Read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245.
Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly.
Then compare your writing with the three examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation of Mansfield’s story?
Okay the following passage did not to make me appreciate it at all since there was not much there in the story no antagonist, no true protagonist, not obstacles, not even a true plot to the story in my definitions and the story was a bit of a bore with a hint of dread to it's lonesome tune, and the lines could have been counted as a crime due to the lack of connections in the story, all it is is a simple little party in a little garden. So after reading the rest of the book I no longer appreciate not that I did to stories with not any antagonist, no true protagonist, no side characters, and not even any intensity the only exception that is tolerated by me is nonfiction and poems this is neither of those two.
ReplyDeletePost By : Dalton Harmon
I'm sorry you feel this way about the story. I did not find it very moving either and I feel as if the characters were described more in detail, it would have advanced the plot.
DeleteI will admit that this story was boring, but it was not really meant to be interesting on first glance. I think you would be able to appreciate this literature a bit more by analyzing it in a different way.
DeleteI feel as if the story was missing some more description and a better plot also.
DeleteI felt some of the same feeling as well
DeletePost by: Alanie O’Dell
ReplyDeleteOverall, I did well with my personal analysis of the short story “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield as it was represented in the book. I didn’t realize the symbolism in the flying birds and the constant phrases with aspects of “flying” and I found the symbolism very clever.
I caught onto the idea that the story was about the different differentiation of class and how Laura was transforming from a girl into a woman before the reader's eyes. She had to overcome the guilt put onto her by her class and the lower class that lives near her. Laura also had to overcome the idea of death and realize that mortality is real and universal, as she was forced to come face-to-face with her first dead man.
The comparison between Laura and Persephone was very insightful to me. I would not have thought of that, and after it was pointed out, the story seemed to have a much deeper meaning. The allusion between Mrs. Sheridan being Demeter and Laura being Persephone, who traveled to Hades, was all very symbolic and helped me as a reader understand the bigger message that Mansfield was trying to get across. After realizing the alikeness between the two texts, I was able to appreciate “The Garden Party” more, and it suddenly opened my eyes from seeing this short story just as a class differentiation tale of history, into something that incorporates the universal journey a female takes in experiencing life changing events and ideas like sexuality and mortality before truly becoming a wise woman.
I didn't realize the symbolism in the flying birds either! I don't know how I missed this but I thought it was a very nice touch.
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DeleteI agree, she was becoming a women and the only way to do that was see the real world with her own eyes.
DeleteI too did not realize the flying birds symbolism.
DeletePost by: Tiffany Weresow
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield and comparing my writing with the examples, I feel as if I did fairly well. The essay adds to my appreciation of Mansfield’s story because I did not realize the symbolism of the “flying birds” and I thought that was a very interesting detail that Mansfield added. The comparison between Laura with Persephone wasn’t very moving for me as I am not particularly interested in this specific genre of literature. I feel as if Mansfield is a very good writer and she adds a lot of hidden symbolism in her story that have a deep meaning if you read and try to completely break down each element, however the story just wasn’t for me. I did actually like what the story signifies and I was correct on terms of what the essay had to say about how people insulate themselves from what they don’t enjoy about the outside world. The story itself has a good meaning to it and I appreciate that because I do agree with some of the points Mansfield made. Although, I am still not completely drawn to this story and the comparison of Laura and Persephone does not influence my appreciation for “The Garden Party.”
I didn't get the symbolism either and I agree that Mansfield is a great writer because of all the hidden details she adds.
DeleteThe bird comparison was certainly one of my favorite comparisons. This story was one you needed to look at more than once.
DeleteI also did not notice the symbolism.
DeleteI really liked the bird comparison, too!
DeleteI really like this I like the way you made your symbolism really deep
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ReplyDeleteMy results reading "The Garden Party" after comparing my writing was very similar and I understood it all the way from the beginning. Comparing Laura with Persephone made perfect sense and I did appreciate the story since it was showing how Laura did experience hell for a short period of time but really she just experienced something we will all experience no matter what, life. There was a connection with Persephone in a different way like when she entered the house, she was not raped by anyone but forced to come inside the cottage and see death. She saw how life was and there was no escaping it and when she tried to, everything was in her way. I appreciated the story and I honestly had a glow inside which symbolized how it was when I was little sitting at home without a worry in my mind exactly like this girl but when eventually confronted with death in my family, you really see how cruel life is. This story just told you about life and how it really is but in one of many perspectives, a child being shielded from it all to find it themselves and see how life really is.
