PART ONE: CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Secrets Practice Quiz — Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: PART ONE: CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Secrets
What is Jo doing at the beginning of Chapter 14?
Jo is writing busily on the old sofa in the garret, with her papers spread out on a trunk, while her pet rat Scrabble and his son promenade the beams overhead.
How does Jo sneak out of the house to submit her stories?
Jo goes to the back entry window, climbs out onto the roof of a low porch, swings herself down to the grassy bank, takes a roundabout way to the road, and hails a passing omnibus into town.
What does Jo submit to the newspaperman?
Jo submits two manuscripts (stories) to a newspaperman in town, hoping to have them published.
What secret does Laurie reveal to Jo about Meg?
Laurie tells Jo that Mr. Brooke has been keeping Meg's missing glove in his pocket, indicating his romantic interest in Meg.
What do Jo and Laurie do to shake off Jo's agitation after the Meg revelation?
Laurie suggests they race down a hill. Jo runs so fast that she loses her hat, comb, and hairpins, arriving at the bottom with flying hair and bright eyes.
What is the title of Jo's first published story?
Jo's first published story is called "The Rival Painters." Her sisters describe it as romantic and somewhat pathetic, with most of the characters dying in the end.
Does the newspaperman pay Jo for her stories?
No. He tells Jo he doesn't pay beginners, only lets them print in his paper and notices their stories. He says it is good practice, and when she improves, anyone would pay.
What concern does Jo express to Laurie about his leisure activities?
Jo worries that Laurie's visits to billiard saloons and his association with Ned Moffat and his set will lead him to waste time and money. She warns him that Marmee won't let them be friends if he becomes a "fashionable young man."
How does Jo react when she learns about Mr. Brooke's feelings for Meg?
Jo is dismayed and calls it "horrid." She says she doesn't want anyone coming to take Meg away and tells Laurie the secret has left her feeling "rumpled up" in her mind.
What does Jo's plea "Let me be a little girl as long as I can" reveal about her?
It reveals Jo's deep fear of growing up and the changes it will bring, especially the potential loss of her close-knit family as her sisters mature, marry, and move away.
How does Beth react when Jo reveals she is the author of the published story?
Beth runs to hug Jo and exclaims, "I knew it! I knew it! Oh, my Jo, I am so proud!" She then gets excited, skips, and sings with joy.
What does Laurie promise Jo about his behavior?
Laurie promises to be "a double distilled saint," but Jo replies she cannot bear saints and asks him to just be "a simple, honest, respectable boy."
How does Chapter 14 explore the theme of ambition versus domesticity?
Jo secretly pursues a writing career, representing independence and self-sufficiency, while the revelation about Mr. Brooke and Meg's glove represents the pull of traditional domestic roles through courtship and marriage.
What does the motif of secrets represent in Chapter 14?
The secrets represent the private inner lives that emerge as the March sisters grow up. Jo hides her writing ambitions, Laurie conceals his knowledge of Brooke's feelings, and these hidden truths signal that childhood transparency is giving way to adult complexity.
How does Chapter 14 address the theme of moral influence?
Jo lectures Laurie about avoiding billiard saloons and bad company like Ned Moffat, reflecting the March family's belief that good character matters more than wealth or social status. Jo warns that moral laxity could end their friendship.
What dramatic irony occurs when Jo visits the building in town?
Laurie (and the reader) assume Jo is visiting a dentist because of the dental sign at the entrance. The irony is that Jo is actually submitting her stories to a newspaper office in the same building, making her nervousness seem comical in retrospect.
What does the hill race symbolize in Chapter 14?
The hill race symbolizes Jo's refusal to conform to feminine expectations. She literally lets her hair down, loses her hat and hairpins, and arrives disheveled but happy—a physical enactment of her resistance to ladylike decorum.
How does Alcott use foreshadowing in Chapter 14?
The revelation that Mr. Brooke keeps Meg's glove in his pocket foreshadows the romantic subplot between Brooke and Meg that develops in later chapters, and signals the eventual changes to the March family that Jo fears.
What is the significance of the classical allusion to Atalanta?
After the hill race, Laurie's "Atalanta" reference compares Jo to the swift Greek huntress who refused to marry. This allusion reinforces Jo's independence, athletic spirit, and resistance to romance.
What does "omnibus" mean as used in Chapter 14?
An omnibus is a horse-drawn public transportation vehicle, an early form of the bus. Jo hails one to travel into town to submit her stories.
What does "wheedler" mean when Jo calls Laurie one?
A wheedler is someone who uses flattery or charm to persuade others. Jo accuses Laurie of being "a born wheedler" because he always manages to get people to tell him what he wants to know.
What does "bandboxes" refer to in Chapter 14?
Bandboxes are lightweight boxes used to store hats and delicate clothing. When Jo says Marmee would "shut us all up in bandboxes," she means her mother would keep the girls confined and sheltered rather than let them associate with fashionable young men of bad influence.
Who says "to be independent and earn the praise of those she loved were the dearest wishes of her heart" and what does it mean?
This is the narrator describing Jo's feelings when her family celebrates her published story. It encapsulates Jo's dual motivation: she wants both creative and financial independence AND the love and approval of her family.
Who says "I knew it! I knew it! Oh, my Jo, I am so proud!" and in what context?
Beth says this when Jo reveals she is the author of the published story. Beth had caught a glimpse of Jo's flushed face behind the paper and suspected the truth. Her reaction shows her quiet perceptiveness and deep affection for Jo.