Sacrifice In Little Women

Sacrifice over Self

Individuals make choices based on personal morals, such as selflessness and betterment, because helping those in need and making sacrifices for others ' good is morally right. The March sisters from the story “Little Women” made a conscious decision to help Marmee, as well as sacrifice their Christmas breakfast for the gain of a German immigrant family. From the poem “Mother to Son,” the mother helped her son who was in need of guidance and care. In life, individuals’ choices are influenced by their ethics of service and sacrifice for other people.

In “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott, the March sisters and Marmee show many examples of selflessness. The author writes the dialogue “‘I 'll tell you what we 'll do,’

The poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is another example of an individual making a choice based on the betterment of others. In this case, the mother is helping her son through life when it gets difficult. One of the main points made by the mother is that “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” (Hughes line 20). The mother has not had an easy life, and she wants her son to understand this and learn from it. The mother is telling her son that life isn’t a clear-cut, easy path, but that he must keep working hard and face life’s adversities. She wants to help her son because, as a parent, the mother wants to prepare him and prevent him from possibly making the same mistakes she did. The author writes the line “So, boy, don’t you turn back [...] cause you finds its kinder hard” (Hughes line 14-16). The mother is advising her son to keep going even though he might find that the challenge at hand is more than he thinks he can handle. She does this because, like most individuals, she has the obligation to help her son if it will make him stronger. She knows that advising him now will give him a chance at a good life that she never had for herself. This simple, selfless act on the mother’s part will make her son’s life much better, and give him a strong chance of success. “[F]or I’se still goin’, honey” (Hughes line 18) gives an insight into how the mother is choosing to better her son’s life. Using her own experiences of difficulties, she is ameliorating her son’s

Every decision has a push factor, and some can argue that individuals make choices solely based on their own emotions and feeling. Choices that are made to positively aaffect othersare made because one wants to do good. Although a choice may offer a personal benefit, the original cause was the need to help others. The March sisters sacrificed their Christmas breakfast for the sake of the German family, but they got nothing out of it other than the joy of giving. They lost something valuable, but the sisters were happy making the sacrifices for the betterment of the poor