Louisa May Alcott-19th Century American Writer
1832-1888
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Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Philadelphia. As a girl, her family moved to Boston and she lived the rest of her life in the Boston-Concord area. Her education came from her father, Bronson Alcott, and family friends Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who were neighbors in Concord. The Alcott family did not have much money and after the utopian community her father founded failed, Alcott realized that her father was not able to provide for his family. Consequently, Alcott taught school and then worked as a domestic maid. Later she started to write. She wrote stories for Emerson's daughter that were published in 1854 as Flower Fables. By 1860, her poems and short stories were appearing in the Atlantic Monthly.
During the Civil War, Alcott served as a nurse in the Union Hospital in Washington D.C. Her letters to her family during that period were published as Hospital Sketches in 1863. While serving as a nurse, Alcott contracted typhoid and was sent home. She never fully recovered from typhoid.
Alcott's first novel, entitled Moods, was published in 1864. In 1867 she became the editor of a children's magazine, Merry's Museum. To earn money for her family, Alcott wrote Little Women, based upon her own childhood experiences in New England. The book features Alcott as the heroine Jo and was published in 1868. After its publication, Alcott became a well-known writer and finally earned money for her family. By 1869, she paid off all of her family's debts. Later She published a second volume of Little Women followed by Little Men in 1871. Alcott spent the rest of her life writing at her home in Concord and traveling in Europe.
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Learning from Her Character
1. How did Alcott use her writing abilities?
2. How did Alcott show responsibility for others?
3. Who are some people you can show more responsibility for?
Please paste your comment about why you think Louisa May Alcott is a person of character below!
Comments (19)
Hannah R. said
at 8:20 am on Oct 20, 2011
Because she went from living in a poor, utopia community, from working in the Civil War, than went, and became a famous author, and writer. She is brave, she persevered, she cared for people, and loved to write, which is great. (:
Leanne L. said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
She wrote so she could raise money for her family and help them. She was also a nurse during the civil war. She was very helpful and she never gave up.
Jared K. said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
She is a very good person and she cares about people she got sick and kept going and she wrote books to help people and she was brave to help people in the war.
Josh W said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
She was very brave and she never gave up. She got typhoid and I think that if she wouldn't have gotten it, she would have stayed helping the soldiers.
Savannah D. said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
she had a lot of courage and never gave up on anything that she did. she was a good woman for becoming a nurse and helping the sick and wounded.
Ean P said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
She didn't ever give up and she was very brave. She never gave up even after geting a bad sickness.
Madelin M. said
at 8:21 am on Oct 20, 2011
I think that she was a person of character because she helped her country and her family.
Audrey.C. said
at 8:22 am on Oct 20, 2011
I she that Alcott was an amazing women and she was very strong. She could of gave up, but she keep trying. It is amazing how she served as a nurse.
Madison M. said
at 8:22 am on Oct 20, 2011
She was a person of cahracter because she never gave up, she kept trying to make her life better and eventually she did make it better.
16acallahan said
at 8:22 am on Oct 20, 2011
She was very consistant and got jobs to help her family to pay off the dept. She helped the solders in the civil war as a nurse and then wrote the book Little Women.
McKinley G. said
at 8:22 am on Oct 20, 2011
She was poor and she still went to be a nurse in the Civil War to help people. She got sick and she still kept trying to help her family pay off dept. She was brave and kept trying.
Brian H. said
at 8:23 am on Oct 20, 2011
I think that Louisa Alcott She adapted to all of her situations, and she was brave. Also she never gave up and kept pushing on.
Mitchell W said
at 8:23 am on Oct 20, 2011
Louisa was a very confident because she helped her and her family survive during a very bad war by gaining money.
Natalie F. said
at 8:24 am on Oct 20, 2011
She was very brave and never really gave up even though she got terribly sick.
Tess L said
at 8:25 am on Oct 20, 2011
She helped out her father by working just so her family could make it by. She wouldn't of had to do that. Since she was a nurse for the war it showed how much she cared about other people.
Jacob L. said
at 8:31 am on Oct 20, 2011
She knew that her father could not support the family. So she decided to help. After one job shift ended another began. Even when she got very sick she still tried to help.
jaymy18 said
at 8:36 am on Oct 20, 2011
She worked endless hours and always put others first.
Bailey M. said
at 12:37 pm on Oct 20, 2011
She was very brave and helped out others.
Autumn L. said
at 7:21 pm on Oct 21, 2011
She helped teach children writing and reading abilities. She helped others by helping patients in a hospital. I can show more responsibility to my parents and my siblings by helping them out and showing my siblings how things work.
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