Liliana Heker’s “The Stolen Party” is a literature work that demonstrates the cycle of

inequality between rich and poor people that would always suppress those with low incomes.
“The Stolen Party” revolves around the experiences of a Hispanic young girl named Rosaura
who comes from a humble family background. The story mainly focuses on the income
difference between Rosaura’s family and that of Senora Ines, which clearly show that there is
a huge social difference between these two families. The issue of whether an individual’s
family is rich or poor is never the problem, rather, how these rich people carry themselves
and treat the poor in society is the main issue that the story discusses
Rosaura feels privileged for being selected from among the other children for this role.
Rosaura loves her role in this moment because she feels special. Everyone is calling her
desperately and Rosaura thinks it is because she posses’ unique skills that other children do
not have. There is an expression that the author uses to demonstrate her enthusiasm, and it is
when “everyone called out her name, shouting “Me, me!” for them to be served (Heker 405).
Rosaura loved that, having the power of life and death” (Heker 405). However, this is
contrary to Senora Ines’ idea who selects the young poor girl so as to demonstrate to
everyone that the only role poor people could be tasked with is to give a helping hand and
serve the rich just like Herminia does, who is Rosaura’s mother. Instead of appreciating the
kindness and humility of Rosaura, Senora Ines chooses to victimize her by using her as an
additional worker to help serve the guests
Furthermore, the conflicts Rosaura faces and the resulting relationships she encounters is the
cause of the differences between social class. For instance, during the party, a blonde girl
with a bow attending the party as a guest approaches Rosaura, asking her who she is. The
naive Rosaura replies, stating that she is a friend of Luciana’s. However, the blonde girl with
the bow is not convinced as “[she is] her cousin and [she] [knows] all her friends. And [she]
[does not] know [Rosaura]” (Heker 2). Luciana’s cousin then proceeds to question Rosaura of
her background and why she is at the party, but Rosaura only says that she is the daughter of
the employee as this was what her mother had instructed her to say. This represents the clear
division between social classes as though Rosaura believes that she is Luciana’s friend, it is
evident that to Luciana, she is simply just the maid’s daughter. Additionally, Rosaura’s
relationship with Señora Ines shows the disunity of classes and portrays the reasoning behind
the lower class’ hatred on the higher class. When quarrelling with her mother in order to gain
permission to attend Luciana’s party, her mother argues that she does not want her going
because it is a rich people’s party. Rosaura in turn thought that it was unfair of her mother to
accuse other people of being liars simply because they were rich. However it is at the end
when Rosaura begins to understand why her mother despised them. Her realization of the
unjust treatment she receives as a result of her social class displays in her “cold, clear look
that fixed itself on Señora Ines’s face” (Heker 5). Rosaura’s facial expression in this scene
represents the acknowledgement of her mother’s words and the understanding that rich
people are not the poor’s best friend. As a result, the story exhibits, to a degree, the
unlikeliness of friendships forming between those of different social class backgrounds due to
the misunderstanding of intent in both parties.