PART ONE: CHAPTER FIFTEEN - A Telegram Practice Quiz — Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: PART ONE: CHAPTER FIFTEEN - A Telegram
What news does the telegram bring to the March family?
The telegram from S. Hale at Blank Hospital in Washington informs Mrs. March that her husband is very ill and she must come at once.
What is the family doing when the telegram arrives?
The sisters are sitting together on a dull November afternoon complaining about the monotony of their lives, while Marmee has just arrived home and Laurie has come to invite them for a drive.
What tasks does Mrs. March assign after receiving the telegram?
She sends Laurie to send a return telegram and deliver a note to Aunt March, Jo to inform Mrs. King and buy nursing supplies, Beth to ask Mr. Laurence for wine, Amy to help Hannah get the trunk ready, and Meg to help her prepare.
How does Jo raise twenty-five dollars for her father?
Jo sells her long, beautiful hair to a barber. She passes a shop, sees hair for sale in the window, and impulsively offers hers.
Who volunteers to escort Mrs. March to Washington?
Mr. Brooke, Laurie's tutor, volunteers to accompany her, with Mr. Laurence arranging the trip by saying he has commissions for Brooke in Washington.
What does Aunt March send in response to the request for money?
Aunt March sends the desired sum along with a note saying she always predicted that Mr. March's going into the army would lead to no good. Mrs. March burns the note but keeps the money.
How does the chapter end?
After the family goes to bed, Meg discovers Jo quietly crying over her lost hair. Jo confesses she is mourning her "one beauty" but insists she would do it again. Mrs. March then moves from bed to bed, blessing each sleeping daughter, and moonlight breaks through the clouds.
What does Mrs. March do with the lock of Jo's hair?
Mrs. March folds the wavy chestnut lock and lays it away in her desk alongside a short gray one of her own.
How does Hannah respond to the crisis of the telegram?
Hannah is the first to recover from the shock. She declares she won't waste time crying and immediately begins preparing Mrs. March's things, setting an example of practical industriousness for the rest of the family.
How does Laurie help the March family in this chapter?
Laurie sends a return telegram to Washington, rides at a desperate pace to deliver a note to Aunt March to borrow money, and generally offers to go anywhere and do anything the family needs.
What does Mr. Laurence contribute during the crisis?
Mr. Laurence rushes over with supplies and comforts for the invalid, promises to protect the girls during their mother's absence, and arranges for Mr. Brooke to serve as Mrs. March's escort.
How does Meg react to Mr. Brooke's offer to escort her mother?
Meg is so moved by Brooke's kindness that she drops the rubbers she is carrying and nearly spills her tea. She thanks him with a face "so full of gratitude" and something in his brown eyes makes her flustered.
What does Beth do that demonstrates her hopeful nature in this chapter?
At the chapter's opening, Beth insists something pleasant could make even November delightful. At its close, she is the last one singing the father's favorite hymn when everyone else has broken down crying.
How does Chapter 15 illustrate the theme of sacrifice?
Every family member and friend contributes something: Jo sells her hair, Meg gives her salary, Aunt March lends money, Mr. Laurence provides supplies, and Mr. Brooke offers his time as escort. Sacrifice is shown as a communal act of love.
What does Hannah's response to the crisis reveal about the theme of work in the novel?
Hannah embodies the novel's recurring belief that work is a "panacea for most afflictions." Rather than succumbing to grief, she channels her emotion into productive action, and her example inspires the rest of the family to do the same.
How does Chapter 15 address the theme of growing up?
The telegram abruptly ends the sisters' youthful complaints about boredom and forces them into adult responsibilities. Jo's sacrifice of her hair's beauty for money symbolizes the shedding of girlhood in exchange for adult contribution to the family.
What tension between vanity and virtue does Jo's sacrifice reveal?
Jo dismisses her hair as mere vanity, but her private tears at night reveal it was her "one beauty" and genuinely precious to her. The tension shows that true virtue often requires real personal cost, not just easy generosity.
How does Alcott use pathetic fallacy in Chapter 15?
The dull November day and frostbitten garden mirror the sisters' discontent. After the telegram arrives, "how strangely the day darkened outside." The chapter closes with moonlight breaking through clouds, symbolizing hope.
What dramatic irony opens Chapter 15?
The sisters complain that "nothing pleasant ever does happen in this family" and wish for excitement, moments before the telegram arrives with the devastating news about their father's illness.
How does Alcott use verbal irony in Jo's reaction to losing her hair?
Jo cheerfully claims her head feels "deliciously light and cool" and that the haircut will be "boyish, becoming, and easy to keep in order." This bravado is undercut when she is found sobbing in bed over her "one beauty."
What foreshadowing about Meg and Mr. Brooke appears in Chapter 15?
Meg's strong emotional reaction to Brooke's offer, combined with her bedtime confession that she cannot sleep because she is thinking about "handsome faces's eyes particularly" (brown ones), foreshadows their future romance.
What does "panacea" mean as used in Chapter 15?
A panacea is a remedy or cure for all difficulties. Hannah treats work as a panacea for grief, throwing herself into preparations rather than dwelling on sorrow.
What does "benignant" mean as used at the end of Chapter 15?
Benignant means kindly and gracious. The moon shines on Mrs. March "like a bright, benignant face," offering comfort and hope as she watches over her sleeping daughters.
Who says "I won't waste no time a-cryin', but git your things ready right away, mum"?
Hannah, the March family's loyal servant, says this after the telegram arrives. It establishes her as the first to recover from the shock and models the practical, industrious response the family follows.
What is the significance of Jo's confession: "My... My hair!"?
Jo makes this confession to Meg in bed at night, revealing that despite her brave front, she is genuinely grieving the loss of her hair. It shows that her sacrifice was not effortless but deeply felt, making her generosity all the more meaningful.
What do the final words of Chapter 15 mean: "Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds"?
These words are associated with moonlight breaking through clouds as Mrs. March watches over her daughters. They offer a message of hope amid crisis, suggesting that even in the darkest moments, comfort and resolution will come.