 Posted 2010-05-10 04:47:05
Very nice story, seems like no one has put
any comments on this story since 2003,
sad........because this story is very very
nice......
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Posted 2010-03-27 07:57:35
very good story.
MOHAMMAD AHMAD ABDULLAH
JNU NEW DELHI-67
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Posted 2010-03-10 21:51:41
i like this story. it has good meaning and choice of words.
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Posted 2010-03-03 10:23:29
Is laura learning a lesson in this story? I think her viewpoints about upper and middle class were changed but she doesn't really have a drastic change right?
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Posted 2010-02-22 18:46:11
I don't like it. I don't like stories that uses strange words or tries to place accents into the story. I hate reading though, so that may have a lot to do with it. I'm doing this for Kaskaskia College English..
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Posted 2010-02-02 13:43:50
i don't like this storry!
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Posted 2010-01-05 18:38:23
This story definitely has a meaningful
and potent theme, but i felt that there
were some obvious gaps in the story that
chopped up the story.
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Posted 2009-10-17 10:11:52
i love this story!
but I don't get some parts..like when Laura says "Laurie, but isn't life..."
What exactly is she trying to say??? I must say I'm really bad at inferring things...
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Posted 2009-10-17 10:09:11
I love this story. I think it expresses the inner growth (?) of Laura really well..
but I really want to know what Laura is trying to say when she says "Oh Laurie, but isn't life..."
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Posted 2009-10-07 12:51:35
Katherine Mansfield shows us "All are equal". There is no existence of upper and lower class. These are false themes of life. The ultimate destiny of human life is 'death'. So people should not be devided in classes is this world.
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Posted 2009-09-29 22:29:19
This story is sure is Great, I am reading it in English Class it is one of a great book even though lots of questions to ask and it has nice descriptions. I also enjoy for farther on your books and short stories. But there's always something hits me through this short story it is a really great book to read or short story to read!
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Posted 2009-09-29 22:26:43
This story is amazingly great and even though I get stuck on it, there's a lot of questions for me to ask and there is nice description to this story.
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Posted 2009-05-02 16:54:05
this story is the worst of the world Probably for that not understan good but I do not like me for anything
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Posted 2009-02-10 18:40:04
This is a beautiful story about the loss of innocence and initiation into a world full of injustice, death and sexuality. As someone mentioned earlier, we can analyzie it from a mythological point of view by identifying Laura's journey into the underworld, or the underbelly of society from her upper-class ivy tower. The adults around her live in denial, wishing not to be aware in injustice in the world, which is, of course, impossible. Laura, coming from a stage of sublime innocence, is horrified by the death, by the widdow, by the beauty of the dead body. We are left with the question at the end, Laura's question, "Isn't life...", which seems to indicate the question that lies before her - will she become her mother? Or, will she walk into life with her eyes open?
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Posted 2008-05-15 06:05:59
this is the story of Laura's search for ideology and a meaning for life. under the dominance of a middle-class, materialistic ideology, well represented by her mother, Laura searches for a more human or spiritual one which may care for others and otrher things other than the weary, convetion-bound life of parties and middle class pretentions.that's why at the end she comes up with the fact that life isn't...[parties, what we have , what my motrher says].
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Posted 2007-12-11 07:18:15
i believe like many other stories it talks about ever-happening incients in life,of course in its own peculiar style and reminds the people of the socities of how ignorant and phlegmatic they are about what happens around them.
