Little Women question

Alcott based the March family on her own family and set their story in the house she grew up in, Orchard House (which you can go visit in Concord, Mass.). Meg is based on her elder sister, Anna; Jo is based on Louisa herself (although her life was considerably more unusual and exciting than Jo's and she never got married); Beth is based on her younger sister, Lizzie, who really did die young; and Amy is based on her youngest sister, May, who painted the walls of their childhood home with elaborate designs and pictures that are still there for visitors to see.

Alcott wrote many other things, including some wild adventure stories and quite a few scandalous adult tales (some are racy even today), but "wholesome" girls' books were very much in vogue and Alcott was ever in need of money, so she tried her hand at that as well, and even though it was not her passion, it is what has made her famous.

She was a remarkable women, though. She was a feminist, abolitionist and religiously broad-minded. She fought against racism and was friends with many fascinating people.

As to who from the book itself I think I most resemble, I have no idea. Probably Meg, though she was never the character I loved most.

It doesn't surprise me that most people posting about books online would relate to Jo. I think all bookworms have a special place in their heart for Jo. I naturally identified with Jo's love of books, dream of being a writer, boyishness, disdain for being proper and general high energy when I first read the book as a girl. However, I was surprised upon re-reading it how closely my adult life resembled Jo's. Prior to dating my husband, I didn't understand flirtations and girlishnesses and I think I might have turned off a few "Teddies" who I saw as friends. Then I fell in love with my husband, who while not a professor, is of a very philosophical bent. Most of all, I hadn't realized how close my dream of my husband and I teaching and becoming house parents at a Montessori farm school resembled Jo's school for boys.

I think Alcott wrote this in a way that makes every girl a combination of all four girls. We are all Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy at some point.

I always wanted to be sweet like Beth and cool like Jo but I'm afraid I have too much of Amy's mouthiness and a mature streak like Meg lol.

I think I'm a cross between, Joe and Beth. I'm VERY ceative and LOVE to read.

I think that I most resemble Jo. Reading this book was like coming to terms with the flaws in my own character... through Jo's musings. I, too, have a desire to be something more than the ordinary... to adventure, to live a life that is more than what I have witnessed first hand. But, like Jo, I feel I have to come to the realisation, soon enough, that perhaps the things most close to me, like my family and my closest friends are really what matter.
I also have no want for romance, or to be a typical ''girl''. I want to explore, be crazy, do things that even I couldn't imagine.
Moreover, I have a fierce love for books and creativity. Like Jo, I know I have many flaws, one of which is, too, my temper, which can rapidly fly out of control. I am also aware that I need to improve when helping my family, which Jo struggles with at the beginning of the novel.

I think most people want to be the jo.
I have a temper so that JO
but mostly AMY becasue Im whiny and anoying and stuff. Just being Honest, and im selfish soo...
But I love amy, but jo is my favorite and MEG ICK

I identify with Jo and wish I were like her, but I am more like Amy. I wanted her to stay with Laurie, but she was right in the end to go with her heart (not mine :))

I have a combination of all the girls. With Meg, I have the practicality streak and love the little luxuries. With Jo, I was a tomboy and love to read and write. With Beth, I can be timid and shy depending on the situation. With Amy, I love to paint and draw and create. When I first read the book over ten years ago, I identified the most with Jo.

I have a lot of Jo's qualities. I love to write, I' also very stubborn and can have a bit of a temper like she does...

I think that I am like Jo! I really love that character!

Jo and Meg. I always thought Meg and Amy were kind of similar in that they both loved pretty things and were pretty good at embracing their femininity, but I think I really don't have much in common with Amy and I have quite a bit in common with Meg. And then I love to read, write, act, etc. I've always considered myself Jo.

