. Notre Dame, IN: 2000.
• Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. "Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher, author, political theorist and composer" Columbia University Press, NY: 2001.
• Gallogly, Jean Louisa May Alcott: her life, her times, her literature. Yale-New Haven Teachers' Institute, Hartford: 1999.
• Infed Encyclopeadia, "Johan Heinrich Pestalozzi" (1746-1827)" http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-pest.htm, Accessed 03/25/06.
• PSI Cafe B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) http://www.psy.pdx.edu/PsiCafe/KeyTheorists/Skinner.htm Accessed 3/25/06

More papers on 'Little Men':

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• Essay # 56610 : "Men in Film"

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