The Garden Party

What does the story signify?
The story signifies the differences between the social classes in society. One class is focused on a party, while the other class is dealing with the death of a loved one.

How does it signify?
The class that would be considered the higher social class is also above the other class in location. The lower class literally lives below the higher class, because the higher class people live on the top of the hill.

The lower class is associated with really dark diction. They live in "mean little cottages," and a "dark knot of people stood outside" of the house. To Laura these people were different, dark, dreadful, and she was grateful that she was not living in this class of people. She was so grateful t hat, in the end, she stated that life is "simply marvelous." But in the same way that she was pleased to be in her class, these people were pleased to be in their class. The dead man seemed "happy," "wonderful," "beautiful." Neither of these classes communicated with each other on a normal day, and they both seem like they are okay with the harsh reality that they are different and always will be.

I did pretty well. I got the general theme of the story and kind-of expanded in the right direction. I didn't get anywhere near what Diane got, but I understood the main idea of the story.

It is really neat to see the connections between Laura and Persephone. It makes this short story seem much more significant. I did not notice this myself, so it makes me wonder what else I am missing in literature.