Louisa May Alcott Research Paper

American Novelist: Louisa May Alcott

Louisa May Alcott was a famous American author, that was mostly known for her classic, ‘Little Women’. Alcott wrote over fifty book and poems in her lifetime. Louisa May Alcott influenced the lives of other by writing books, poems, and novels. First and foremost, Louisa May Alcott was born to Amos Bronson Alcott and Abigail May Alcott on November 29th of 1832 in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She grew up with three sisters, being the second child. Her sister Beth died of the scarlet fever in 1858. Louisa wrote an entry about Beth in her journal saying, “ My dear Beth died at three in the morning after two years of patient pain. Last week she put her work away, saying the needle was too heavy ... Saturday she slept, and at midnight became unconscious, quietly breathing her life away till three; then, with one last look of her beautiful eyes, she was gone.” As an occupation Alcott was a nurse in the Civil War. On March 6, 1888, just two days after her father died, Louisa’s life ended from a heart attack.

Two quotes from the book are “...and “I make so many beginnings there never will be an end”(Alcott Page 26 )and “I want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives” ( Alcott Page 28). The first quote was chosen because Alcott is saying that she will make so many memories that will never end; the second quote was chosen because in that Alcott is saying the qualities that she would want in a daughter. In my opinion, these quotes can inspire others, especially women, in setting goals or plans to