Louisa May Alcott was born on November 29, 1855, to Amos Bronson and Abba May Alcott. From an early age, Alcott loved to write, and her imagination fueled her “sensational” stories. But her life was not an easy one. She grew up in poverty, brought on by her father’s refusal to compromise on his views and settle down, and at age fifteen she vowed to end her family’s monetary struggles. As she said herself, “I will do something by and by… anything to help the family,” and as it turns out she was able to use her passion for writing to do just that. This was her motivation; it was the desire to help her family that drove her to cultivate her gifts and write the great works we know today. Though her childhood was unorthodox to say the least, …show more content…
Their first child, Anna, was born on March 16, 1831. Though many would find her plain and lovely, Anna was some what of a black sheep in her family. She was an ideal woman of that day. Dutiful, studious, and loving in temperament, she provided the emotional shelter through the family’s many storms. She made a wonderful wife to the good John Pratt, and a loving mother to her two boys John Sewall and Fredrick Pratt. A few years after Louisa Alcott was born, Abba Alcott had Elizabeth Sewall Alcott, or Lizzie. Lizzie was the quietest of the alcott sisters. She loved children and kittens, and she spent her time at home playing music or sewing. Unfortunately, Lizzie, like her alter ego Beth, contracted scarlet fever from an impoverished family she was caring for. Though she recovered, the illness weakened her, and she died two years later. May Alcott was the youngest of the Alcott sisters. She was blue-eyed with golden hair who loved beauty, elegance, and art. More so than the rest of the family, May was not well suited for poverty. Though she craved things she could not have, it would be wrong to call her a snob or insensitive. She was in fact a loving, talented child. In 1878, May married Ernest Nieriker, a successful Swiss banker, but in 1879, she died tragically after giving birth to her only child Louisa May Nieriker, of Lulu. May’s dying wish was that the child be sent to live with Louisa Alcott, so that her …show more content…
She set off on her first trip to Europe in July 1865, working as a companion for a young invalid girl. When she returned she found that the family had run up debts while she was gone, so, with a new mindset, she set out to write her way out of this problem. It was around this time when she was approached by her publisher to write, “a story for girls.” Alcott never considered writing for children, let alone girls. She was the epitome of a tomboy, as she said herself in her journal, “Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters; but our queer plays and experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it.” Though she highly doubted the success of such a novel, she decided to write anyway, as an experiment. About two months later she emerged with the first twelve chapters
Jane Addams was born September 6, 1860 in Cedarville, Illinois. She was the eighth child of John Huy Addams, who was a successful miller, banker, and landowner. She also grow up wealthy. She went to Rockford Female Seminary for her education. Jane Addams was known as a social worker.
To escape the abuse of her brother in law,she married Moses Williams at the age of 14. Her daughter A`Lelia,was born on June 6,1885. Her husband passed away two years later,so she and her daughter moved St.Louis. In St.Louis,she worked
This is was a major event in her life that influenced her to write
Six of those children lived to be adults. Her parents were Daniel Anthony, a cotton mill owner, and Lucy Read. Her father was an abolitionist. When Susan was six years old, she and her family
Ella Josephine Baker was born December 13, 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). She grew up in North Carolina and developed a passion for social justice after hearing stories from when her grandmother was in slavery (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Her grandmother often told her stories of slave revolts and how oppressive life was as a slave (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Baker studied at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina and was elected valedictorian when she graduated in 1927 with a degree in sociology (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Baker began to cultivate her radical activism by protesting rules and policies of the university that were discriminating (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015).
She was still raising her five children, William, 17, Richard, 15, Catherine, 13, and Rebecca, 11. Her eldest, the child she felt closest to, Anna Maria, born in 1795(Mazzoni,2006). Catholic women from around the country came to her and the beginning of a religious congregation emerged
As a woman, her voice was not very loudly heard, but that didn’t stop her. Even after her death in October of 1818, her legacy continued through her countless writings about the issues of
She was tired of reading books that were filled with clichés and fairy-tale endings. She wanted her readers to relate to the stories she wrote by using real
Jones was put up for adoption and she was adopted by Dick and Gladys Jones. Jones also had two older, and one younger siblings. She grew up in a nice neighborhood; her father was able to provide for her family well. She called herself the black sheep of the family. She never felt like she got enough attention and often faked being sick so people would console her.
Jane Addams was a fifth generation American, her mother’s roots ran back to a German immigrant who arrived in Philadelphia in 1727. John Huy Addams, her father at the age of 22, moved with his wife to Northern Illinois. Jane Addams birth in Cedarville September 6, 1860 came at one of the tensest periods of American history. Jane’s childhood was filled with men risking their lives in the duty of what they believed to be right. After an mundane education in the village school in Cedarville, Jane Addams aged seventeen thought about college.
Adding to the ever growing library of women, Virginia Woolf used her unique stream of consciousness style of writing to convey new ideas about gender roles and gender identity, paving the way for more women to find rooms of their own. One can only hope to influence generations of people with one’s writing, bringing about new conversations and ways of communicating. Eventually, Virginia Woolf committed suicide, ending her highly original career and perhaps echoing a point she makes in her own essay, “To have lived a free life in London in the sixteenth century would have meant for a woman who was a poet and playwright a nervous stress and dilemma which might well have killed her”
Many people either looked down on her family because the Ewells were so poor, while others felt sorry for her. During the Tom Robinson trial, Tom was questioned about why he helped Mayella with her chores. He replied “I felt right sorry for her”. Even someone like Tom Robinson admitted that he had felt sorry for Mayella.
Her mother, father and two sisters all had a variation of names they went by,
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee took the minor character of Mayella Ewell and made her into a sympathetic role to her readers in a latent way. Mayella's life at home is told through the story's background and foreshadowing references. This is how Lee made Mayella memorable enough to the reader to know who she is and her family situation without needing her point of view of her side of the story. Once Mayella enters the storyline, her actions will become understandable to the reader and generate sympathy. One way Lee makes Mayella a sympathetic character is how before entering her into the story, one of Mayella's younger siblings was introduced.