PART TWO: CHAPTER TWENTY - SEVEN - Literary Lesson Practice Quiz — Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: PART TWO: CHAPTER TWENTY - SEVEN - Literary Lesson
What is Jo's "scribbling suit"?
A black woolen pinafore on which she can wipe her pen, and a cap of the same material adorned with a cheerful red bow, into which she bundles her hair when writing.
What does the position of Jo's red-bowed cap signal to her family?
Low on forehead = hard work; pushed askew = excitement; thrown on floor = despair; perched gaily erect = success and she can be approached.
Who is Miss Crocker, and what event does Jo attend with her?
Miss Crocker is an acquaintance Jo escorts to a People's Course lecture on the Pyramids, where Jo discovers the newspaper story contest.
What does Jo learn about Mrs. S.L.A.N.G. Northbury?
She learns from a boy at the lecture that Mrs. Northbury makes a good living writing sensational stories for a pictorial newspaper.
What does Jo resolve to do after the lecture?
She resolves to enter the newspaper's contest for a hundred-dollar prize by writing a sensational story.
How does Jo's sensational story end?
She sets it in Lisbon and winds up with an earthquake as "a striking and appropriate denouement."
How long does Jo wait for a response to her contest entry?
Six weeks — a long time to wait and an even longer time for Jo to keep a secret.
How much money does Jo win for her sensational story?
A check for one hundred dollars.
What does Jo value more than the prize money?
The encouraging letter from the editor, because after years of effort it showed she had "learned to do something."
How does Jo spend her prize money?
She sends Beth and Mrs. March (Marmee) to the seaside for a month or two to improve their health.
What is the result of the seaside trip?
Beth is much better though not as plump and rosy as desired, and Mrs. March declares she feels ten years younger.
Name three of Jo's sensational story titles and what each pays for.
The Duke's Daughter pays the butcher's bill; A Phantom Hand funds a new carpet; The Curse of the Coventrys covers groceries and gowns.
What does Mr. March advise Jo after she wins the prize?
"You can do better than this, Jo. Aim at the highest, and never mind the money."
What conditions does the publisher impose on Jo's novel?
She must cut it down by one third and omit all the parts she particularly admires.
What does Beth say during the family council about Jo's novel?
"I should so like to see it printed soon" — with an unconscious emphasis on "soon" that chills Jo with a foreboding fear about Beth's health.
What is Amy's advice about the novel?
Follow the publisher's instructions, make a good popular book, and get as much money as possible. Philosophical characters can come later when Jo has a name.
What fable does the narrator compare Jo's editing process to?
The fable of the old man and his donkey — by trying to suit everybody, Jo suited nobody.
How much does Jo receive for her published novel?
Three hundred dollars.
What irony does Jo notice in the critics' reviews of her novel?
The parts taken straight from real life are denounced as "impossible and absurd," while the scenes she invented are praised as "charmingly natural, tender, and true."
What literary figure does Jo reference when discussing surviving criticism?
John Keats — she says, "Not being a genius, like Keats, it won't kill me," alluding to the legend that harsh criticism contributed to Keats's early death.
What phrase describes Jo's creative state when writing?
She calls it falling into a "vortex" — giving herself up to writing with entire abandon, losing track of sleep, meals, and bad weather.
What publication did Jo previously write for before trying sensational fiction?
The Spread Eagle, where she published very mild romances.
What does the narrator say about "the sunny side" of poverty?
That genuine satisfaction comes from hearty work of head or hand, and that "to the inspiration of necessity, we owe half the wise, beautiful, and useful blessings of the world."