Jo is an actual person.

I am no different than everyone else in the class: I am in love with Jo’s character.

Although she is obviously human and filled with faults, she is a great role model for women of any generation. Her spunky attitude and dry wit are so refreshing compared to her sisters’ archetypes. I find Meg, Beth, and Amy (and even Marmee) to be incredibly boring. They are feminine ideals of their time period which frustrates me. I don’t care that they are “good” women. That’s bland, in my opinion at least. I want them to rebel and make their own paths in life and defy societal norms; that’s the interesting character development I want to read about.

As we discussed in class, all the sisters are one dimensional in certain respects. They are predictable and, though they learn lessons and mature, are relatively static throughout the novel. However, Jo is the least static to me. I think this is one of the main reasons I’m so entranced with her character; when I read a book or play, I look for emphasis on character development and could care less about any sort of plot. This is why the three other sisters are so frustrating to me. They don’t truly develop…they stay within their designated characteristics and it doesn’t feel organic at all.

One of my favorite Jo moments is after she publishes her book; "...When the first soreness was over, she could laugh at her poor little book, yet believe in it still, and feel herself the wiser and stronger for the buffeting she had received” (Alcott, 321). This perfectly demonstrates how Jo actually grows in the course of the novel. She overcomes criticism and doesn’t give up on her dream.

The chapter I especially enjoyed from our reading was the one with Jo’s journal entries. Her personality and spirit shine through, which gave me a deeper sense of her. I feel as though she is a real person; I felt that she becomes incredibly relatable in this chapter (if she wasn’t already). It reminded me of our own journal assignment, and how personal such writing can be.