Inequalities in the Social Class Structure in The Stolen Party, a Short Story by Liliana Heker

“The Stolen Party” is, sadly, a story with no a pleased ending. Considerably like works such as The Fantastic Gatsby or 1984, the lack of any definitive victory for the protagonist helps to drive property the point. The title of the story is only really important following reading the last 3 paragraphs, in which Rosaura is paid for basically becoming a waiter at the party, and is given neither a gift nor the recognition of being Luciana’s pal. She is merely an additional maid for Senora Ines- and that is all that invitation was for. She may possibly have had the time of her life at that party been made a countess, seen the monkey, had the attention of each and every boy and girl when she got to hand out the cake- but in the finish, it was as although none of that mattered, since her true image in the eyes of Senora Ines had destroyed every thing joyful that party had constructed up inside her. The celebration, in this context, had been stolen from Rosaura by the ignorance of Senora Ines.

The behavior of Senora Ines is an outstanding instance of an individual restricted to a point of view that only views folks by class. Becoming in the uppermost class, she can only see Rosaura for what she is in the most general of terms, a poor young daughter of a maid. Rosaura is much more than this, and reading from her viewpoint we comprehend that- but in a very socially stratified society such as this, what you are born into is anything you just can't escape. The reduced class can, in some manner of speaking, coexist with the upper class. Although, by Senora Ines actions, we can deduce that in the end it can be two wildly various incentives for such a society to function as such.

At the party, Rosaura is practically interrogated by Luciana’s friends, becoming asked how she could possibly know Luciana and just what specifically her mother does, and only shown respect when she either holds the cake or when her pseudo-employer Senora Ines is using her for much more menial labor (which Rosaura blunders for friendly help and rewards for excellent behavior). So, within this society, the poor are only respected when there is a achieve for the upper class- one thing not uncommon in social stratification. Essentially, the wealthy do what they must to stay wealthy, and the poor continuously struggle to either just get by or to somehow beat the odds and pull ahead. Rosaura does a little of each, unwittingly serves the wealthy in staying satisfied, and desperately dreams of becoming what she is at the moment serving cake to. Her mother is a hardened, angry lady- and as the story progresses it becomes a lot more and far more clear why that is.

Social class structure is the crucial point to this piece, the theme of which becoming that you will constantly be what you began as. It is driven in by Senora Ines’ behavior at the party, the tasks Rosaura performs, the crushing truth in the final 3 paragraphs, all of it. The story by means of and by way of is one particular in which a decrease class girl strives to be accepted in the eyes of the upper class, but just when she thinks that is what she has earned, it is produced clear that all she is to them is the daughter of a maid, born to pursue her mother’s footsteps. This occasion might have changed Rosarua, forever distorting her perception of each her class and Luciana’s class. She could go on believing that Luciana is her pal, she could even nevertheless want to be someone far better than her mother, but she could also be skewed by Senora Ines’ remedy- forever resenting the upper class and viewing her station in the social ladder as a permanent status. She may possibly end up trying significantly less hard in school, not searching tough enough for a job, or could choose to reside by her mother’s side for as lengthy as she can- simply because now it would appear her mother was proper, you can not trust the wealthy. Inversely, although, this could have a constructive impact. There are these who see their situations as too significantly to endure when they see there’s anything much better, and at times those people chase that far better life. Rosaura could be one particular of those men and women who escapes the poverty stricken class she comes from, and could sooner or later discover herself accepted at these types of events, perhaps in a future exactly where her previous is obscured by her good results.

The inequality of this society’s (and really all societies) social class method is deeply rooted in the basis of human behavior. There’s a natural drive for folks to take advantage of one an additional if it keeps them on best, and there’s always a want to be better than what you began with. This point is expressed by a particular balance described in the final sentence: “As if the slightest change might shatter an indefinitely delicate balance.” This quote is virtually disturbing in how true it is. The balance here, is an equilibrium maintained by keeping the decrease class exactly where they are. Right after all, were it not for the extortion of decrease classes and the excessive tokens offered to these far better off, families like Luciana’s most likely would not be exactly where they are in the story. Considering that Rosaura’s mother was a servant, it was as even though Senora Ines couldn’t see her as something but a servant. She actually goes as far as to contact her “my pet”, just demeaning her to the point that she may well as effectively have referred to as her “help” all through the affair. Conflict theory may well be the best way to clarify this behavior- the perspective via which the elite manipulate the poor and weak.

By means of this sociological perspective, it can be inferred there is some sort of esoteric information amongst the upper class in this story’s society: the underclass are tools. Rosaura hasn’t observed adequate of the planet to realize this, which is why she adamantly refuses to accept it from her mother and violently reacts to the 1st kid who treats her like a secondhand tool of the household. It is a foreign concept to her that she could be treated that way, and she does not even realize the magnitude of her treatment until the really final straw, when Senora Ines shatters the illusory glass of this poor young youngster. Rosaura had established an alternate explanation for how she was treated all via the day, simply because in her personal mind she wanted to see that her mother was incorrect- that she could escape the stigma of becoming poor. The kid she kicked in the shins was, in Rosaura’s thoughts, just a mean individual. This is why the monkey was the very first focal point of the story, why she was so proud to inform her mother she had been referred to as a countess. It is also why her mother flinched and hesitated when Rosaura was to be offered anything. Her mother grew up most likely the exact same way as Rosaura herself did, with dashed hopes of escaping a label that distinguishes one particular so far from other folks. When Senora Ines displayed her accurate nature and her sincere view of Rosaura, she did it without any remorse. She acted as though her usage of a kid who simply wanted to fit in and have close friends was to be expected when dealing with her class- following all, she’s the daughter of a maid, and treating her like she’s anything better than that would break the delicate balance that holds a society like this together. It’s delicate in the sense that some folks like Rosaura go their complete lives believing they can escape poverty, only to die without having understanding they never truly progressed in the eyes of the elite, and that they only served to perpetuate a society that stacks the odds in the favor of those who cheat.