I'm a lot like Jo. I'm the eldest sister, but I used to be a tomboy and interested and talented in crative writing (Though it took me long to find my "voice") and arts. I took quite a while to really grow up, but then it happened rather in a rush, much like with Jo. Depending on how you define auburn, we also are similar in appearance - I'm a rather scrawny, kind of awkward redhead without much femininity. I'm fond of children, though, and I loved working with them when I volunteered in a kindergarten for half a year. Even though I'm the eldest, I'm not much of a Meg, I never was the responsible, caring type. I'm even less of a Beth, I always was hungry for more and still am.
Also, my sister is quite comparable to Amy. She's the youngest child, superficial and spoilt and quite silly, especially around boys. The difference is that our mother, unlike Marmee, pats her ass for everything she does, while I never seem to be able to do anything right, even now that I'm an adult and she is almost grown-up too. When I first read that scene where Amy burns Jo's stories in revenge, I couldn't help but think that our Ma would have coddled my sister and shrugged at me and said something like: "Stop whining. Write it anew. It's your own fault." My sister is also interested in arts, but she doesn't have my talent, if I may dare to claim so, and yet our Ma always hated what I drew (anime, back then, which she had a personal vendetta against for some reason) and loves what she does (ponies).
So it was kind of funny for me to hear that Alcott's youngest sister, the "real life Amy" was actually so bad at arts that her illustrations to Aclott's books got rejected :P

Definitely Jo. Her love of books, lack of social graces, keen intelligence.

Jodie wrote: "I personally can compare my self to the spirit of Jo and her love of books and creative writing, but I can also compare myself to Amy for her feministic approach to life and her want for the luxuri..."

louisa may alcott wrote "little women" to represent her and her sisters. she was jo

I believe I am more of a Meg character because Meg is known as the sweet and mature yuong girl who grows up the fastest. Not only am I the oldest, but I seemed to grow up in a jiffy and as a child put on my "grown up pants" quicker than I should have.

I KNOW that i'm like Jo. I sometimes have a dreadful temper (Bad!) and I also have written some short stories and have always wanted to write a child's novel, like "Little Women." But I also love music like Beth did. So :D

I'm probably most like Jo, really. As a child/teenager I wanted to be a great writer (still do), and thought girly stuff was stupid (not so much now). But Amy has always been my favourite, and I think I was quite a spoiled younger sibling myself. I enjoy arty stuff, and I would certainly like to be rich, so perhaps I should change my answer and say I'm most like Amy. On the other hand, I lack her ladylike qualities and can be a bit awkward, so maybe I really am more like Jo. Well, I guess I'm a little of both, but I don't see Beth or Meg in myself at all.

Jo, I saw myself in her the most upon reading this.

Jo. I'm boyish and I like writing. But I hate sports and love the piano, so I have a bit of Beth and Amy. I think I've acted like Meg once in a while.

I'm like Jo. I LOVE books, I have long curly chestnut hair which I also refer to as my one beauty (Although I know its not true), I have a dreadful temper (I wish I didn't. :( ). But I never wanted to write a book in my life!

Amy i am the youngest of 4 girls and when we were little we pretended we were them

She based Jo on herself. I love Jo and I feel most like her- temper, love books and writing, independent, strong, kind to some people, not always mannerly or sociable. Compared to affected Amy, perfect Beth and well meaning Meg, Jo is wonderfully flawed and amazing.

Jo
I have always seen myself in Jo. The tomgirl, the non-conforming to traditions and conventions. Her love of books and writing, her love for boys and friendship :)

Wow it feels like everyone is JO! I too think that I'm like Jo, that topsy turvy splendid bookworm. And well I'm afraid that I fell in love with Laurie that I couldn't stop grinning while reading their parts in the story. Am I the only one who ships them?

Definitely, Jo March. She's my mirror. In character, bad temper, her love for reading, and, more than anything, her passion for writing and her dream of becoming a writer, of writing something worth to be published and read, of leaving her mark in this world, just as I want to do, with the same fire. I love her!

I am most like Jo because I can be pretty quick-tempered at times and I speak before I think. I just love to read and can be seen with a book handy. I also aspire to be a published writer because I have a vivid descriptive imagination and lots of creativity.

When I first read this book as a kid, I wanted so much to be just like Jo! I have always loved reading and writing, but I've never been very outgoing like she is. I suppose I'm a combo of Jo and Beth; a feminist bookworm and quiet homebody.

Jo. No question.