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Posted 2007-04-09 22:53:51
OK!!!!! FUNNY...eVERYONE THINKS DIFFERENTLY,AND I RESPECT EVERY OPINION... WELL.iHAD TO READ THIS STORY OVER AND OVER FOR AN ENGLISH REASEARCH PROJECT...AND I BELEIVE THIS STORY IS AS DEEP AS MANSFIELD'S LIFE (OH I HAD TO STUDY HER LIFE TOO) IT HAS A LOT OF MEANING IN SO LITTLE SAPCE/TIME (KATHERINE DIED WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 34)... LAURA'S CHARACTER IS SO SIMILAR TO KASS (KATHERINE) AND SO ARE ALL THE CHARACTERS TO THE RESPECTIVE PEOPLE IN KATHEINE'S ACTUAL FAMILY... KATHERINE WAS A TRULY PECULIAR AND AMUSING PERSON AND SO IS THIS STORY!!!!! I THINK THE BEAUTY OF THIS WORK IS THE MIXTURE OF SIMPLENESS AND COMPLEXITY IT ENCLOSES... I HAVE ENJOYED READING THIS STORY AND LEARNING ABOUT MANSFIELD, EVEN THOUGH I DON'T LIKE IT SO MUCH WHEN IT GETS TO THE PART OF WRITING ABOUT IT FOR A TENTH GRADE ENGLISH PROJECT!!!! OH WELL I GUESS I'LL SURVIVE. :-( J/K HOPE YOU LIKE IT... I HAVE TO KEEP WRITTING... WISH ME LUCK... OH AND ABOUT THE HAT THING, I THINK IT'S KIND OF A SYMBOL USED BY MANSFIELD TO REPRESENT LAURA'S MATERIALISTIC AND EARTHLY WORLD (FAMILY)BUT I DUNNO FOR SURE....
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Posted 2007-03-25 20:34:11
i really don't like to read,even short stories like this long,but this makes me to think all the time....to think about what the story wants to tell....
this story is really not an uncomplicated one,especially the "hats" the upper society wear and it symbolized the distinction of the different worlds.mrs.sheridan is someone lives in that upper world,she transmit her ego and opinion of the distinktion to her children,like wearing those hats,but laura got a different perspect to see this,and at the end of the story laura finally find herself and her own opinion when she apologized to the dead man,she said: "forgive my hat..."
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Posted 2007-03-20 02:24:28
In response to the comment below on how Laura's mother finally 'realizes' the situation of the dead man, which is when she sends the basket of food, Just another veiw, But I don't think she ever really understands him and that's just her character, there to contrast against Laura's. She Suggests sending the food when Laura's father talks about the death, making Mrs, Sheridan uncomfortable 'How tactless' It says, in her narrative, as she would rather continue not thinking about the death as to not spoil a good day at the party. Yet now she feels guilty, and feels she must do 'her part' as to offload this guild. She then suggests the food. Laura, being more sensitive, is apprehensive. Would these poor people really want cream-puff leftovers from the garden party? Was it really a very thoughtful idea? The fact that Laura contradicts the idea hints at Katherine Mansfields veiw on the idea.
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Posted 2007-01-20 17:29:40
i really loved it but i has son many layers and it talk about alot of stuff ,you know.mybe it hasnot appeare in it but the meaning in the words "isn't life..."and everyone could complete this sentenses of what he/she has understsnd and i am saying this"isn't life dosen't worth it..."
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Posted 2007-01-20 13:28:27
the garden party is about contrast between life and death
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Posted 2006-11-04 13:45:49
i think the garden party is interesting once you start to understand it. iv got a question fro those who feel really confident about this story' cn you please help me on the aspect of social class?
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Posted 2006-10-27 15:48:39
FANCIFUL TRIPE
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Posted 2006-09-15 20:44:56
As many others have said, I read this short story for my English class. My first reaction was, "Huh?", but then it struck me that the story was saying there is more to life than life on this earth. The story says that death is not necessarily a bad thing - it may in some cases, be a good thing, if the person moved on the a better place. Death is not something to be afraid of. I loved this story. It was very touching and beautiful.
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Posted 2006-08-19 07:30:40
Isn't life paradoxical? Happiness and sorrow, life and death, meetings and partings, poor and rich, partying and mourning all seems to exist together. Mansfield bring forward not only the paradoxes of life but the consequent dilemma of human beings very beautifully.
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Posted 2006-06-21 14:28:23
Yes, she simply wears a hat...
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Posted 2006-06-07 00:50:20
thank you..your information helped me understand the "hat" idea.
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Posted 2006-05-29 11:01:42
the story is very well written, the questions that have been left open have left me slightly annoyed.
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Posted 2006-04-19 16:36:56
I am a sophmore in college and we just analysed this story.
***The hat in the story seems to recgonize one of the "two worlds," the upper class world. Laura as you know does not want to have the party because of the death of the village man. Her sister and her mother think that canceling the party is a bad idea just because this man isof no importance to them. Laura has realized however, that life consists of more then one type of people and the people in the "other world" the poor world are real people and have real lives and they do really die and it's still a bad thing.