ReplyDeleteI got most of it right but i could've done better so i can relate.
DeleteI waded into this pond thinking I knew it all, and for a time, I did. Then came Foster's interpretation. Before I knew it, Foster had unleashed a whirlpool in the pond that turned the wade into a dive in the Marianas Trench. In my interpretation I captured the ideas from all three examples well with a bit of straying from the third more in depth one. Foster's though kinda blew me away with just how deep the meaning and details was, and it got me thinking: did she intend every last one of these details? She probably did not in its entirety but there was enough information for Foster to make such assumptions. My essay did not help me discover but refine details. I thought this story was pretty boring until I just sat down, analyzed it, and made it fun with hidden meanings.
ReplyDeleteFoster's example blew me away also; I had no idea that the story could have so many hidden details and meanings.
DeleteI agree, it was surprising to have read the same story as someone like Foster and not get nearly the same amount of ideas from it.
DeleteI agree, Foster's interpretation was amazing compared to mine. The hidden meanings in the story is completely different than what I would have thought.
DeleteAleigha
I agree completely, you did a great job at explaining!
DeleteI like how you explained yourself. I also enjoyed the beginning of your statement.
DeleteBy: Hannah Berckman
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I did well with the personal analysis. I think that "The Garden Party," was a very good story and I really like it.
One piece of symbolism I picked up in the story is the velvet ribbon symbolizing her families wealth. I really liked that that was an aspect of the story because I think it shows the clear class difference between the two families. I think that the comparison between Laura and Persephone was very clever and it was a new perspective I hadn't thought of. I really liked this short story and I liked looking deeper into the meaning.
Out of many symbols I did not even notice that ribbon but good one and I think that makes perfect sense. Many symbols were in that story and all of us should find different ones.
DeleteIt never crossed my mind that the velvet ribbon symbolized her families wealth. Thank you for helping me to comprehend this point of view that i didn't think of. ~ Caleb C.
DeleteThis is a good example that I would have never thought of. It's crazy how all of us read the same story and we don't see the same meanings. Good job!
DeleteAleigha
This was a really good example of a symbol in the story.
DeleteI love the velvet ribbon symbolism
DeleteI agree, the author did a great job with using clever symbolism. Te symbolism really enhanced the story and brought a deeper meaning.
DeletePost By: Karmen Scruggs
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, I think that I did fairly well on my analysis of "The Garden Party." I liked the story and thought it was interesting.
I did not catch onto the symbolism of the birds and now that I see it, I almost feel dumb for not having picked up on it. Most of the things that the story signifies, I understood and saw while reading the tale. The only one that I saw the most throughout the novella was the one about the critiquing of the class system. This was the very first thing I picked up on.
I agree with the bird symbolism. I didn't catch it but after it was pointed out it seemed incredibly obvious to me.
DeleteI didn't notice the symbolism of the birds either and feel dumb for not noticing too.
Delete-Piper Colangelo
The birds definitely meant something. Good job catching that.
DeleteI didn't catch the birds either!
DeleteI noticed the symbolism of the birds. While reading, I was confused as to why he was comparing them to birds. However, it finally clicked when I realized the story was addressing class.
DeletePosted by: Caleb Costner
ReplyDeleteThe way I answered the exercise on pages 265-266 was,
1. I saw the family as being prejudice to the cottages down below the hill where the family lives. The families prejudice ways against the village had a significant impact on Laura's perspective on the situation.
2.They are thinking more of their party, their lives and their social status rather then the poor widow woman and her children, belittling them to their leftovers from their extravagant garden party.
My comparison with the tree example were that for one mine is similar to the freshmen's answer. For the second example mine is as well similar to it in one certain aspects. For the third mine is nothing alike.
The comparison between Laura and Persephone are they are both trying to reach adulthood. When reading the story I did not see this perspective but now reading the story about Persephone and comparing the two it has opened my eyes ti see from a different perspective that I would not have seen, because my perspective was about the family being prejudice.
I agree 100% with you on this one. reading the story with Persephone depend the other story for me. -Kalynne
DeleteI agree, the family definitely did think better of themselves because of their class and wealth. Good inquire skills.
DeleteI also agree that the family was prejudice towards the other lower class families.
DeleteI agree with your interpretation.
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ReplyDeletePost by: Hannah Cribby
ReplyDelete1) Laura feels bad for the family that lost a loved one, but her family doesn't share her feelings. Her family believes that they are better than the other family and she feels ashamed of how her family is treating the situation.