I just love Meg!! She's so sweet, Also my best friend's mother is the actress who played Meg in the actual film, you know Trini Alvarado? She played Meg in the movie of Little Woman and her daughter is my BFF! But yes, i agree with lots of people.. we are all Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy at one point of our lives!

I have Jo's stubbornness but I identify more with Beth, her ability to care for everything. I don't see any Meg or Amy in me. I got to visit Orchard House this summer. It was very neat learning the Alcott family's history.

I would say I compare most with Meg. She is family oriented, motherly, even tempered dosen't like confrontation and conforms to the social norms of the day.

I also loved this book and any and all of the movies ever made about it.

Jo, for sure. Tomboy and writer :)

Little Women is my all time Favorite Book! Everyone automatically thinks of Jo, but I've always identified more with Amy & Meg.

i have a clumsy jo in me, writer, reader and iam still exploring.

When it comes to the March sisters, I just love Jo. She's my favorite heroine. I think I resemble her in some ways too. I love reading and want to write when I grow up. I love her strong spirit and rebellious ways. But I'm a lot like Meg too. So I guess I'm just a blend of both.

I think I'm most like Jo because I am clumsy, awkward, and a bookworm. Like Jo, I would most likely be found reading or writing in a corner. I also like how she wants to be a boy. When I was younger I wished I was a boy, but as I grew up, like Jo, I realized I was glad to be a girl.

I would have to say Beth because I tend to be very shy and quiet. The only thing I have in common with Jo is that I LOVE books.

I think most girls who read this book in adolescence are Jo/Beth hybrids. I certainly was.

I had Laurie tendencies in my youth, too, always trying to attach myself to somebody else's family!

Jodie wrote: "I personally can compare my self to the spirit of Jo and her love of books and creative writing, but I can also compare myself to Amy for her feministic approach to life and her want for the luxuri..."
When I first read the book I was Jo but 50 years later I'm more of a Meg, though not such a good housewife.

I always identified with Beth (mostly cause I never thought I would live to see 30) (wayyyyy past that now lol) but my family alwyas called me Jo becuase of my independance and determined nature :).

I can definitely compare myself to Jo the most. I'm a writer, thinker, and reader, just like she is and I have that whole adventurous spirit that she has in me. But, then again, I'm a lot like Meg because I'm the oldest in my family and I'm very sensible and classy.

I'm probably like a cross between Jo and Meg. I'm a book worm and a bluestocking, but willing to let others have the spotlight.

I am most like Beth. Quite and a home body and I always try to be a peace maker.

Every woman writer owes Jo, and Alcott, a debt of gratitude.

Shelley, Rain: A Dust Bowl Story
http://dustbowlpoetry.wordpress.com

I love Little Women, it was one of the first novels that I ever read as a little girl....while I have always loved all the girls, I have always wanted to be like Amy. I know that can sound crazy, but she is sweet and girlie even if she can be selfish and a snob. I was such a princess as a little girl.
As I have grown up I think that I really mostly relate to Meg. She is the eldest, as am I, and she is more motherly figure who cares for the others. I can deeply understand her marrying for love, but once she is married she laments at not having the finer things in life. Like me she thinks that she can be noble and that material goods don't matter to her...but in the end they do.

I'll JOin the crowd and say, I could never imagine being any of them besides Jo. I read a biography of Louisa May Alcott as a child and OH boy, did it resonate - the wild tomboy who had so many struggles staying within social boundaries. She was the one who made me say, as my first career aspiration, "I want to be an author" (yes, I was a dweeb) - not a writer. I've been blessed to have that happen, although not (yet) with a novel - on the bucket list.

I (being named Meg after her in the book) have to say I am most like her out of the March family. Although I am quite a bookworm (hehe) and love to write like Jo and am creative and musically inclined like Beth, I am also a lot like Meg. She's classy, caring, responsible and very emotionally strong, which is mostly why I look up to her as a character.

I am Jo all the way. I have tried to author "sensational stories" instead of what I know, I have a so far untamed temper, I am very tall and clumsy. However, I have blond hair and blue eyes. But other than that, I am Jo.

I seem to compare myself to Jo, altho Meg comes in a close second. I grew up a tomboy, have always loved to read, but I'm a lot like Meg too.