A Second Look

Gabe Campbell

Mr. Salsich

English 9B

5^th November 2008

 

                                    At a Second Glance;

         An Essay About the Story “the Garden Party” at a Second Look

 

         A second look at anything will unravel surprises you haven’t noticed before. If you take a second look at a piece of art you can notice colors contrasting, or if you take another glance at statue you could notice details that you hadn’t seen before. You can even discover new things when taking a second look at a story. While rereading the story “Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, new emotions became clear.

         During our second look, Laura’s hidden feelings became apparent. One emotion that I hadn’t noticed before was humility. The passage, “[…] the big hat with the velvet streamer – if only it was another hat!” represented humility because Laura was ashamed to be wearing a flashy hat. She is going to visit a dead man’s family and she knew she wouldn’t leave a good impression by wearing an extravagant hat. In addition to humility, contentment became obvious. When Laura thought, “Yes, it was the most successful party” (1 brief quote) she was emitting satisfaction because she was pleased that the outcome was excellent. She knew she put effort into the party and it paid off. Finally, discovery was more evident throughout the second reading. The passage “It was simply marvelous” (2 brief quotes) was confusing at first confusing because it was describing death. The second reading made it clearer because Laura went to the man’s house, stared at his lifeless corpse, and realized how at peace he was with the world (three action verb). She discovered beauty in something as depressing as death. To summarize, throughout the second reading of “the Garden Party” different emotions became clear.

         A second look clarifies everything. A second look at a test could reveal mistakes. A second look at a poem could expose ambiguous phrases. Finally, a second look at a novel could uncover emotions that weren’t evident before. Overall, our second look at “the Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield gave me a better grasp on Laura’s hidden emotions.