2) In the story Laura talks about whether they should cancel the party because someone died and they decided to have the party and bring the family of the person who died a basket of leftover food.
After reading the first example I find that my answers are very similar. The second example is also kind of like mine, but mine is more simplified. When it comes to the third one; mine is nothing like it because I didn't get any of the symbolism and my answer was nowhere near that sophisticated.
When I read about Laura being compared to Persephone it gave me a little bit more appreciation towards the story. The reason I got more of an appreciation towards the story is because is was nice to know that there could be a deeper meaning to the story. It made the story seem a bit more interesting.
I feel the same way about Laura and Persephone. I am glad there is something more.
Delete-Kalynne
Post By: Kayla Shannon
ReplyDeleteI think I did very well while reading this and figuring out the symbols. I understand that this is about Laura really becoming a woman and facing things in life. It also shows about the social classes and how people shut themselves up to others who aren't like them.
One element that Mansfield employed was the blue sky with gold. To me, this signifies trying to cover up the sadness of the man's death. Blue, typically is thought of as a more sad color, and to put gold over it would make it less sad. I think this is a great way to show that in this story.
The comparison of Laura and Persephone was very helpful to me. Before this I would have never thought of that way, but once it was pointed out, the story seemed to have a much deeper meaning. Once you actually realize how much these two texts are alike you can appreciate them more.
I agree, "The Garden Party" is about social classes, I also agree the comparison of Laura and Persephone was very helpful.
DeleteThis were some great observations. good job.
DeleteGreat observation, especially the sky symbolism
DeleteBy:Kalynne Helms
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the story and answering the questions I think I did alright with my writing. The story was pretty good and I liked reading it. Laura is just trying to figure out who to be. Does she want to be like her mom or be herself? She was raised to be high class not think about the low class. The essay that Foster wrote after, comparing Laura and Persephone, really helped me understand the story better. It made me realize small details I didn't recognize the first time and it made me realize how much the two girls were alike.But another thing I liked doing was looking for the symbolism in it, like the birds and the ribbon.
I couldn't agree with you any more. It never crossed my mind about the symbolism with the birds and the ribbon. ~ Caleb C.
DeleteI love your explanation of the short story!
Delete-Piper Colangelo
I did pretty well with reading and understanding this short story. I understood that it was about the differences the classes and Laura eventually becoming a woman and figuring out her own opinion about matters. I liked how the author used the season to set the cheerful and carefree tone to the story. I didn’t notice the metaphorical use of “birds and flight” however until it was pointed out.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between Laura and Persephone was a great one that I hadn’t caught onto. After this comparison was pointed I was able to better appreciate the story.
-Piper Colangelo
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ReplyDeleteIn comparison to the each analysis, my arrow flew in a different direction than the target, my arrow went north when the target was northwest of me. My biggest problem is that I chose the wrong details to focus on, causing me to be lead in a different direction. Biggest of all my problems was that I didn’t dwell on and images produced by my mind, which were much more on the spot than I was. With the comparison of Persephone and Laura, I was able to understand the basic workings of this story, helping me to gain a greater sense of appreciation for this story. Needless to say, while I have started to become more aware of the depths of the oceans I sail over-top of, I need to rent a submarine.
ReplyDelete-Jared W. Godwin
Posted by Maria McDonald:
ReplyDelete"The Garden Party" to me had a very distinctive meaning. After reading it and analyzing the questions, it came to me that the author was trying to get the readers to understand that both life and death are great things and that we shouldn't think of death as a sad and depressing subject. She showed this by making the whole story really happy even though someone had died. Comparing Laura to Persephone was not there as useless details. It was there to help us understand the symbolism. The author talked about flying and like in Foster's book in chapter 15 "Flights of Fancy," it could've represented freedom and escape like the gods. I think that this whole story may have seemed pointless at first, but once you get into the analyzing and understanding the underlying themes like life and death, the story can actually get really meaningful and actually really interesting adding more appreciation of the story.
I never thought of it from your point of view.
DeleteI only ended up thinking about chapter 15 when I was reading the given responses, but I think it is an accurate way of looking at it.
DeletePosted by: James Lynn
ReplyDeleteOverall, I thought "The Garden Party" was pretty interesting. It had some interesting ideas and feelings come into my head. For the first question, I believe the story is about not letting accidents ruin having fun. This is shown in the story as Laura, the main character, wants to call off the party due to a person's accidental death while putting the party together. Her family and friends, however, didn't want to call off the party, as the death was an accident. Plus, the party was already well known and so on.
