PART ONE: CHAPTER TWO - A Merry Christmas Practice Quiz — Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: PART ONE: CHAPTER TWO - A Merry Christmas
What gift does each March sister find under her pillow on Christmas morning?
A small, colored copy of Pilgrim's Progress. Meg's is green, Jo's is crimson, Beth's is dove-colored, and Amy's is blue.
What does Marmee ask the girls to do with their Christmas breakfast?
She asks them to give it away to the Hummel family, a poor mother with a newborn baby and six children who are freezing and starving.
How do the Hummel children react when the March family arrives with food?
They stare with big eyes and smile with blue lips, and the mother cries for joy, calling the girls "good angels." The children exclaim "Das ist gut! Die Engel-kinder!"
What do the March sisters perform on Christmas night?
An original five-act Operatic Tragedy featuring the villain Hugo, the witch Hagar, and the lovers Roderigo and Zara, performed for a dozen neighborhood girls.
What comic disaster happens during the play when Zara tries to descend from the tower?
Zara forgets her train, which catches in the window. The tower totters and falls with a crash, burying the lovers in the ruins.
Who sends the March sisters a lavish surprise supper on Christmas night?
Old Mr. Laurence, their wealthy neighbor, sends ice cream, cake, fruit, French bonbons, and four bouquets of hothouse flowers.
Why does Mr. Laurence send the supper to the March family?
Hannah told one of his servants about the girls giving away their Christmas breakfast, and the old gentleman was so pleased by their generosity that he sent the feast.
What does Beth wish for at the very end of Chapter 2?
She wishes she could send her bunch of flowers to their father, worrying that he is not having as merry a Christmas as they are.
How does Meg demonstrate her leadership role among the sisters in Chapter 2?
She gives a serious speech urging her sisters to read their books every morning, organizes the Christmas gifts for Marmee, and helps cover the buckwheat cakes for the Hummels.
What roles does Jo play in the Christmas night theatrical performance?
Jo plays the male parts, including the villain Hugo and the hero Roderigo, wearing her prized russet leather boots, an old foil, and a slashed doublet.
What does Amy do early on Christmas morning that shows her trying to overcome selfishness?
She secretly goes out and spends all her money to replace her cheap cologne bottle with a handsomer flask for Marmee, saying she is "truly trying not to be selfish any more."
What endearing mistake does Beth make when marking the handkerchiefs for Marmee?
She embroiders "Mother" instead of the initials "M. March," explaining she did not want anyone else to use them but Marmee.
Who is Hannah, and what role does she play in the March household?
Hannah is the family servant who has lived with them since Meg was born. She is considered more a friend than a servant and helps carry wood and provisions to the Hummel family.
What is the central moral lesson of Chapter 2?
True happiness comes from selfless generosity rather than from receiving gifts. Meg sums it up: "That's loving our neighbor better than ourselves, and I like it."
How does the chapter develop the theme of moral pilgrimage?
The gift of Pilgrim's Progress establishes an allegorical framework where each sister's personal growth mirrors a spiritual journey, a motif that structures the entire novel.
How does the chapter address the theme of wealth and social class?
It contrasts the March family's modest comfort with the Hummels' desperate poverty and Mr. Laurence's great wealth, suggesting that kindness circulates across class boundaries and is repaid.
What does the chapter suggest about the relationship between creativity and domestic life?
The sisters' elaborate homemade play shows that imagination and resourcefulness can transform limited domestic circumstances into rich entertainment and self-expression.
What major literary allusion anchors Chapter 2, and what is its purpose?
The gift of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan frames the entire novel as a moral allegory, casting each sister's growth as a spiritual pilgrimage.
How does Alcott use juxtaposition in Chapter 2?
She contrasts the warm March home with the Hummels' freezing room, and the girls' physical hunger with their spiritual satisfaction, to dramatize the rewards of generosity.
What is foreshadowed by the introduction of the Laurence family in this chapter?
Jo's declaration that she means to know the Laurence boy and Marmee's observation that he looked "wistfully" at the house foreshadow the close friendship between the March and Laurence families.
What does the word "philter" mean as used in the play scene?
A philter is a magic potion, especially one believed to arouse love. In the play, Hugo asks Hagar for a "love philter" to make Zara adore him.
What does "cabalistic" mean in the description of Hagar's costume?
Cabalistic means relating to secret or mystical symbols. Meg's witch costume features "cabalistic signs upon her cloak."
What are "vittles" as used by Hannah?
Vittles is a dialectal or informal pronunciation of "victuals," meaning food or provisions. Hannah uses it when describing Marmee's habit of giving away food and drink.
Who says "That's loving our neighbor better than ourselves, and I like it," and what does it mean?
Meg says this after the family returns from feeding the Hummels. It captures the chapter's central theme that selfless charity brings deeper joy than self-interest.
What does Jo mean when she says of the Laurence boy, "I mean to know him some day, for he needs fun, I'm sure he does"?
Jo recognizes that the lonely boy next door is kept isolated by his grandfather and needs companionship. This foreshadows the deep friendship between Jo and Laurie.
Who says "Ach, mein Gott! It is good angels come to us!" and in what context?
The poor Hummel mother says this, crying for joy, when the March family arrives with their Christmas breakfast, food, and firewood.