Table of Contents
Introduction …………………………………………………….page 2
Chapter 1: Author’s Craft ……………………………………..page 3
Chapter 2: Theme-Based Literary Essay …………………….page 4
Chapter 3: Symbolism …………………………………………page 5
Chapter 4: Fanfiction Scene …………………………………...page 6
Conclusion ……………………………………………………...page 7
Introduction
“The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker introduces Rosaura, a protagonist who dreams big. In the first scene, Heker shows the reader that this young girl hopes to be rich someday like her friend Luciana. Luciana is having a birthday party and Rosaura has been invited. Rosaura’s mother, a maid for Luciana’s family, doubts that this invitation is real. The story unfolds as Rosaura attends the party and believes she belongs, but the author lets the reader see that the mother may have been right. By the end, this story has turned tragic, and Rosaura is forced to face the fact that her dreams were pure fantasy.
In this companion book, you will read about the complicated relationships and themes that the author develops in this story. These have twists and turns that are worth thinking about. You will also read interpretations of key settings and images—how these are symbolic in the story. And finally, you will get a real treat: a chance to read a fan fiction scene that is not in the original story, but helps explore Rosaura’s friendship with Luciana.
This book will make you think even more about this powerful story, and the effective craft of Liliana Heker.
CHAPTER 1: Author’s Craft in “The Stolen Party”
Liliana Heker chooses to start her story off with an angry tone. The conversation that Rosaura and her mother are having is not a pleasant one, and Heker uses words like “sneered,” “cross,” and “grumbled,” to characterize Rosaura’s mother as a rude, grumpy woman. She uses words like “yelled” and “shut up!” to show us that Rosaura is feeling frustrated and upset with her mother. I think Heker started the story off this way to get the reader into the intense emotions that are going on between the mother and daughter. The feelings they have toward each other at the beginning of the story are in sharp contrast with their feelings at the end.
In the last lines of the story, we see that Rosaura leans into her mother’s body for comfort, and her mother protectively places a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. This allows us to see that although the story started off in a difficult moment, the mother and daughter truly love and care for each other. It makes us rethink the assumptions we made about the mother in the beginning. Instead of continuing to feel that she is rude and judgmental, we realize that the mother was right all along and was only trying to protect her daughter.
Another important craft move used throughout the story is inner thinking. Numerous times throughout the story, we get a glimpse inside Rosaura’ mind. Through the inner thinking, we learn things about Rosaura’s personality and the way she sees the world. For example, on page 1, Rosaura wonders to herself if her mother would still love her if she became rich one day. This not only allows us to see one of Rosaura’s dreams, but it also allows us to see how Rosaura feels about her mother at this point in the story.
On page 2, Rosaura carries a jug of orange juice from the kitchen without spilling any, and Senora Ines asks if she can handle it. Rosaura thinks to herself, “Of course she could manage. She wasn’t a butterfingers, like the others.” This shows us that Rosaura has confidence and thinks of herself in a very positive way, but a little farther down the page, we learn the one thing Rosaura is not proud of – being the maid’s daughter. She thinks to herself that she would never tell someone she was proud to be the daughter of the employee, so we learn that although Rosaura is confident in herself and her abilities, she does feel self-conscious about the fact that her mother is a maid.
Liliana Heker successfully uses a variety of craft moves to tell a compelling story that draws the reader in and leaves him or her thinking about the characters long after the story’s end.
CHAPTER 2: “The Stolen Party” Theme-Based Literary Essay
In life, it can be hard to rise above one’s circumstances. The social class you are born into is most likely the social class you will still belong to as an adult. In “The Stolen Party,” Rosaura learns this lesson the hard way. She goes to a birthday party believing she is a friend and guest, but she later realizes that she was there as a servant the whole time. Her dreams of rising above her circumstances are crushed.
At the beginning of the story, Rosaura and her mother have an argument about Rosaura attending Luciana’s birthday party. Rosaura feels strongly that she is Luciana’s friend, but her mother tells her that she is seen as nothing more than the maid’s daughter. This statement angers Rosaura, and she yells that her mother “know[s] nothing about being friends.” The unfortunate truth is that Rosaura’s mother understands all too well what it means to be someone’s friend, and Rosaura has to learn a difficult lesson. Although Luciana seems friendly and treats Rosaura kindly at her birthday party, the truth about how she views Rosaura is revealed at the end of the story. If Luciana were really Rosaura’s friend, she wouldn’t have let her mother pay Rosaura for her help.
Throughout the story, we see hints that Rosaura is at the party to work, but she doesn’t seem to feel that she is being used. The reader, however, begins to question the real reason why Rosaura was invited to Luciana’s birthday party. At the end of the story, when Rosaura’s mother is there to pick her up and Senora Ines tries to pay Rosaura for her help, the tragic theme of this story is finally revealed. Rosaura’s body language – stiffened arms stuck close to her body and pressing herself against her mother – reveal what’s going on inside her head. She has realized that her mother was right all along, and that she was foolish to believe she could rise above her circumstances and be true friends with a girl like Luciana.
