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Little Women
This paper presents a critical examination of the relationship between Jo, Amy and Laurie in the novel, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
Apart from the obvious family relationship and ties that exit between Jo Amy and Laurie, these three characters in the novel, inherently, bring out and build each other with relation to the novel. Alcott has used each of the characters in her novel to bring out the various themes of the novel, as well as, help in the development of the story. Jo, who is evidently the central character of the story, is Amy’s elder sister, and she is seen as the character who sets the pace for all other characters in the novel. At the outset, as the girls’ parents wish to teach the girls lessons regarding poverty, she is the first one to learn and catch what their parents are trying to teach them. She is very outspoken and outgoing, and for that reason, helps the readers understand the natures and characters of other people in the novel.
When she came out as the first sister to help Laurie when he was sick, and also as the first sister to develop an intimate relationship with him, most readers assume that these two characters will eventually marry each other. However, they do not marry each other, and instead she marries her professor who is atud bit older than her. Arguably, readers can see that her actions towards Laurie during the time of need, were a way of setting an example for her younger sister Amy, as to which actions are moral and good. Observably, Jo is quick to take on the role of a mother in her mother’s absence, something that Amy may not have been so amused about. For that reason, Jo can be considered also as a guide and parental figure to Amy, as well as, the other March sisters. In the development of Jo’s character, Alcott created her as a strong and independent woman, which in turn, illustrates her relation to Laurie as a character. She rebelliously refuses Laurie’s offer of marriage, which sequentially breaks his heart and compels him to look for marriage from the other sister in the family. He does eventually gain the love of Amy, which in turn builds on Jo’s character as a pacesetter and a guide.
The second character in the novel is Amy who is the youngest March sister. As a character, she is quite manipulative and she, in one way or another, influences most people in the book to do things her way. However, because Jo steps in to act as her mother, she is unable to manipulate Jo, and for that reason, the readers are exposed to a number of fights and disagreements between the two. She is a people pleaser, which explains, her relationship with Laurie. Readers can assume that being the youngest March sister, she observed how Jo treated Laurie and emulated these actions to make him fall in love with her. Fundamentally, her relationship with Jo and Laurie can be observed from two different perspectives. Whereas she accentuates Jo’s character in the novel, and provides a contrast between the natures of women, her relationship with Laurie carries plenty of romantic connotations. Amy is a lovable character, which helps reader understand why Laurie fell in love with her in the first place. By the novel’s end, she bares a child for Laurie, hence bringing out another relationship to him, as the mother of his child.
Laurie is the last character in the Novel who clearly has been brought out as having a unique relationship between the two sisters Jo an Amy. In both cases, the relationship with the two sisters is that of a romantic love, with an added friendship between himself and Jo. As a character, Laurie is intelligent and charming, which in turn explains why the sisters grew fond of him throughout the novel. The readers first observe his relationship with Jo in the first sections of the book, where the two experience a strong friendship with each other. They are there for one another at all times, especially in times of sorrow, thus illustrating the deepness of their friendship. However, their relationship to each other takes a turn where the two do not get married, as readers would expect. Arguably, this illustrates the strength of the bond between these two characters, as one can see that they are more than lovers, and are the best of friends. Readers may assume that this relationship is based on the similarity in their personal lives where they both struggle to become what the society expects them to be. As for his relationship with Amy, readers can see that the two are romantically involved as they fall in love and get married. The two also start a family with each other, further illustrating their relationship with each other. They have no ill feeling regarding Jo, and for that reason bring out the theme of family and its importance in the novel.