The comparison of Laura to Persephone didn't really help me understand the story. I honestly don't care enough about the stories of Greek gods and stuff, but Foster brought up some interesting connections. Needless to say, they were cool, but didn't help me understand.
I agree that Foster did bring up some good connections and maybe they were there to help us make connections of our own.
DeleteTo me the story signified giving into other people and temptations, or what you believe is right. Laura felt there should be no party with a neighbor having died and her friends and family thought otherwise. And when she got compliments and such she decided to let it slide, despite her morals I believe the author was trying to convey the difference of the class and a young woman finally growing up to form her own opinion and beliefs rather, than leaning on her parents. I believe elements like the fancy things like hats, expensive flowers, fancy sandwiches, and bands were suppose to represent Laura’s upbringing and her family's money stance.
ReplyDeleteI really like your perspective on this story.
DeleteYou have a really good grasp on the story and I like your method of stating your understanding of it.
DeletePosted By: Anna K-S
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield and answering the questions of: “What does the story signify?” and “How does it signify?” I came to the conclusion of the story signifies social class not mattering because everyone is the same. The story shows the significance of social class not mattering because the girl Laura was constantly worried about the man down the road who had died and at the end of the story she was weeping because she herself realized how marvelous life is and she realized life is the same for everyone no matter the class.
I feel I did well in seeing what the story “The Garden Party” signifies, compared to the other college students Katherine Mansfield had asked. I did not see Mansfield's use of birds and flight as what the story signifies but after the explanation of the birds and flight I can see how it relates to social class.
At first I didn’t see Laura and Persephone but after reading about the connection between the two girls I could look back at “The Garden Party” story and connect the the two girls, Lura and Persephone. The essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone adds to my appreciation of Mansfield’s story because it explains in more detail what “The Garden Party” means. I also appreciate that the comparing of Laura with Persephone because it is another perspective of looking at “The Garden Party”.
Mansfield is saying that man from a poor place has died. The girl, Laura, has had a party this afternoon and she was able to see the man afterwards. After seeing the man and thinking about her party, Laura says that life is "darling." I believe the story signifies the greatfulness everyone should have for life.
ReplyDeleteMansfield uses emotion to show us this. This girl was brought to tears because she realised how wonderful her life really is compared to others. She is glad to be alive.
I did relatively okay with what I thought the meaning of this story was. Foster's opinion of the meaning was that the author was removing the barrier between social classes. I agree with that because Laura is a rich girl, you could say, and the man who has died came from the poor neighborhood.
When it comes to how this was signified, I didn't see the thing's that Foster saw. He says that she "uses the metaphor of flight and birds," which i didn't think was important when I saw things referencing birds (Foster, 269).
The comparison of Laura and Persephone adds appreciation to Mansfield's story for me by giving me another similar story to think about. It allows me to have a deeper understanding for the story.
Posted By: Adison Costner
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “The Garden Party” and doing my analysis on the story I feel like I have a better perspective on the story. If I didnt do the analysis on the story then I wouldn't have it as much thought as I did.
Comparing my analysis to the author's analysis, I would say that I did pretty good on mine. I think that story showed how the lower class wanted to be a higher class. Therefore they put on a big party to show that they are worthy enough to be considered in the high class.
Overall, I think I did an alright job on my analysis. The authors analysis helped me understand things a lot better. Although, I think that this story was boring and uninteresting.
ReplyDeleteBy: Haylee Franckewitz
DeleteAfter I read the story “A Test Case”, I feel as if based in what I had written during the exercise on pages 255-256 I did fine, however, it wasn’t close to perfect. There are many ways that this essay helped me appreciate Mansfield’s story. For example, while I was reading this story I was tired and I was not paying attention to what I should have. Since I was being lazy and tired, I didn’t notice the symbolism in Mansfield’s story and by reading the essay, the symbolism was brought to light making it easier for me to notice.
ReplyDelete-Alex Salce
I think I did well with my writings because I understood the symbol of the clashing classes and Laura experiencing death and morality for the first time. I also saw the growth of Laura from the beginning to the end, mostly caused by visiting the lower class neighborhood. I didnt catch the flight symbols and once I read it I found it really clever. I think that the comparison of Laura and Persephone is very odd but it makes sense. Since Laura was so sheltered being in the upperclass, going to a lower class persons house and seeing a dead body probably seems like Hades.
