The Garden Party

What does the story signify?

What I noticed was the cluelessness and indifference of the upper-class family to the pain and hardships of the lower-class families that live just across the road. When they learn of the tragedy that has taken place immediately before the party, they believe that it is of no concern to them. It's not like he was anyone important, right? Once Mrs. Sheridan's "conscience" emerges after the party, she finds it perfectly appropriate to send the scraps of food that weren't worth eating at the party to the family that just lost the father. Of course they'll be grateful for the scraps that the upper-class deems unfit to eat.


How does the story signify it?

The hill that seperates the two families helps to serve the purpose of the story, as the upper-class resides at the top of the hill, far removed from the commoners that live at the base. Aside from the geography, which was the only symbol I got, much of Laura's dialouge and behavior conveyed the message. Laura was the only member of her family, except for maybe her brother, who actually cared for the poor family and sought to respect and honor their loss by calling of the party. But, of course, this will never do. The one detail that stuck with me was the fact that Mrs. Sheridan sent Laura with scraps of food, perhaps thinking that the leftovers that the upper-class didn't want would suffice to ease the pain of loss. This is the one detail that I noticed that proves how far removed this family (along with some real-life rich families) is from the lower classes.


Eh, I've done better. Done a lot worse, too. I'm just glad got the meaning of the story, even if I missed the vast majority of the symbolism. (Good God, Diane. Where did you see all that?) Style analysis was never my strong suit, though I was pleasantly surprised to find that my response was somewhat similar to the examples given.


When I first read the story, I thought to myself, "This guy must be out of his mind if he thinks that this has anything to do with the story of Persephone." And I know my Greek mythology, so I was looking for similarities. Alas, they completely evaded me, and now upon reading his comparison between the two, I feel stupid. But, of course, any allusion to Greek myth gains some appreciation from me, considering how much I love Greek mythology. I'm quite surprised at how much symbolism was crammed into the twenty-page story, and hopefully it will inspire me to look at these works closer in the future.