The Garden Party

Question 1

The Garden Party

Key facts

Answer 1

• Written in 1921 in London
• Literary period: Modernism
• Genre: Short story, modernism, literary impressionism
• Setting: The Sheridans’ house, the neighborhood down the hill, the Scotts’ house
• Climax: Laura visits Mr. Scott’s house with flowers, sees his body, and is overcome with wonder
• Antagonist: Laura’s mother, a snobbish but outwardly welcoming woman
• Point of view: Third-person omniscient narrator, free indirect discourse involving Laura’s point of view.

Question 2

The Garden Party

Summary

Answer 2

Summary

• The story follows Laura, a teenager from a wealthy New Zealand family, as her family prepares to throw a garden party on their estate.
• Laura encounters four workmen who are polite and speak differently from her social class, which leads her to complain about class distinctions.
• Throughout the day, Laura interacts with various characters, including family members, domestic servants, and deliverymen.
• Laura learns of the death of a man named Scott, who lived in a row of decrepit cottages downhill from the Sheridans’ estate.
• Laura initially wants to cancel the party out of respect for Scott, but her family and sister do not share her concern.
• After the party ends, Laura takes a basket of leftovers to the Scotts’ home and sees Scott’s body.
• Laura is moved by the beauty of the body and the tragedy of the death, leading her to question social conventions.
• The story ends with Laura unable to finish her sentence and her brother comforting her.