The 1868 novel Little Women is not only a moving and heartbreaking story set in the midst of the Civil War, but also a series of veiled narratives from the life of the author, Louisa May Alcott. The story coincides with many of the economic and social struggles that Alcott faced throughout her life and highlights the importance of concepts such as sisterhood and family bonds, concepts that the protagonist, Jo March, learns about during her life's journey . Alcott's father, once a wealthy man, decided to move his family out of their wealthy community and lavish lifestyle, giving away nearly all of their money and leaving Alcott's mother and sisters in poverty (Nancy Porter Productions). Thus began the circumstances that gave Alcott the basis for all the social and financial difficulties in his novel. A common theme derived from these circumstances, and continually demonstrated throughout the book, is the idea that true happiness cannot be achieved through monetary security or class rank, but through strong underlying family ties and moral values. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One simple way this theme is illustrated throughout the novel is through the different characters of the four March sisters and their different reactions to economic hardship. These character differentiations are also seen in the opening scene of the novel, when the girls discuss the family's financial situation at Christmas. Alcott uses dialogue between the sisters to show each sister's point of view on the situation and how these points of view reflect their attitudes. Beth says in this scene, "We have mom and dad and each other," and Amy later adds, "I don't think any of you suffer like I do, because you don't have to go to school with sassy attitudes." girls, who laugh at your clothes and label your father if he is not rich, and insult you if your nose is not beautiful” (2). These character descriptions illustrate how Beth, perhaps the most genuinely happy character in the story, understands the irrelevance of material value and the importance of family values, and how Amy, the little sister whose life goal is to marry into a wealthy family and to become famous, she focuses solely on her material worth, which in turn makes her unhappy with most aspects of her life. Another way Louisa May Alcott supports her ideas in the novel is through the introduction of different social classes and the reactions to those classes. When it is revealed that Meg intends to marry Laurie's guardian, Mr. John Brooke, the reactions of the different characters illustrate how the focus on class and money affects overall happiness. Aunt March, for example, is one of the most unpleasant and rudest characters in the book, but also one of the richest and most socially prestigious. When she discovers that John Brooke is poor, she replies to Meg, "So you mean to marry a man without money, position, or business... when you could be more comfortable every day looking after me?" (252), showing that his only concern is for Meg's social status and tax situation. Such a mentality essentially makes her the hot-tempered woman she is. A further introduction to a social class different from that of the Marche occurs when Meg attends the wedding of her snobbish friend Annie Moffat. Annie's family is much wealthier than Meg's, and Meg's embarrassment about her class is evident when she is in the presence of rich, socially prominent girls: Annie's new, bubbly one. Meg saw the girls glance at each other and then look at each other, and her cheeks began to burn” (93)... 2014