The Garden Party

Setting: The time is early summer in a year in the first decade of the 20th Century. The story unfolds at the estate of a well-to-do upper-class family on Tinakori Road in Wellington, New Zealand, at the nearby home of a poor lower-class family, and on the road between the two dwellings.

Narrator point of view: Mansfield wrote "The Garden Party" in limited third-person point of view. It is limited in that the author presents the thoughts of Laura only. The personality and outlook of the other characters reveal themselves only through what they say and do. 

Major Character:

• Laura Sheridan: Mrs Sheridan's daughter
• Laurie Sheridan: Laura's brother
• Jose Sheridan: Sisters of Laura and Laurie
• Mrs Sheridan: Mr Sheridan's wife and mother of Laura.
• Mr Sheridan: Mrs Sheridan's husband and father of Laura.
• Mr Scott: A lower-class neighbour who has just died.

Summary: The wealthy Sheridan family prepares to host a garden party. Hearing that their neighbour has died, Laura insists her family members call off the party, neither Jose nor their mother agrees. Laura eases her conscience by deciding to forget the matter until the party is over. At the end of the party, Laura takes a basketful of leftovers to the neighbours. She's taken to see the dead body and has a moment of epiphany in which she sees death as merely a peaceful sleep.

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Major Theme in "The Garden Party"

 Major Themes

Class consciousness: Laura feels a certain sense of kinship with the workers and again with the Scotts. An omniscient narrator also explains that, as children, Laura, Jose, Meg, and Laurie were not allowed to go near the poor neighbours' dwellings, which spoil their vista.

Illusion versus reality: Laura is stuck in a world of high-class housing, food, family and garden partied. She then discovers her neighbour from a lower class has died and she clicks back to reality upon discovering death.

Sensitivity and insensitivity: The Sheridan hold their garden party, as planned, complete with a band playing music. Laura questions whether this is appropriate, given the death of their neighbour only a few hours earlier.

Death and life: The writer masterfully handles the theme of death and life in the short story. The realization of Laura that life is simply marvellous shows the death of human beings in a positive light. Death and life co-exist and death seems to Laura merely a sound sleep far away from troubles in human life.

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Humor in "The Luncheon"

Humor is something that is funny, comical, or amusing. There are many types of humor, and what appears humorous to one person may not be humorous to another. Humor can also describe as a mood or a state of mind. Which we found in Somerset Maugham’s short story “The Luncheon” that derives from the fact that the narrator is trying to appear sophisticated, urbane and gallant, whereas he really can’t afford to be entertaining this woman in such an expensive restaurant as Foyot’s. He feels relieved initially because she tells him, “I never eat anything for luncheon, “ and then he is appalled when she orders some of the most expensive items and she does not even think a bit about the costs the speaker would have to pay for the lunch.

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Central Message – APPEARANCE VS. REALITY

         While “The Luncheon” is certainly a light and amusing story the narrator tells of a past experience, a message can also be found in the story and it is called APPEARANCE VS. REALITY

         The speaker, in 'Luncheon', wishes from the beginning that his date would be a beautiful woman. He imagines a portrayal of a graceful lady in his mind. But, when he goes to have a lunch with her, she appears as a surprising blast, a total opposite to his imagination. Not only her appearance but also her dialogues express that she is an extremely fat, food-loving and ravenous woman who does not even think a bit about the costs the speaker would have to pay for the lunch. She has a very good appetite and gobbles a lot of money also. The most interesting part is the verbal irony hidden in the lines she utters to the speaker like she does not eat too much etc. The irony concealed in her speeches helps to develop the main theme. These ironies make 'Luncheon' a comic story in the true sense.

        The lesson that can be found in the humorous short story is that flattery and pride hamper the young man’s ability to be truthful with his guest. Instead of explaining his financial situation, he allows her to continue to order expensive items from the menu. The narrator expresses his pleasure in seeing the woman after twenty years and realizing she has gained a substantial amount of weight.

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Irony in "The Luncheon"

Irony

Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words.

Use of Irony in the story: 

First of all, I'd like to say some words about the title of the text "The Luncheon". The title of the text is rather ironical. If we consult a dictionary, we can find out that the word "luncheon" means a "light snack", but as we can see hereinafter a light snack turns to be an abundant and expensive meal. 

Secondly, In the letter the lady flattered the writer in such a way that she is very interested on his writing. But actually it is not.

Thirdly, this is a dramatic irony. It is based on the strong contrast between what the woman keeps saying and what she actually does. The narrator is fooled into taking the woman to the expensive Foyot's restaurant because he thinks she is telling the truth when she says, "I never eat anything for luncheon.

And at the same time, Maugham, who was twenty years younger at the time of the luncheon he is describing, is pretending to be urbane , gallant and sophisticated. He has to keep up a smiling , insouciant façade while inwardly he is suffering agonies when his guest, who claims she never eats anything for luncheon, orders some of the  most expensive things Foyot’s has to offer, including salmon, caviare, and champagne and she does not even think a bit about the costs the speaker would have to pay for the lunch.

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