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Little Women - a Literary Comparison of Movie and Book

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Little Women - a Literary Comparison of Movie and Book
Karen Petty – Student # 21229141
Advanced Composition
Examination 50080500
October 12, 2012

Little Women – A Literary Comparison of Movie and Book

Little Women” written by Louisa May Alcott in 1868 has been recreated in four television series, four made for TV movies, and five feature length movies since 1918. The most recent version made in 1994 featuring such well known actresses as Wynona Ryder as the beloved Jo, and Susan Sarandon as Marmee. Rarely does a reader find satisfaction with a movie after reading the book, as the book most always brings us more depth into the lives of our favorite characters.
Since I have not seen the other movie versions of the novel, I cannot say what differences there were between the book and the other movies. The 1994 movie version starring Winona Ryder as Jo, Susan Sarandon as Marmee, Claire Danes as Beth, Kirsten Dunst as Amy, and Trini Alvarado as Meg is the movie version I chose for my comparison. As a movie lover, I enjoyed the movie yet was disappointed somewhat with it after having read the book.
I saw this movie when it first came out and absolutely fell in love with the March family. I wanted to be one of the sisters, live in that house, and spend time with them. I’ve never read the book until now because I’ve always been intimidated by the size of it. It took me a while to read, but it was definitely worth it.
The book is split into two parts: part one ending once Meg gets married. The movie follows part one of Little Women almost exactly. Both start out on Christmas Eve with the girls singing before going to bed. On Christmas morning, Hannah makes a wonderful feast that the girls bring to the Hummel’s, a poor family in town that they look after.
The party that Jo and Meg are invited to is exactly like the book. Jo burns off a piece of Meg’s hair, which is captured beautifully in the movie. Jo dodges a boy that wants to dance with her at the party which lands her in an alcove where she meets



Cited: Alcott, Louisa May. “Little Women.” Signet Classic, 2004. Print.

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