Jalan SS20/21, 47400 Petaling Jaya.

TITLE: A Little Princess

NAME: Nur Izzati bt Ibrahim CLASS:2 Cempaka SUBJECT TEACHER: Pn. Shahriah MARKS:

Table of Content Cover Page Authors background Synopsis Caharacters and Characteristic Moral Values Why I enjoy the story 1 2-3 4-6 7 8

By:

Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Author
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (November 24, 1849 October 29, 1924) was an English playwright and author. She is best known for her children's stories, in particular The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, and Little Lord Fauntleroy. Born Frances Eliza Hodgson, she lived in Cheetham Hill, Manchester. After the death of her father the family was forced to sell their home, and suffered economic hardship. Until she was sixteen she lived in Salford, and when she was sixteen the family emigrated to Knoxville, Tennessee. There Burnett turned to writing to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines by the time she was nineteen. In 1872 she married Swan Burnett. They lived in Paris for two years where their two sons were born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington D.C. There she began to write novels, the first of which That Lass o' Lowries, was published to good reviews. The publication of Little Lord Fauntleroy in 1886 made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and The Little Princess. Burnett enjoyed socializing and lived a lavish lifestyle. Beginning in the 1880s she began to travel to England frequently and bought a home there in the 1890s. Her oldest son, Lionel, died of tuberculosis in 1892, which caused a relapse of the depression she struggled with for much of her life. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898 and remarried in 1900, although her second marriage only lasted for a year. At the end of her life she settled in Long Island, where she died in 1924.
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Synopsis
Its a story about a bright, imaginative, and empathetic child who loves books and storytelling seven-year-old named Sara Crewe that lived in India . One day, her father, Captain Crewe, an officer in the army decided to send Sara to live at Miss Minchin's boarding school in London. Her father is a doting young man who leaves instructions that his daughter is to be given a everything that she might desire in his absence. The school's headmistress, Miss Minchin, privately believes that Sara must be intolerably spoiled due to her father's indulgence, but Minchin is impressed by Captain Crewe's fortune and quickly turns the well-dressed, wellmannered Sara into a show pupil. However, Miss Minchin privately dislikes Sara because she is a selfish, domineering woman who senses she has met her match in Sara. Sara also made friends with even the most outcast of her fellow pupils, as well as the scullery maid Becky who is mistreated badly by Miss Mincihn. Miss Minchin does not approve of such friendships, but she is willing to tolerate them for fear that Sara will complain to her father. A few of the older students are openly jealous of Sara's fortune and give her the mocking nickname of "Princess Sara" in reference to her wealth and perfect manners. The nickname first embarrasses Sara, but soon she adopts it as a reminder to be generous to others. On Sara's eleventh birthday, news arrives that Captain Crewe has died in India, having lost all his fortune due to investments made by a friend. Sara is left a poor student. Her school bills have been left unpaid, and Miss Minchin, now burdened with a student she has never liked, turns Sara into a servant, requiring her to work without pay in exchange for food and a place to live. Sara is given a room in the attic next to Becky, the scullery maid she was friends with.

Three years later, Sara is overworked and half-starved. In her loneliness, she uses her imagination to comfort herself, turning her attic room into the Bastille (prison) and Becky into a fellow prisoner. Sara does her best to keep up with her studies and to remember her good breeding and manners, even though this makes her unpopular, Sara still tries harder than ever to pretend she is a princess in order to keep herself from despair, but never enough to pretend away cold and hunger. One day, Sara sees a new family moving into the house across the street. Having been born in India, she recognises many of the furnishings as Indian and the master's servant as an Indian sailor. Upon learning that the master of the house is ill with the same "brain-fever" that killed her own father, Sara begins to pity him and referring him in her mind as "The Indian Gentleman." The Indian (sailor) takes up residence in the attic across from Sara's own, and she is able to speak to him in his native, Hindustani. The sailor, with the help and encouragement of his master, slips into Sara's attic while she is asleep and leave her gifts of warm bedding, food, and books. Sara awakens the next morning thinking that "the Magic" of her fantasies has somehow been made real. Every day, the comforts in the attic are added to, and Sara shares them with Becky. Finally a delivery of new clothes comes for Sara and Miss Minchin, worried that someone has revived an interest in Sara's case, allows her to attend school with the other students. When Sara returns to her attic, she finds that the sailor's pet monkey has escaped and taken refuge in her room. The following morning, she crosses the street to return the monkey and to at last meet "The Indian Gentleman", whose real name is Carrisford. Carrisford enquires as to Sara's name and circumstances, only to realise that Sara is the formerly missing child of Captain Crewe. Carrisford, it is revealed, was the friend who lost Captain Crewe's fortune, only to have it revived after Crewe's death. Knowing that Crewe had a child, Carrisford has spent the last two years searching boarding schools across the Continent for Sara. Miss Minchin, upon learning that Sara's fortune has been returned to her, attempts to convince Sara into returning to her school. But Carrisford knows about Miss Minchin's cruelty towards Sara and refuses. Sara sends for Becky to come and live with her as her own maid, and Miss Minchin was humiliated.
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Character and characteristic

