The Garden Party

• Engels
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Goals for today 

Considering Stream of consciousness 

Characters and relationships in the vignettes 

Looking at some vignettes in "At the Bay" 

How does this image relate to your reading?

What connotations do you have to this object?  

How does this image relate to your reading?

What connotations do you have to this object?  

How does this image relate to your reading?

What connotations do you have to this object?  

Narrative POV

 "Away Laura flew, still holding her piece of bread and butter. It's so delicious to have an excuse for eating out of doors, and besides she loved having to arrange things," 

 "His smile was so easy, so friendly, that Laura recovered. What nice eyes he had, small, but such a dark blue!"

"There lay a young man fast asleep— sleeping so soundly, so deeply, that he was far far away from them both. Oh so remote, so peaceful. . . . What did garden parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all of those things. He was wonderful, beautiful. While they were laughing and while the band was playing, this marvel had come to the lane."

media res 

Third-person narrative to first-person narrative = stream of consciousness 

Narrative POV & narrative voice 

• Past tense 
• 3rd persons omniscient narrator 
• Sometimes limited - at the end limited to Beryl's perspective 
• The narrator takes on the character and personality of the main person in the scene. 
• Descriptions that do not focus on a character, for example, setting description are neutral in demeanour.  

Which conventions of Mansfield's writing style are present in this short story?  

Use of imagery (engaging all the senses)

detailed setting and use of pathetic fallacy

Epiphany for the characters (or sometimes the reader )

irony

symbolism

antithesis, figurative language,

Setting of her stories: New Zealand, France, and England (also Germany, but none of the stories we will look at)

Fragments, plot does not always come to a resolution

If present, find examples and discuss 

Which themes are present in this short story? Defend your choices 

• Entitlement of the wealthy
  
• Divisions of social classes; the gap between rich and poor; class consciousness
  
• Marginalization of people by society
  
• Coming of age
  
• Alienation and self-deception (Appearance vs. Reality)
  
• The patriarchy and male entitlement; marriage and unhappy marriages
  
• Female sexuality (in society and in social norms)
  

Key passage 

Considering the arc of a story, and the structure of this one in particular:

With the person beside you, discuss what passage(s) would you identify as “KEY”

Be prepared to justify your answer.

Identify 6 literary aspects or devices you notice

Use the information given about choosing a key passage 

a piece of art, music, literature, etc. that intentionally copies the style of someone else's work or is intentionally in various styles, or the practice of making art in either of these ways

Pastiche 

Mansfield creative writing. Pastiche

You are going to explore perspective and literary techniques.

Choose one of the stories we have read, and from that story choose one of the minor characters.

With the main theme of the story in mind ( you need to articulate that), write a description of the protagonist of the story through the eyes of the character you have chosen. (Chose a moment when they could be observing the protagonist.)

You will also choose one or more of the conventions of Mansfield’s writing to emulate.

600 to 800 words 

Mansfield creative writing. Pastiche

Individual: Look at your rough plan/ completed version for your rationale. Make sure it represents the ideas you are trying to convey.

Peer Review: Explain the points from your rationale, your intention before your peer reads your work.

After Reading each others work: Make recommendations on what needs to be clarified to reach the stated goals, or other improvements they could make.

Narrative POV & narrative voice 

• Past tense 
• 3rd persons omniscient narrator 
• Sometimes limited - at the end limited to Beryl's perspective 
• The narrator takes on the character and personality of the main person in the scene. 
• Descriptions that do not focus on a character, for example, setting description are neutral in demeanour.  

"At the Bay" 

Beryl

Lottie, Kezia & Isabel

Mrs Stubbs

Mrs Fairfield

Stanley Burnell 

Jonathan Trout

Mrs Harry Kember

Pips & Rags

Harry Kember 

Alice

Join the characters together and write on the line what their relationship is. You can draw a family tree if you think you have enough familial relationships. 

Linda 

What concepts or ideas do these images symbolise for you?

Symbolism 

 “In literary usage a symbol is a specially evocative kind of image that is, a word or phrase referring to a concrete object, scene, or action which also has some further significance associated with it [...] to say that a literary symbol 'stands for' some idea as if it were just a convenient substitute for a fixed meaning; it is usually a substantial image in its own right, around which further significances may gather according to differing interpretations." Oxford dictionary of literary terms.  

 

Symbolism 

Writers can use all sorts of things to represent a deeper meaning that contributes to the understanding of the overall piece of writing. Symbols always have a literal (concrete) meaning and a figurative (abstract) meaning.

An object can symbolise different things to different people and the context can change what an object symbolises. Some symbols have a universal meaning. However, writers can also create their own specific symbols in their writing by referring to something repeatedly, emphasising it through the language used to describe it or by the attention given to it. 

Symbols in "At the Bay"

What elements, characters or actions do you feel are symbolic. What abstract idea could they symbolise?

Goals for today 

Characters and relationships in the vignettes 

Looking at some vignettes in "At the Bay" 

Using stream of consciousness 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Ambiguity 

Word of the day

Ambiguity (n) - the fact of something having more than one possible meaning and therefore possibly causing confusion.

The adjective is ambiguous

Unscramble this word to find a synonym AUCIRYNENTT

UEYATTCRNNI

UEYATTCRNNI

Uncertainty

Be as precise as possible in your answer, so that there is no ambiguity.

 "At the Bay"

1. Find a quote from the short story that you feel is connected to your image. 
2. Share your quote with the class. 
3. What is the significance of this part of the short story to the story as a whole? 

 "At the Bay"

1. Linda & Jonathan Trout 
   
2. Stanley Burnell & Jonathan Trout 
   
3. Linda & her baby son 
   
4. Alice & Mrs Stubbs 
   
5.  Mrs Fairfield & Kezia

6. Beryl & Harry Kember 

7. Beryl & Mrs Harry Kember 

8. Lottie, Kezia, Isabel, Pips & Rags 

9. Stanley & Linda 

 "At the Bay"

"'I'm here!' that happy smile seemed to say. 'Why don't you like me?' There was something so quaint, so unexpected about that smile that Linda smiled Herselt. But she checked herself and said to the boy coldly, 'I don't like babies.'"pg 20

 "At the Bay"

Try your hand at the stream of consciousness style. Use one of the  characters or animals in the short story. Write a passage in which the thoughts of the character or animal are reflected in the stream of consciousness style.