The Stolen Party Synthesis Page

            The Stolen Party is a story about Rosaura, a young girl that is invited to a friend, named Luciana’s, birthday party. Rosaura’s mother happens to be the maid of this friend’s family and Rosaura is put into many uncomfortable positions. This happens all throughout the party although she is oblivious to what is really going on. At the end of the party, Luciana’s mother, Senora Ines, is giving out thank you gifts to Luciana’s party guests while Rosaura is given money because she was invited to work. The story was read two times, each time focusing in on a different lens, one time looking for meaningful vocabulary or descriptions, and the second time looking for moments where power and resistance were shown. Reading with these different lenses allows the reader to focus in on specific aspects of the book and understand the story on a deeper level.

            While reading The Stolen Party using the word choice lens, it was clear that the author deliberately put specific words in for readers who could focus and recognize that it had a deeper meaning. One line that really stood out was part of the last line of the book, “shatter an infinitely delicate balance”. This line really provoked a lot of thought and many possible meanings. At this point in the story social classes and their separations are very visible and this line just enforces that. Some other words that relate to this idea are “cold, clear, and horribly ashamed”. These words really show that social classes are broken up very strictly and there are certain boundaries that are not dared to be crossed. They are very clear and people know not to try to get in between. On the other hand, Rosaura has been very oblivious and naïve throughout the story and gets a smack of reality when she realizes that she was brought to the party to help work. This lens really gave a lot of room for thinking and for everyone to interpret sections of the piece their own way.

            The second time The Stolen Party was read, it was visible that certain characters had more power than others. It was also clear that sometimes characters would try to resists this power and other times where they would need to accept the situation. Toward the end of the story Senora Ines referred to Rosaura as “my little pet”. This shows that Senora Ines clearly knows and feels like she has power over Rosaura and her mother. Senora Ines says this while she is paying Rosaura for helping out at the party. Rosaura was unaware and disappointed when she realized that this was why she was invited to the party. Rosaura didn’t believe that she would be treated like the maid’s daughter because of their association with each other. Rosaura is put into a position where she needs to grow up within a matter of seconds because she has been blind to the fact that she was put in this position to work, not to be a guest at a party. She has been oblivious of these social classes and the fact that even though she is friends with Luciana, she will be treated differently because she is the maid’s daughter. After reading the piece with this lens, readers are able to understand characters relationships much more deeply and are left feeling sympathetic for certain characters.

            After reading The Stolen Party twice, readers are able to read the story meaningfully and with a greater understanding of the characters and their emotions. The story shows how people are expected to act or be a certain way because of their association with other people or because of race or gender. The piece elaborates by showing how characters react to this and how they feel because of it. The story also shows how people in different social classes will make others feel like they are below them, simply because they don’t know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of the situation. In real life, people can be put into situations that are very similar to this where they are left feeling powerless because someone obviously has a greater power over them. Some examples of this are a teacher and a student, boss and an employee, or a parent versus their child. Teachers clearly have much more power than students because they are in charge of the student’s grades and simply because it is their job to instruct students. This relationship is very implicit and expected so students don’t feel neglected when they cannot make many decisions that involve their schooling and grading. On the other hand, the lower half of this relationship, the student, can always try their hardest and have a better attitude. This might result in a better relationship with the upper half of this relationship, the teacher. In conclusion, after reading The Stolen Party with two different lenses, I can tell that it is a story about envy, the truth, and acceptance of social classes.