Social_Structure_in__The_Garden_Party”_and_“the_Doll's_House”_by_“Katharine_Mansfield”

Analyse how different viewpoints on the same issue or idea are developed in at lease two short written texts you have studied. The texts, “The Garden Party” and “The Doll’s House” by “Katharine Mansfield”, both describe the same issue happened in 1920, which is about social structures. Mansfield uses language technique and symbolism to develop characters such as Aunt Beryl prejudicing lower social class people, while innocent Laura Sheridan feeling confused about the social structure issue. In the text “The Doll’s House”, Aunt Beryl strongly shows the discrimination on different classes. She does not allow the Kelveys to see the doll’s house only because of the Kelveys’ lower class position. Mansfield uses the language technique of simile describing Aunt Beryl’s discrimination and prejudice to the lower classes. Near the end of the text, the Kelveys are been invited to see the doll’s house to the yard by Kezia. When Aunt Beryl sees the Kelveys, “she stepped into the yard and shooed them out as if they were little chickens.” Mansfield compares the Kelveys with “chickens” in this simile; it creates an image to the audience of how Aunt Beryl as an upper class person treating the lower class people (the Kelveys) like animals instead of human being. Mansfield wants the audience to understand the adults’ hypocrisy and cruelty regarding the social structures and the social conventions in 1920. Aunt Beryl is also very restricted by the social structures and social conventions portrayed in “The Doll’s House”. In the text, Aunt Beryl receives a letter from a man and been told that she have to meet him in the bush. Mansfield uses adjective “ghastly pressure” to describe Aunt Beryl’s feeling. This is because women in Aunt Beryl’s class are not allowed to have relationships with men unless it is a marriage. She is afraid that people are going to find out their meeting in the bush. This emphasis her frustration to social values and the social structures. Mansfield also uses symbolism to describe Beryl was “controlled” by the social structures. In the text, the stiff and lifeless dolls in the house symbolize the adults in that society. It makes the readers feel that the dolls were “controlled” and were “trapped” in the house, which helps the audience to understand that adults were restricted and controlled by the social conventions and social structures in 1920. Different from “The Doll’s House”, Laura in “The Garden Party”, who is also from the upper class, doesn’t prejudice the lower class people at all and refuses the social conventions. When Laura realizes her neighbour Scott died, she argued with her family member and said “But we can’t possibly have a garden-party with a man dead just outside the front gate.” Mansfield uses this dialogue to show Laura’s innocence. Laura did not think there were any differences between the people from the different classes. Therefore she treats different people in the same kind way. This sets up juxtaposition between the innocent Laura and the “heartless” adult. Mansfield wants the audience to understand the innocence of a young child against the hypocrisy of adults. Laura as a teenage also feels confusion regarding the social structures. In the beginning of the text, Laura was protected from the world of poverty, labor and death. The “garden” symbolizes the idealistic world provided to Laura by her parents. After Scott died, she had a conflict with her family as she met death face to face. Her idealism and dream world shatters after Mrs Sheridan refused to take her sympathy and scarify seriously. This is described through Laura’s thinking “Laura had to say yes to that, but she felt it was all wrong.” The contrast between her dream world and the reality helps her to understand the distinction of classes. Mansfield portrays this because she wants the audience to understand a teenager’s confusion regarding the social structures, and how their perception about the world changed after experiencing death. Katherine Mansfield emphasizes the social structures and social conventions in “The Doll’s House” and “The Garden Party” in 1920. By using simile, adjective and symbolism in “The Doll’s House”, Mansfield describes Aunt Beryl’s hypocrisy and cruelty as an adult and how she is“trapped” by the social conventions. But Mansfield also uses description and dialogue to show Laura’s confusion on the social value of classes and how she ignores the social structures. Through the two texts the writer wants to help the reader to understand the adult’s hypocrisy, prejudice on lower class people and the child’s innocence, ignorance on the social structures.