Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Chapters 36-37

NOTE: Page numbers refer to the Barnes & Noble Classics paperback edition.

Background Information/Vocabulary
  •  This isn't so much an answer as a question: what is Beth dying from?  It's such a slow, peaceful death--it seems to be mostly painless, although I guess with Beth she's such a trooper you'd never know if she was in pain.  

My Noticings: 

  •     Wow, the transition from Beth and Jo's chapter to Amy's is really jarring!  You really don't expect to wind up in a European park on Christmas Day after reading that heartbreaking scene.
Final Thoughts:

I can't help but feel as though Beth is getting narrative short shrift here.  Meg got her chapter with the jam, and both Jo and Amy have gotten several point-of-view chapters about their travels.  But poor Beth, wasting away at home, never gets the same attention.

Question for readers:

How do you think the story would be different if the chapters were actually narrated by the March sisters?  What were the effects of the two chapters told in letters (from Jo and from Amy) and how would the book be changed if that technique were used more often?  Which do you prefer?

No comments:

Post a Comment