Laura's mother has not gathered this concept until the end of the story when she offers the basket.
So in the bedroom Laura is offered the hat by her mother. This is because the mother does not want to see the truth the reality of anything outside of her perfect world and she does not want laura to see it either. The mother has already let Laura take over the party planning and such because she wants her to follow in her footsteps. She offers the hat as a means of making Laura forget the other poor world and remember that her world is all that matters, that to be successful she needs to continue the party, follow in her mothers footsteps, so on and so forth. I hope that helped in some way
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Posted 2006-04-11 14:16:46
been asked to discuss about what the "hats" mean in the story.... im lost any ideas???
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Posted 2006-04-04 13:04:29
very nice story liked it
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Posted 2006-04-04 02:06:37
Amazing story, i enjoyed reading it. The context is important in our overall ability to construct meaning from this text.
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Posted 2006-03-07 00:55:13
I do agree that the story's sentences are meant to be left open to however the reader wants to preceive death to be. I think the story was a pretty good one. I really like the mood it sets. On the contrary, it seems that Laurie is stuck in a snobby atmosphere and she is clearly more compassionate than her snotty mother and sister.
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Posted 2006-02-24 07:30:42
it's supposed to not be finished you twit
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Posted 2006-02-13 23:29:31
I believe that the story's deeper meaning besides social/class status but deals with the inability to speak out against the popularity. Laura's individuality is diminished by what is common by the superior group. The main theme of this story is individuality thought vs. common acceptance.
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Posted 2005-12-17 10:27:35
well, i have read the story , too and could find not many reasons to appreciate it..?
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Posted 2005-10-30 21:44:25
This story is about the portrayel of the 'Perfect Society' and shows this by dicrimminating upper and lower classes. Amazing story.
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Posted 2005-09-16 13:46:59
Although I personally did not like this story does not make it good. This story was well written with many things we can relate to in current times. Imagine "Clics" are they not Classes in school? Are you not saying "Well those kids are popular, those are the nerds, those are the skaters...ect." When you try to leave your area you are accustomed to you will learn and experience new things. Traveling makes you learn. Learning makes you think. Thinking makes you believe.
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Posted 2005-09-06 20:03:11
It... was... beautiful. I loved it.
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Posted 2005-08-22 03:24:24
its an interesting story. the ending is superb as you really have to figure it out real hard.
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Posted 2005-08-06 20:54:29
here are my two cents: 1. to the one who said it was about contemporary life in england - well, it's not. at least, it wasn't set in england, but in new zealand, where the author had lived for some time. you can tell when she mentioned the karaka tree - those are native to new zealand. just pointing that out. 2. to those who said that "there are no class distinctions today" - you live under a rock. enough said about that. 3. anyone suspect that there is a subtle parallel between this story and greek mythology? when i was reading this for the first time, i thought that the garden may have been heaven or eden or something (roses are compared to "archangels", the karaka tree made me think of the tree of wisdom in the bible, Laura "flew"... even if that wasn't meant to be literal). but then, as i read the part about laura going down to the poor part of the town, it reminded me of travelling to hades. think about it. there's a dog like a shadow (cerebrus), she "crosses the wide road" (the river styx), etc. then i realized, after reading it again, that it could've been an allusion to Persephone (= Laura). just thinking, though. :)
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Posted 2005-06-01 10:04:22
Can anyone help me with this question? In The Garden Party, Laura reacts to the face of the dead man with great awe. She tries to tell her brother of her thoughts but he interupts her. What do you think he meant by his words at the end of the story?
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Posted 2005-05-23 02:54:09
I had to read this short story for my english classe. At first reading,I didn't like the shortstory very much. But after having analysed it in class,I can say that I began to like it!! Katherine Mansfield,should I say Kathleen Beauchamp,which is her original name,is a real great writer.
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Posted 2005-05-15 05:39:06
I totaly agree you.Moreover, there still are such societies.
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Posted 2005-05-14 08:20:48
This story compares the reality with the syntethic lives of aristocrats.
