It's refreshing to see homage paid to teaching children to improve their character. It used to be a thing. Now parents are so busy criticizing writers and teachers for making their children feel guilty that they have forgotten that guilt, regret, and sadness is a driving force in self-improvement and character development. When we read about the Trail of Tears, we're supposed to feel sorry for what was done to indigenous people across this continent. When we read of the murderous raid on Black Wall Street, we're supposed to identify with those who suffered and were traumatized by a type of American character, which hopefully none of us want to foster.
Your description of the March girls as naughty, then repentant, brought back my own response to "Little Womren". I regarded the sisters as realistic models for real life - neither too good nor too wicked. The characters are the draw in this novel.
Agreed. She defies reader expectations on several occasions, not just by refusing to let Jo and Laurie marry. It's the same sort of surprise we find in great music: the first time we here it we can't predict what comes next, even if it all seems quite obvious in retrospect.
I am pleased to read your reflection as an analyst. I will continue reading with a different eye. I am only 30% in. The book is an easy read, with delightful characters, as Kathy mentions. In comparison with my own childhood, wherein character building was based on the rather tribal view that only pain, suffering, and public humiliation could build character, I find myself not a little bit annoyed at what seems to me an extreme utopia, and not the kind that might inspire. I'll try not to take it personally, but identification with characters and events is key for me.
Your early, careful reading will go a long way toward helping me do right by my student and the book.
It's refreshing to see homage paid to teaching children to improve their character. It used to be a thing. Now parents are so busy criticizing writers and teachers for making their children feel guilty that they have forgotten that guilt, regret, and sadness is a driving force in self-improvement and character development. When we read about the Trail of Tears, we're supposed to feel sorry for what was done to indigenous people across this continent. When we read of the murderous raid on Black Wall Street, we're supposed to identify with those who suffered and were traumatized by a type of American character, which hopefully none of us want to foster.
Your description of the March girls as naughty, then repentant, brought back my own response to "Little Womren". I regarded the sisters as realistic models for real life - neither too good nor too wicked. The characters are the draw in this novel.
Agreed. She defies reader expectations on several occasions, not just by refusing to let Jo and Laurie marry. It's the same sort of surprise we find in great music: the first time we here it we can't predict what comes next, even if it all seems quite obvious in retrospect.
I am pleased to read your reflection as an analyst. I will continue reading with a different eye. I am only 30% in. The book is an easy read, with delightful characters, as Kathy mentions. In comparison with my own childhood, wherein character building was based on the rather tribal view that only pain, suffering, and public humiliation could build character, I find myself not a little bit annoyed at what seems to me an extreme utopia, and not the kind that might inspire. I'll try not to take it personally, but identification with characters and events is key for me.
Your early, careful reading will go a long way toward helping me do right by my student and the book.