The Garden Party

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Stream-of-Consciousness Narrative for the Sheridan Family”

In this activity, students will use Mansfield’s writing style and text details to create their own stream-of-conscious narrative based on one of the other Sheridan family members.

Although Mansfield uses a third-person perspective to narrate “The Garden Party,” she allows for some limited insights into the protagonist Laura’s ways of thinking. These insights are often written in a “stream-of-consciousness” format, where Laura’s thoughts begin to wander in the realm of considering and questioning social norms before being snapped back into reality. As a result, the reader is given further insight into Laura’s transitional journey from adolescence into adulthood.

Based on Mansfield’s structure and writing style, select another character from the Sheridan family and plan a narrative that shares their perspective of the same day. This narrative should be written in a similar style (third-person perspective with limited insight into the character’s thinking and opinions) and should focus on the same story timeline (the day of the garden party). Use the questions below to guide the preparation for your story.

• Who is your character?
• What are they doing to prepare for the party?
• With whom do they interact during the day?
• How do they feel about their position in society? For example, are they aware of their class, gender norms, etc.?
• How do they feel at the end of the party? How do they feel about Laura’s journey out of the gates of the home?

Compose your narrative and use peer editing or writing critique circles to edit and revise.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity encourages students to combine their understanding of the story’s development of its characters and themes in a creative writing assignment. Prior to the activity, you may wish to review elements of stream-of-consciousness writing and the way in which the story’s themes (Class Distinction and Class Consciousness, Adolescents Playing at Adulthood, and The Relationship Between Life and Death) are revealed through Laura’s point of view. Students should then incorporate some stream-of-consciousness segments into their writings, preferably focusing on their character’s opinions of social norms, life and death, and/or the transition into adulthood. Each story should mirror the same events of “The Garden Party,” in approximately the same length.

Differentiation Suggestion: For more advanced classes, this activity can be adapted to compare and contrast the use of stream-of-consciousness styles between Mansfield’s “The Garden Party” and Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (please see the Paired Text Extension below). In this vein, students should compare the nature of the texts (fictional short story versus nonfiction essay) using specific passages to guide them. Finally, students should make connections between both authors and their influence on the Modernist writing movement.

Paired Text Extension:

One of Virginia Woolf’s most prominent examples of stream-of-consciousness style is A Room of One’s Own (1929). Working in small groups, read one chapter of Woolf’s essay and analyze her use of stream-of-consciousness in her argument. Consider the following questions in your group:

• What is Woolf’s central argument in the chapter?
• How does Woolf’s writing approach focus on relevant themes such as sex, class distinction, and access to literature?
• Do you believe Woolf’s argument is valid? Why or why not?

Finally, summarize your chapter for the class and share your group’s findings.

Teaching Suggestion: This Paired Text Extension can be used with the activity, either along with the Differentiation Suggestion or as a separate activity for students. A Room of One’s Own is considered to be a seminal text for feminist literature, and students should be invited to explore not only Woolf’s argument but also her style of writing.

• A Room of One’s Own on SuperSummary