Coming Of Age In Katherine Mansfield's The Garden Party
The Growth of a Laurel There is more to Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” than meets the eye-it is not merely an account of a fête with fine china, sequined gowns and idle chatter. Contradictory to its lighthearted title, “The Garden Party” alludes to weighty themes such as social prejudice, isolation and change. The story centers around Laura Sheridan’s coming-of-age as she breaks away from societal norms of her bourgeois background. Her transition is at odds with her upper-status family, who chooses be blind to class distinctions. With Mr.Scott’s death, Laura’s realization amplifies into what propels her maturity and moral decency. In “The Garden Party,” Mansfield best conveys Laura’s sympathetic character through comparisons against …show more content…
With news of Mr.Scott’s death, Laura becomes hesitant to host the party, however, Mrs.Sheridan remarks on her daughter’s ridiculousness and absurdity. She states, “People like that don’t expect sacrifices from us” (Mansfields, 6), dismissing the need to be civil towards the low-class. It is not merely just that she refuses to express courtesy to the lower classes, but also that she believes it impossible of such people to possess expectations for the wealthy. Her mother’s impervious behavior stuns Laura and she becomes conflicted; where is the fine line between respect and power? In addition, Jose mindlessly assumes that Mr.Scott had been drunk and her insensitive comment visibly agitates Laura. Though she momentarily questions her sympathy when she catches sight of her “charming” (Mansfields, 6), lavishily beautiful self in the mirror, such doubts and reactions from Laura portray that, albeit young, she is affected by the blind eye her family turns to the lower-classes and that there is a conscious inside her. By elaborating on Mrs.Sheridan’s and Jose’s prejudice, Mansfield is successfully able to stress on Laura’s sympathetic …show more content…
The story ends on an ambiguous note when Laura fails to put her new-found knowledge into words. One can’t help but wonder if this experience will stay permanent or if it will be buried under societal prejudice later. Perhaps, this ambiguity is intended all along. From the start of the story, Laura is referred to as a flower, innocent and vulnerable. Whether if she will succumb and wither away or grow into a laurel is left to the
Compassion In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood
1061 Words | 5 PagesCapote illustrates such potential for the family, particularly that of the children who are both talented and exceptional in their own ways. This familiarity that Capote establishes allows for a sense of devastation and compassion to be felt by the reader in the wake of the murders. Compassion is naturally extended to those whom are close to the Clutters, Bobby Rupp and Susan Kidwell are poignant examples of this. For these young adults, and children of the school and community, the loss of Nancy and her family would be the first true tragic event that they have experienced in their lives. This experience of tragedy evokes sympathy naturally from the reader towards those close to the Clutter’s.
Literary Analysis: Marigolds By Eugenia Collier
798 Words | 4 PagesSienna Follenvaider Ms. Leibowitz English/Humanities February 8th “Marigolds” Literary Analysis Essay “Marigolds”, a short story by Eugenia W. Collier takes place in the 1960’s during the great depression. Poverty has struck the town in rural Maryland, where fourteen year old Lizabeth struggles to find out who she is. One day out of pure boredom, children begin to throw stones at Miss Lottie's precious marigolds. The theme of Marigolds by Eugenia W. Collier is coming of age, which is developed through symbolism, characterization, and conflict.
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592 Words | 3 PagesBridget Sullivan maintained a sophisticated composure during court (Berni 40). This sudden change in emotional behavior gained negative attention for both Bridget and Lizzie, yet Lizzie’s transformation seemed forced
How Does Flannery O Connor Present The Theme Of Ignorance In Good Country People
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Marigolds By Eugenia Collier Summary
123 Words | 1 PagesIn Eugenia W. Collier’s short story “Marigolds”, Lizabeth and her family experience an external conflict against society when the Great Depression’s burdens fall onto them, creating both emotional and financial stress; in this, Collier reveals that external struggle may lead to reckless actions. Early on, Lizabeth describes poverty as “...the cage in which [her family] was trapped…”, alluding to her desire to be free from the bars of impoverishment (Collier 126). Towards the climax in the story, Lizabeth hears her father crying about his inability to support his family without a steady income, which leads to her “...feelings [combining] in one great impulse toward destruction” (Collier 126). In this, Collier projects the idea that strenuous
Adaptation Of 'Omission Of Jane Fairfax In The Movie'
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Marigolds By Eugenia W. Collier
1279 Words | 6 PagesThe short story ‘Marigolds’ by Eugenia W. Collier is a coming-of-age narrative that focuses on the differences between innocence and compassion and focuses on themes of poverty and maturity as well. This story was written in 1969 and was set in a rural area of Maryland. Marigolds has fictional characters but derives from Collier’s life as a child during the Great Depression. This story is told from the perspective of a fourteen-year-old girl named Lizabeth. She was a bright young girl, however, she was sheltered and had the misconception that everyone lived in the same type of poverty as her, because that was all that she had been exposed to.
Recitatif By Tony Morrison
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Symbolism In The Things They Carried
788 Words | 4 PagesIn “A Rose for Emily,” the author, Faulkner, describes the life of a women after the death of her family and the abandonment of her friends. The story is about a female named Emily whose father dies of natural causes, and she is left with little money except for her house and an African American manservant. The manservant is a very loyal person who stays by Emily’s side till her own death. This story is depicted from the neighbor’s point about the lady Emily. It recounts her life as she lived it from an external perspective.
Diction In Katharine Brush's Birthday Party
829 Words | 4 PagesKatharine Brush 's short story "Birthday Party" is about the perjury of a third person 's judgment about a birthday party thrown by a wife for her husband. Is truly a story with an objective to challenge defining how a man-woman relationship should function. This short story reveals how joyless a marriage can be when spouses are too unimaginative to stray from the bourgeois affection. The use of descriptions, perspective, diction and syntax portray the husband’s insolence so well that its purpose to induce the reader’s disgust is utterly achieved. Sensory details reveal how insignificant the celebration quickly rises into a heartbreaking emotional embarrassment.
A Rose For Emily Isolation Analysis
1189 Words | 5 PagesIn William Faulkner’s short story, A Rose for Emily, Emily Grierson, a prominent member of her small town, dies alone in her home. Upon her death, curious townsfolk entered her home trying to learn her secrets. It was thought she was crazy. Emily Grierson was not crazy; she was isolated by her father, which led to her odd social tendencies and unique interactions with others. A Rose for Emily is a short story based in a small town.
Where Are You Going Where Have You Been Gender Roles
709 Words | 3 PagesHe places her in the nursery of the colonial mansion, despite her requests to be placed otherwise, “I don 't like our room a bit. I wanted one downstairs... but John would not hear of it” (Gilman, 2). The narrator’s husband dictates all aspects of her life to the point where she internalizes her husband 's authority, accepting his dominance over her, “I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus—but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad,” (Gilman, 2). Even though the narrator knows what she needs is to be active surrounded by people instead of cooped up alone in a house out in the countryside, she abruptly stops her train of thought as she remembers John’s instructions to not think about her condition.
Imagery In Katherine Mansfield's Miss Brill
1128 Words | 5 PagesMiss Brill is lonely, has a completely messed up mind, and tries to hide her true self by trying to live other people’s lives. Miss Brill views each person at the garden differently. The people who are mostly like her are the ones she judges the most, “Miss Brill had often noticed-there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were odd, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even-even cupboards!” (Mansfield 185).
The Contrast Of Kate Chopin's The Story Of An Hour
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Connotation In The Horse Dealer's Daughter
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