Write a short essay about either “The Garden Party.” Remember to ensure that your introduction introduces your topic in a general way and develops that topic specifically until it arrives at your thesis statement, which states the argument of your paper. Your thesis should be the answer to an implied question, the solution to a problem, or the resolution to a paradox about a topic in the text. Also remember that you are not required to answer the specific questions in the assignment; think about them more like writing prompts or suggestions. Your thesis statement and your essay should be about the text in question, not about the general topic. If you want to write about a different topic, you may do so, but you must write about one of the texts we discussed in class.
There are many metaphors for class distinction in Katherine Mansfield’s “The Garden Party.” Why is the bread and butter that Laura eats in front of the work men significant? What does her mother’s hat symbolize, and why is it significant? If an allusion is being made to the myth of Persephone and her capture and marriage to Hades, what is the point of it? What significant connections can you make between these metaphors and allusion to the theme of class distinction?
–For this assignment you should quote from the story at least once (if you are writing about a story), and the quotation must conform to MLA standards: the quotation should be properly introduced and grammatically correct with proper documentation in a Works Cited page at the end of the essay. If you choose to use secondary material, it must be quoted properly with proper documentation.