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Posted 2005-05-07 18:52:17
when reading 'The Garden Party' a major part in understanding it is its form. Why is it a short story? You cannot just talk about the content of Mansfield's stories, but the form.
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Posted 2005-04-17 17:29:16
I had to read this story for english class, and i must admit it infuriated me more than anything. Not that it was poorly written, or boring because I believe the contrary. Its interesting to me how Mansfield was able to so easily show through this story how shallow and heartless humanity can be at times. I think what really struck me was when Laura's mother gave the excuse "If someone had died there normally..." for continuing on with the party. Its such a ridiculous statement. Is death ever normal? In some ways it is th most normal thing I can think of because it is the only thing in human existence which is concentrete or absolute. Eventually everyone will die, in different ways but with the same result. I highly doubt anyone would comment that at least someone died 'normally'. Peacefully, quickly, at old age or surrounded by family seem to be universal preferances, but there is no way of dying in an unnormal way because it is simply so out of our control as humans.
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Posted 2005-04-03 15:09:26
This is a really interesting piece of literature. It is engrosssing and reads easily. What is there not to understand? Why does everything have to be understood? Just appreciate it for what it is, bloody good!!
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Posted 2005-03-09 04:55:50
I'm studying English as a second language and I had to study THE GARDEN PARTY in my class.For those who hate the story: you need to understand the meaning beyond the story to judge it.It happends that you read or see something and say WHAT IS THIS?But when you realize what does it means you appreciate it. I think THE GARDEN PARTY is a great story.
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Posted 2005-02-21 12:00:33
I enjoyed reading and re-reading this short story. It's formal literary elements can be compared to those of "This Flower," also by Katherine Mansfield.
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Posted 2005-02-18 07:42:06
I don't think the story is capable of offering something new - neither its language nor its concept can represent something else other than motives, which had been discussed (more successively) throughout the centuries, long before the world could become, what it is now... I think the story doesn't deserve so much attention... but it is a nice one, for sure...
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Posted 2005-02-18 07:35:49
Isn't that what Sex and the City was all about? LOL
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Posted 2005-02-12 16:39:55
would everyone agree that it has a lot to do with Freuds theory of the subconsious stream of thoughts? the struggle between the conscious and the subconsious?
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Posted 2005-02-10 17:21:00
This story is clearly an example of the post WWI era, coined by Gertrude Stein as "the lost generation". Mansfield is exploring the same things at the same time as her fellow writers, such as Faulkner, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway. "The lost generation" were bitter, angry and didn't know their place in the new post WWI America where everything moved fast and opulence reigned. Come on now...didn't everyone see that:) just kidding!
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Posted 2005-02-02 09:57:12
This story is short....jk..I think that Laura is stuck in between two worlds of reality. She lives in her reality while there is still another kind of reality outside her world. In this story, she experiences both. After the death, Laura matures because she experiences the pain and unfairness that the other world feels...also it's quite ironic how she is the only one who is affected by the death and the others in her famnily are not.
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Posted 2005-01-24 03:19:53
the story delves into the social life of contemporary england. the juxtaposition of extremely sensitive laura and her rather nonchalant hauthy family is the unique quality of this story .the incomplete sentence at the end is perhaps the most unique aspect of this story as what life is is inexplicable.it is the mirror where each sees his own image. -shailza rai
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Posted 2004-12-11 05:10:58
everyone in this life is afraid of something he does not know or he does experienced. i think the writer in this story want to show us that high class people are afraid of law class life because they do not know it. just two people in this story from high class are nor afraid of thier life because they have seen many things of thier lives and they believe that everyone must experiece things to know it very well. sory my English is poor because i am learning English as a second language. i have started learning it one years ago. sory
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Posted 2004-12-11 04:58:36
i do not like such these stories because we do not have class distinction in our society
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Posted 2004-11-23 10:09:26
I think 'The Garden Party' is a wonderful story. Come on people!Class distinctions like that can still be identified in today's world!!! Although I feel that Laura was perhaps a twin or very close to Laurie. The unfinished sentence can only be understood by him and those who know Laura's character very well.