Although this story doesn’t have a happy ending, it teaches us an important lesson. The world is not always a kind, wonderful place, and it can be especially difficult for people in poverty. Liliana Heker might also wish to get people with significant wealth to reconsider how they view the lower social classes – is there a real reason why Rosaura and Luciana couldn’t be best friends?
CHAPTER 3: Symbolism in “The Stolen Party
“Monkeys at a birthday?” (p. 1) Rosaura’s mother asks her, in practically the first line of “The Stolen Party.” It’s a question that the reader probably has too, because it’s a strange idea. Why does Liliana Heker choose to put a monkey at this party? It’s not just a minor part of the story, as they story starts with Rosaura’s discovery of the monkey, and builds to the moment when Rosaura has the monkey in her lap as part of the magician’s act. The monkey is more than just a monkey. It actually is a symbol for Rosaura. It symbolizes how she is at the party as a servant, and how she is not like the other children there.
From the beginning, Rosaura is linked to the monkey, and, like the monkey, to the role of servant. She runs straight into the kitchen as soon as she arrives. (p. 1) The monkeyis in the kitchen, “deep in thought, inside its cage.” (p. 2). The monkey is kept in thekitchen, and Rosaura, too, is in and out of the kitchen throughout the story. The readercan imagine, if Rosaura is pouring juice and serving hot dogs and passing out cake,that she has to go in and out of the kitchen quite a lot. And we know that she is theonly child allowed in the kitchen. Themonkey is in a cage waiting to entertain the kids; Rosaura is in a kind of invisible cagethat makes her a servant to the other children.
Rosaura is not like the other children at the party, even though she desperately wants to be. Like the monkey, she is alone at the party, even if she doesn’t feel it. Luciana’s cousin points this out, even though Rosaura doesn’t want to see it. The cousin tells Rosaura, “You are not a friend of Luciana because I am her cousin and I know all her friends. And I don’t know you.” (p. 2) This conversation upsets Rosaura but she still can’t see that in fact the cousin is right. It’s not until the end of the party, when Senora Ines tries to pay her for her help, that Rosaura finally sees the truth. In this key moment, Senora Ines says, “Thank you for all your help, my pet.” (p. 5) Liliana Heker chose this word “pet” carefully, and it connects Rosaura even more to the monkey.
The monkey is a symbol throughout the story of how Rosaura is viewed as a servant, and not like one of Luciana’s actual friends. What starts out as a funny question at the beginning turns ugly by the end, when it’s clear that the people Rosaura wanted to impress see her as no different from an obedient and amusing lesser creature.
CHAPTER 4: “The Stolen Party” Fanfiction Scene
Rosaura stood outside Luciana’s house and got ready to ring the doorbell. She took a few seconds to look up at the balcony on the second story. She had never been up to that room—Luciana’s parents’ room. She wondered what it looked like. She pictured a canopied bed and lots and lots of space. And if you ran out of space inside, there was always the balcony. . . . She thought she would ask her mother later what that room was like. Then she thought that her mother wouldn’t like her thinking about that.
“Don’t get so interested in rich people,” she would probably say. Rosaura sighed and rang the doorbell.
Senora Ines said, “Luciana’s in her room. Why don’t you go do your homework in there with her? You can probably help her—you’re so smart!” Rosaura shrugged her shoulders but smiled as she walked away. Senora Ines was right: she was smart, and reading and math came easily for her. Even though she and Luciana went to different schools, she often answered Luciana’s questions about her homework, and sometimes did some of it for her. She felt proud that Senora Ines had noticed.
“Hi Luciana,” she said. The girl was sitting at her white desk, pencil in hand.
“Oh, hi Rosaura, I’m glad you’re here. I’m just at the tricky part of this math. Could you do these for me? I actually really have to redo my nails.” Luciana handed a stapled packet of papers to Rosaura without really waiting for an answer. As usual, Rosaura said, “No problem, of course. If I can help I always will.”
She took her usual place on the floor, her back propped against the wall. She pulled out her science textbook to use as a clipboard as she started in on Luciana’s math homework. The problems were not difficult for her, and she tried to stay focused on the clarity of getting the right answers, instead of noticing that Luciana kept her back turned as she applied a fresh coat of pale pink polish to her fingernails.
Conclusion
Liliana Heker gives the reader a lot to think about in the short story “The Stolen Party.” Rosaura’s dream to fit in with her wealthy friend’s family and life is crushed. Rosaura’s mother is proved right, but is sadder because of this. Is the lesson of this heart wrenching tale “Don’t dream big?” Perhaps. Or it may be the kind of story where there is no easy lesson to learn. Instead, it might be a reminder that it hurts to be used by others.