Little Men

Daisy and Demi’s father, John Brooke, dies of a sudden illness overnight. All the students from Plumfield attend the funeral and sing a hymn. Many people attend the funeral in honor of John, who owned a store and led a quiet life but was loved for his good character. He was a good friend, husband, and father, and an honest businessman.

After the funeral, the students reflect on their memories of John. They are all impressed by the turnout at the funeral and by remembrances of John’s integrity. Mr. Bhaer recounts stories of John’s goodness, emphasizing the ways John served his family and greater community.

Demi faces the loss of his father stoically, and it matures him. He is determined to become a good accountant, like his father, and dedicates himself to his mathematical studies more seriously. To uphold his promise to his father to take care of his mother and siblings, he takes on odd jobs for Mrs. Jo to earn money. He also asks people to start to call him “John Brooke” rather than Demi.

The older boys sit around a fire roasting apples and cooking popcorn. Nan and Tommy, who have crushes on each other, fight and Nan is rude to Tommy. The group invents a game in which every time someone new enters the room, they must stay and tell a story. The first person to enter is the property manager Silas, who tells them a true story from his experience fighting in the Civil War. After he was shot in the arm, he mounted his horse Major who bravely carried him back into battle. Major was injured in an explosion, and while he lay dying on the battlefield, a wounded Confederate soldier offered the horse his water canteen. Silas repaid the man’s kindness by asking the medics to carry the other soldier to help first, though it did not save the soldier’s life. The boys are in awe of Silas’s and Major’s bravery.

Next, Mrs. Jo tells an allegorical story about a young boy named Lewis whose life story resembles Nat’s. Lewis secretly eats the gooseberry filling out of his teacher Mrs. Crane’s tarts. The filling makes him sick, and he dramatically fears he is dying, so he confesses his crime. Afterwards, everyone mistrusts him. When a passing peddler announces a rare knife with a pearl handle has been stolen, people blame Lewis even though he promises he didn’t do it. When the peddler realizes the knife wasn’t stolen but misplaced, Lewis’s peers feel guilty, and they gift him the knife as an apology. Mrs. Jo explains that teasing someone in small ways can be just as harmful as fighting them outright.

She then tells them another story about an intellectual and self-centered boy who is taught by a minister to be dependable. He helps his ill mother by chopping wood and hauling it all winter rather than reading the books he loves. He is rewarded with a big pile of wood for Christmas, learning the lesson that, “The Lord helps those who help themselves” (303). This story of redemption through a caring attitude touches Dan’s heart.

Mr. Bhaer comes in last and tells them a story from his travels, about how he convinced a robber not to rob anymore by acting kind and generous to him despite his ill intentions. This story inspires Nan to apologize to Tommy for being rude to him, and the two repair their friendship.

At the Thanksgiving festival at Plumfield, everyone enjoys eating the bounty of their harvested crops from the year. Demi and Dan teach Rob about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. Mrs. Jo’s family arrives, including her parents Mr. and Mrs. March, Jo’s sister Amy and brother-in-law Teddy, their daughter Bess, and Demi and Daisy’s mom Meg (another of Jo’s sisters). Uncle Teddy brings along Mr. Hyde, who is interested in hiring Dan as his travel companion. Everyone is impressed with how much Dan has changed from the violent and angry young man he arrived as, noting his good manners and warm appearance.

The students put on a show of their talents for their guests, including a performance of Cinderella in which Bess plays the lead role charmingly. When her fairy godmother makes a carriage appear, everyone is surprised to see the carriage is made from the shell of Rob’s giant pumpkin.

Mr. Bhaer and Mrs. Jo discuss with their family the success of Plumfield. Both Nat and Dan appear to be heading toward brighter futures than they would have without the guidance and support of the Bhaers. Mrs. Jo reflects on the importance of mixing young men and women together so that they balance each other’s temperaments and character, just as they will in adult society. Mr. March is impressed by his daughter’s efforts and believes the children are blessed by their time at the school. Uncle Teddy is also impressed and says he will send his daughter there when she is older. They ask Mrs. Jo the secret to her teaching method, which she replies is motherly love.