G A R D E N P A

E R T
T H Y
By Katherine Mansfield
 R M E M B E R
O U S

Rasyidah Nabila Khairunissa

Allisyia Sofiya Sarah

 opic Outline
T
1 2 3
The Author Summary Themes

4 5 6
Literary
Characters Symbols Devices
The Author
01
Katherine Mansfield
She is a New Zealand writer, born on October 14
1888 and died on January 9 1923 at the age of 35
years old due to tuberculosis. She was an icon for
her many works as a writer and journalists where
she had wrote more than 50 short stories. The
Garden Party was one of the few short stories that
was written by her during 1922 before her death.
Summary
02 The Summary
The plot of The Garden Party tells the story of the wealthy Sheridan family that
plans to throw a garden party. They want to invite wealthy people from their
neighborhood for a fun afternoon where Mrs. Sheridan would like to report her
retirement from the arrangements for the year and hand over the work to her girls,
particularly the inventive Laura who loves to do the same thing as her mother.
Meg and Jose are not quite the same as their sister who partakes in the
organization of laborers setting up the marquee for the occasion dissimilar to
different individuals from the house who like to avoid the lower classes as they
would rather look at the workers instead. Laura, on the other hand, finds herself in
a stuck situation regarding the appropriateness of the party as a result of the news
about the tragic death of a man by the name of Mr. Scott who lives down the road.
02 The Summary
She divided her thoughts into two camps: an elite hostess who ought to ignore the
loss of a family she does not personally know; and as someone who sympathizes
with their loss and should, where she wants to stop the celebrations from reaching
them. However, Laura continues with the party despite Jose and Mrs. Sheridan's
compelling reality about the existing class divide, only for her father to mention the
accident later that night and direct her to deliver a basket of leftovers to the poor
man's house. Laura learns about the ugliness of life from her encounter with death
and the stark contrast between her living situation and the poor house. When she
looks at the dead body, she flees the house, where her brother Laurie is waiting for
her, unable to bear the sight. The story closes with Laura's inability to communicate
her recently discovered significance of life where she could only mumbled, "Isn't
life, isn't life—," and Laurie confirmed her thoughts: Isn't it, dear?"
02
2. Godber's deliveryman shares
Plot Diagram
news of Scott's death. 5. Laura views Scott's corpse
3. Laura's pleas to cancel the Climax
party are rebuffed.
6. Laura is overcome by
4. Laura brings a basket of
the peace and beauty
leftovers to the Scotts.
Falling of the dead man.
Action

Rising Resolution
Action
7. Laura tries to
Introduction explain her
1. Laura oversees feelings to Laurie.
the workmen in
the garden
Themes
 T H E M E S
03 Work & Leisure
Different class levels and its activity is the most obvious topic in the story, uncovering the
high standards of the high society and the weakness of the lower one. The difference that
existed in the early 20th century is magnified at the Sheridans party when the event is
threatened by death in their neighborhood. Women like Jose and Mrs. Sheridan believe that
they are not responsible for their neighbors' deaths, so there is no reason for them to put off
their party. Then again, Laura who has faith in the lack of care that the party would project
with its lights and music in the Scott house. Maintaining one's reputation is important for the
upper ranks because they cannot afford to lose their standing in the group they move into,
and sympathy for the poor would loosen their ranks. However, Laura and, to a lesser extent,
Laurie are the ones who are aware of the harsh reality that life has towards humans, but to
which wealthy people like the Sheridans have been immune.
 T H E M E S
03 Empathy & Understanding
Manfield shows Sheridans' often absurd prejudice against working-class people and their
inability to imagine the perspective of lower-class people. The contrast between Laura and
her sister, Jose shows when Jose, blames Scott for being intoxicated that caused his death.
She says that the Sheridans shouldn't be concerned his death as it his fault. It is clear as
Jose suggests that the party must go on and shouldn’t be cancelled just because of
someone death as he isn’t from their circle. Similar arguments are made by Mrs. Sheridan,
who asserts that "people like that don't expect sacrifices from us" and that the Sheridans
should continue with the party. In fact, she finds Laura's suggestion to postpone the party
out of concern for the Scotts "amusing." Like Jose, Mrs. Sheridan is only concerned with the
garden party and not with Scott's death. She says that Mr. Sheridan is "tactless" when he
talks about the tragedy and that it "nearly ruined" their plans..
 aracters & Characteristic
Ch s
04 Characters & Characteristic
Empathetic
Aware of the death incident happened in the Scott family, tries to
encourage her family, the Sheridans to be empathetic and
postpone the party in respect towards the Scott family who lives
in the lower class area

Determined
She doesn’t budge from her idea of wanting to postpone the
party despite getting ridiculed from her family however she
Laura Sheridan relunctantly settles with Mrs Sheridan’s idea of bringing basket
full of leftovers from the party as she is determined to pay her
respects to the Scotts.
04 Characters & Characteristic
Forceful
She forces Laura to not postpone the party as the death of Mr
Scott is none of their concerns and tries to get their mother, Mrs
Sheridan to agree with her points by accuses that Mr Scott died
due to being an alcoholic as he is a lower class citizen.

Confident
She goes to see the workmen that was setting up their marquee
Jose Sheridan tent for their garden party and strikes a conversation between
them.
Symbols
04 Symbols
Symbols is anything that stands or represents
for. It can be anything ranging from an object to
a human being where it stands for something
abstract such as the condition of the world or
an idea
05 Symbols
In the short story, the marquee tent is often mentioned where it
symbolises the upper class situation as at that time, only the rich
can afford to use or buy a marquee tent.

Example;
1. Mrs Sheridan lets Laura to decide where should the
workmen put the marquee tent

Marquee 2. Mrs Sheridan makes her decision in letting Laura visit the
Scott family in the marquee tent
05 Symbols
Hats are also mentioned in the short story where it differs
between classes as the lower class might own used hats or ones
that are old or shabby unlikes higher class where they own
extravagant and colourful hats that symbolises their status.

Example;
1. Mrs Sheridan tells Laura to tell Kitty (a family friend) to wear
her hat that she wore last Sunday
Hats 2. Jose looks at herself as she is wearing her mothers hat and
admiring herself thus rising her confidence level
 iterary Device
L s
06 Simile
a figure of speech comparing two unlike things
that is often introduced by like or as
Example;
1. When Laura enters the kitchen, she hears a
“tuk-tuk tuk,” and the cook clucks “like an
agitated hen.”
2. Laura thought of the Scott family while
looking herself in the mirror. But it all seemed
blurred, unreal, like a picture in the
newspaper.
06 Personification
Personification is a type of figurative
language in which non-human things are
described as having human attributes

Example;
1. The green bushes bowed down as though they
had been visited by archangels
2. Little faint winds were playing chase in at the tops
of the windows, out at the doors. And there were
two tiny spots of sun, one on the inkpot, one on a
silver photograph frame, playing too.
 A N K Y O U
T H !

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