Short Story Theme Evaluation

Short Story Theme Evaluation

The short story "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner is about an actual dinner party at the colonial official's house; at this party, a discussion arises about how women panic by screaming out loud when a critter such as a mouse or snake is in their presence; in this short story, readers learn that stereotypes can often lead to the misjudgment of others through the calm and wise character of Mrs. Wynnes (the hostess), the bowl of milk as a symbol, and the conflict of character vs. self. Firstly, not all women are as what stereotypes portray them as they would always react to the slightest bit of surprise. To demonstrate this, Mrs. Wynnes could have been the stereotypical woman by screaming at the top of her lungs that the snake "was crawling across my foot," (pg. 9, Mona Gardner) but, she remained calm not to frighten the snake until she came up with a plan to get rid of the snake's presences. This proves that Mrs. Wynnes has personally "out grown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era," (pg.8, Mona Gardner) and had wisely controlled her emotional crisis which is the opposite of what the stereotype said. Secondly, the bowl of milk was a method of Mrs. Wynnes to lure the snake away from her. This bowl of milk represents the wisdom that the stereotype assumed that women didn't have in moment of crisis. To show this, when the hostess realized that there is a snake at her feet, her muscles   contracted slightly and "with a slight gesture she summons the native boy standing behind her chair and whispers to him. ...the boy places a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors" (pg. 8, Mona Gardner). This confirms that this stereotype does not apply to Mrs. Wynnes as she clearly displays self-control and wisdom by not allowing the invites know of her crisis and by placing the bowl of milk to lure the snake. Lastly, during the dinner party, a character vs nature conflict arose towards Mrs. Wynnes; in this conflict, Mrs....