“She smiled her rare smile… I seen the little lamp.”(78) The short story, The Doll’s House, revolves around two main families, the Kelveys and the Burnells. It focuses on the problems of both the poor and the rich. The story is much more than a narrative about kindness it is also about the problems many people face in society. Written by Katherine Mansfield in 1922, The Doll’s House provides people with a different perspective to the problems in society through the two families in the story. From the way that they treat one another to simply their way of life. Mansfield criticizes the problem of social class, in our society and we can see this in the differences of the Kelveys and the Burnells. In this story, Mansfield juxtaposes the rich
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The way the Kelveys are treated is one of the ways in which discrimination is portrayed. At their school, the Kelveys are constantly given special treatment. for example, the teachers have a special voice and smile for them whilst the other kids make fun of and shunned them. Along with that, discrimination in the story is shown when Kezia says “Mother, can’t I ask the Kelveys just once?”(76) and her mother responds with“Certainly not Kezia… you know quite well why not.”(76) It shows the way that poor people are viewed as in society as the Burnells mother didn’t even want to be seen or known as someone to associate with the Kelveys. Also, the idea of social class is another way Mansfield points out discrimination. Social class in this story isn’t directly mentioned, however, it is hinted at a couple of times. The Burnells family is of high class or rich, and the Kelveys not so much. Being seen with the Kelveys would supposedly tarnish their reputation with others in their social class, hence the mother 's reaction to Kezia asking to bring the Kelveys over. However, this is only the start of what Mansfield has decided to criticize in …show more content…
Lil and our Else are used as scapegoats for the rich, made fun of and treated differently by everyone including the adults. These are all of the things that shine real light on the issue of bullying. Bullying is evident in the story when the Kelveys are being used as punching bags and scapegoats for others. This is happened when the Lil and our Else are shooed away from the house by Aunt Beryl. Aunt Beryl’s “afternoon had been awful… but now that she had frightened those little rats of Kelveys and given Kezia a good scolding, her heart felt lighter.”(78) The Kelveys are only there to be someone’s stress toy. They are yelled at and abused whenever because they are the punching bags for the rich. Including that, the rumors about their parents not only makes them the outcasts, but it also puts a big target on their backs. “The girls (Kelveys) began to titter. Lena couldn’t stand that… “Yah, yer fathers in prison!”(77) she hissed. The Kelveys are the target for bullying because they are defenseless, they have nobody on their side to actually protect them and so, they are also the perfect scapegoat. Also, the Kelveys are laughed at for everything they owned and do. They are dressed in poor looking clothing, which is made of bits of things given to their mother by those she works for. They don’t have enough money to have nice or fancy lunches like the others, they ate out of a brown bag
The way the Kelveys are treated is one of the ways in which discrimination is portrayed. At their school, the Kelveys are constantly given special treatment. for example, the teachers have a special voice and smile for them whilst the other kids make fun of and shunned them. Along with that, discrimination in the story is shown when Kezia says “Mother, can’t I ask the Kelveys just once?”(76) and her mother responds with“Certainly not Kezia… you know quite well why not.”(76) It shows the way that poor people are viewed as in society as the Burnells mother didn’t even want to be seen or known as someone to associate with the Kelveys. Also, the idea of social class is another way Mansfield points out discrimination. Social class in this story isn’t directly mentioned, however, it is hinted at a couple of times. The Burnells family is of high class or rich, and the Kelveys not so much. Being seen with the Kelveys would supposedly tarnish their reputation with others in their social class, hence the mother 's reaction to Kezia asking to bring the Kelveys over. However, this is only the start of what Mansfield has decided to criticize in …show more content…
Lil and our Else are used as scapegoats for the rich, made fun of and treated differently by everyone including the adults. These are all of the things that shine real light on the issue of bullying. Bullying is evident in the story when the Kelveys are being used as punching bags and scapegoats for others. This is happened when the Lil and our Else are shooed away from the house by Aunt Beryl. Aunt Beryl’s “afternoon had been awful… but now that she had frightened those little rats of Kelveys and given Kezia a good scolding, her heart felt lighter.”(78) The Kelveys are only there to be someone’s stress toy. They are yelled at and abused whenever because they are the punching bags for the rich. Including that, the rumors about their parents not only makes them the outcasts, but it also puts a big target on their backs. “The girls (Kelveys) began to titter. Lena couldn’t stand that… “Yah, yer fathers in prison!”(77) she hissed. The Kelveys are the target for bullying because they are defenseless, they have nobody on their side to actually protect them and so, they are also the perfect scapegoat. Also, the Kelveys are laughed at for everything they owned and do. They are dressed in poor looking clothing, which is made of bits of things given to their mother by those she works for. They don’t have enough money to have nice or fancy lunches like the others, they ate out of a brown bag