ReplyDeleteI felt really good about my test case until I flipped the page to see what Foster did now I feel ok about my writing. I felt as if it was my best analytical writing to date and it can only get better from here. The comparison between laura and Persephone was very clever, it did not cross my mind until reading Foster’s interpretation. After seeing that it allowed me to have a lot more appreciation of “The Garden Party”.
ReplyDelete~Christopher Johnson
Elizabeth Suarez.
ReplyDeleteI think I've done all right with my analysis. I wasn't able to latch onto this story very much while reading so I felt as though I couldn't stick with it. By reading farther into the chapter I think it helped me understand the story and symbolism a bit more.
I found the short story, The Garden Party very intriguing. The author wrote the story brilliantly, using canny metaphors to address a problem. Using my knowledge from the assigned book, I did very well on the exercise. I was able to identify the significance and spot many symbols throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteAs I read the story, I watched Laura as she was learning to become a woman through her mother's footsteps. At the same time, she was fighting between what was expected and what she felt. It was interesting to see how the author describes Laura as a fledgling. She was unaware of how the classes were so different. This contributes to the way she feels about partying while the neighbors are mourning.
The essay comparing Laura to Persephone was a great addition to the chapter. Both stories complemented each other and showed me a new perspective of the short story. It made me appreciate the story more because I was able to see how the author may have used Greek Mythology to address the social classes.
Posted by: Aleigha Letterman
ReplyDeleteWith the first question I did see the social class separation as Foster did. I knew that the family hosting the party were fairly wealthy, and a statement made by the mother made me think that the family who were mourning were lower than them. The mother stated: "People of that class are so impressed by arum lilies" and that definitely affected my answer. I feel good about my answers, but Foster had a lot more to say than me on the second question, and I expected that, but that showed me that I have a long way to go.
The comparison between Laura and Persephone added to my appreciation for the story because I am not very familiar with Greek mythology, so it was very interesting seeing it in the eyes of someone who is fairly familiar with Greek mythology. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the book, and I liked it.
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ReplyDeleteI think that I did decently. There were a lot of things I missed and a few things I thought about, but then thought “no, surely that’s not what they meant” when in fact, it was a point brought up later by Foster. I would think less of the job that I did, if Foster had been doing this for just a few weeks as well, but considering that he is much more experienced, I think I did an okay job. With practice I will most assuredly create better analyses in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison of Laura with Persephone was sort of weird. That is one of the points that I didn’t even consider, but I think that I should go back and read the story again, in order to gain a few different views on the writing, but for the most part I doubt my actual appreciation of the work was increased.
By: Aaron N
I liked your interpretation of the book.
DeleteParth
ReplyDeleteAfter I read the "Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield I was not interested at at. I found the story quite boring but, I felt okay on my analysis on the story but after reading Foster's analysis I was blown away. While I was reading the story I saw Laura become a woman through her mother. Comparing Laura to Persephone added to my appreciation of the story. It helped that it was compared by someone who is some what similar to Greek mythology. It was my favorite part of the short story and I really liked it. It showed me a new perspective on the story and I enjoyed it very much.
Overall I did pretty good although I didn’t find it as emotional as I expected, but at the same time I thought it had a lot of cte symbolic meaning. In my eyes it shows ad if she was growing by showing some of her mistakes and life experiences the part where she caves in for the part showed one of her mistakes but it allowed us to see up close an all real experience, this happens a lot when someone lets something slide because an friend did it or because somebody else says it's ok and that it looks good.- stephanie Martinez
ReplyDeletePost by: Kayla Williamson
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the story and answering the questions at the end, I did better than I thought I would. My explanation of what the story signified was that you should live your life to the fullest. I also saw how the rich people would feel caged when traveling to where the poorer class lived. I could see how traveling down into the poorer class was similar to Persephone traveling into Hell. It is weird to think that I have probably missed a lot of allusions in other literary works. I will pay more attention and try to make different connections between things.
Riley Kiefer
ReplyDeleteAfter reading The Garden Party and comparing my writing to the three examples, I think I did fairly well. After reading the essay that compares Laura with Persephone, it really made me like it so much more and it made me think about it more. I love anything to do with Greek or Roman mythology and the points and connections that were made were remarkable. I would have never thought about something like that. As I read through the essay, I started to make connections. At first, the Garden Party made me think of a zombie book. The people seemed as if they were in despair and in agony which now, it makes sense for them to be in the Underworld. I personally loved the Garden Party and really liked the comparison of Laura and Persephone.