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Posted 2004-11-14 22:51:12
Mansfield, i believe, is the God of NZ Literature. I love the way she writes The Garden Party from the viewpoint of children in the 19th/20th century - much like The Dolls House. Children can be so cruel sometimes
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Posted 2004-10-24 16:18:59
This was a great peice of literature by Mansfeild. I enjoyed how she used her style of writing while incorporating themes of relationhips,life,status and death.-
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Posted 2004-10-04 14:04:42
I understand the modernist style of writing, I do believe Mansfield has done a terrific job. I did not enjoy this story for my own reasons. Mostly I do not connect with any character, (I cannot relate to this type of shallowness)The use of the word oily, in reference to the lower class bothers me as well. This is just my feelings. I read it, I studied it, I am glad it is now over and I can move on to Hemingway.
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Posted 2004-09-26 06:24:24
i enjoyed this story, and not because of what it's about necessarily but because of how it's written. Mansfield certainly was a master in putting feeling into words and capturing a moment in life.
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Posted 2004-09-02 15:44:32
To all those who don't like this story because it has no plot, is about class distinction, has unfinished sentences and an open ending, or whatever, please don't say that it is a bad story simply because you don't like this type of story. It is best to criticize the kinds of stories you like, because then you know what is a good or bad one of the type. When you say this story is stupid, you display your own ignorance
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Posted 2004-06-20 07:18:11
I am Ruta studying in grade 11 The garden party is indeed a beautiful story.It mirrors the existing class differences.It also shows death as a part of life.In "the song of myself",Walt Whitman has rightly said"and to die is different from what anyone supposed,and luckier"but at the same time life is also beautiful.
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Posted 2004-05-18 17:18:13
I study English as a 2nd language and I had to read "The Garden-Party" for my English Literature class. Those of you who do not appreciate Modernism won't like the story at all but I found it fascinating. Sb asked about the themes in the story. Well, I'd say: facing death, gaining experience, living in different social classes and feeling the contradictions of life. Tchau! Espero que alguém leia isso. Fui!
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Posted 2004-05-01 21:58:50
This story is a fantastic example of 'finding ones self' in amoungst a world dictated by class distinctions. It refelects how we all come to the that important choice of either conforming or being true to who we are and being true to what we think and feel!!:)
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Posted 2004-04-15 09:41:00
It is an awful story.There is no action.Always class distinctions
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Posted 2003-12-26 14:52:35
this is a great story...it makes one think. but thinking can differ from a person to another.
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Posted 2003-12-16 22:44:04
i really enjoyed the book and it gave an insight about human relationships
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Posted 2003-11-04 02:54:56
"Isn't it, darling?" What is life? It is one of these unexplained things, it is not supposed to make sense because life itself doesn't make sense! Life cannot be expained it can only be experienced the same can be said about Katherine Mansfield's 'The Garden Party' Just read and experience don't try and figure it out!
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Posted 2003-10-18 08:17:39
WE LOVEEEE IT. LIT CLASS ROCKS!
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Posted 2003-10-08 17:46:53
This story is yery emtional and not easy to read when english is not your own language but all in all it is a pretty story to show that people arent be diffrent
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Posted 2003-03-30 21:07:18
it is a story about an instance of human recognition of the reality of life,which seems so frightening to a upper-classed girl.But it is life,it is the way how we grown up,it is the same to us in 21th century as those living in 19th century.
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Posted 2003-03-24 17:14:15
What is the theme of "The Garden Party"?
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Posted 2003-03-13 08:15:42
what the heck ??? poolie story, weird, bl;ah blah, death, life, parties, upper class... Isnt Life?...
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Posted 2003-03-13 08:15:42
I love that story - ka pai! The end pisses me off - for god sake finish your sentences. Where is your commitment Mansfield?!
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Posted 2003-03-13 08:15:42
Have you never studied modernism? Sentences are not supposed to be finished - like that in real life. This is a typical example of modernist literature - it is a reflection of reality, which is why Mansfield's stories are inconclusive and left to the imagination.
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Posted 2003-03-13 08:15:42
For those who did not enjoy the Garden Party should read The Theme of Death in "The Garden Party" by Sabrina Pittoelo then you'll see why she doesn't finish her sentences it's an effect she is trying to create, and she succeeded beautifully at it!
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