Main characters Sara Crewe ~ the main character of the story. She is a romantic little girl, and is also very kind and clever. She can learn everything quickly, and has a great deal of imagination. She likes to pretend that she was a princess, even in her hardest time. Miss Minchin ~ the headmistress of the seminary. She is a worldly woman, so worldly that she brags the richest pupil and abuse the poors in her seminary. Ermengarde St. John ~ one of the dullest child in Miss Minchin's seminary. Sara always helps her with her lessons by making them fascinating stories. Ermengarde is one of the trio that visits Sara and comforts her when Sara is turned almost into a school maid. Becky ~ a scullery maid who is always drudged in the seminary. She consoles Sara when Sara's fate changes, and spends a lot of time with Sara as Sara's attic is next to hers. Lottie Legh ~ one of the youngest pupils in the seminary. Sara adopted her as a daughter and she likes Sara very much. She is also one of the trio that visits Sara in her attic. Sub characters Captain Ralph Crewe ~ Sara's father. He treats Sara with everything she likes, and likes to talk to Sara in French at home. He later invests all his money in finding a diamond mine with a friend and fails. In the end, he dies of brain-fever and Sara's fate changes. Emily ~ the doll Captain Crewe buys for Sara. Sara treats her as if she were her own daughter most of the time. Mariette ~ Sara's personal French maid. She is laid off the next day after the bad news of Sara's father fails in diamond mines reaches Miss Minchin's ears and Sara herself becomes almost a school maid.

Monsieur Dufarge ~ the French teacher. Lavinia Hubert ~ the richest pupil before Sara's arrival at the seminary. She is very dominant toward people, and is very jealous of Sara before Captain Crewe loses his fortune. She also laughs at Sara when Sara is drudged. Jessie ~ Lavinia's best friend in school. Miss Amelia ~ Miss Minchin's sister and also was forced to obey Miss Minchins order. Mr. Barrow ~ one of Captain Crewe's solicitors. He is the one who gives Miss Minchin the idea of making Sara work in the seminary. Melchisedec ~ a rat in Sara's attic. Mr. Carmichael ~ Mr. Carrisford's solicitor. He is the father of the Large Family, a kind family with eight children. He helps the ill Mr. Carrisford look for Sara everywhere. Nora Carmichael ~ one of the children in the Large Family. Janet Carmichael ~ one of the children in the Large Family. Donald Carmichael ~ one of the children in the Large Family. He gives Sara his entire sixpence for Christmas on a cold winter day, and it is since then that the children in the Large Family begin to be interested in Sara and calls her "the-littlegirl-who-is-not-a-beggar". Mr. Carrisford ~ the friend who talks Captain Crewe into investing in the diamond mine. He always feel sorry that he causes his friend into the trouble of losing money and health. He gets sick and moves back to London, in a house next to the seminary. He has been looking for Sara for two years, but he never knows that the hungry, drudged girl in the righthand attic is exactly the little girl he is searching for. He is so sad about her fate and decides to help her by sending her meals and beautiful clothes and books anonymously, which of course changes Sara's fate again. It is when Sara brings his escaped little monkey back from her attic that he knows that the poor child he is helping is Captain Crewe's daughter.
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Ram Dass ~ Mr. Carrisford's lascar. He is the person who tells Mr. Carrisford the poor condition of Sara's attic, as he has once entered it to catch his master's little monkey, and sends her the meal and the beautiful things to her attic through the skylight on his master's command. Anne ~ a beggar child Sara sees on the street one day. Sara privately calls her "one of the populoace", and gives her five out of the six buns she buys in the backer's shop. The bun woman later tells her to come to her if she does not get anything to eat. In the end she begins to work in the baker's shop. The bun woman ~ the bun woman in a baker's shop in London. One day when Sara finds a fourpence in a gutter she persuades her to keep it. When Sara intends to buy four buns with it, she gives her six because Sara looks shabby and hungry. She is so shocked that Sara gives five of the six buns to a beggar child that she decides to give the beggars free buns. By the end of the story Sara goes to her and tells her to send her the bills of the buns given to the beggars.

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Moral values
i. ii. iii. iv. v.
Always think positively no matter what situation you are in. Always keep good relationship with your family and friends. Never lie to others to obtain trust from from them. Dont treat people badly no matter how poor they are. Always help people when they are in need in any way you can.

Why I enjoy the story.

A Little Princess is my favorite of Frances Hodgson Burnetts childrens books because it is like a Cinderella story, only with a little girl and no glass slipper. It gives me the best of fairytale and old-fashioned realistic story. The fairytale element is just as amazing as any version of Cinderella, but doesnt need magic to happen. No magic except the kind people make happen themselves. I also love the character of Sara Crewe for two main reasons. The first is shes a storyteller who sees life as a story. I like to think that Im that way, so I liked having a character who reminds me of me. Second, I like how she shows up the cruel people by deciding to prove shes a better person than they are. But, I also like that she sometimes tells people off, but she realizes her mistake and apologizes for it. A Little Princess is also great for imagining both sides of life. There are people who are very poor and have to work hard. In real life, this isnt something to look forward to, but I find it pretty interesting in stories, especially in ones that have that fairytale quality. It makes them sad for a little while, but not too sad. I liked reading about Sara proving she can be a princess even in rags. So I also get to step into that part as I read, too. They also make huge changes to the story, especially at the end.