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Written Text (Little Boy Crying (Language Features (Essay Questions: …

- - - - Point Sentences
        
        Para 1: The setting of a small, rural community in late nineteenth-century New Zealand helps Mansfield to achieve her purpose of commenting on the human tendency of children to learn snobbishness from heir parents.
        
        Because the school is “the only school for miles” the rich and poor children must all go to the same school. This means the wealthy children are taught by their parents to look down on the Kelveys, who are the daughters of the local washerwoman. “Many of the children...were not allowed even to speak to them.”. This makes the other children feel they’re above the Kelveys, because they follow their parent's example readily, without question.
        
        Para 2: The older two Burnell sisters, Isabel and Lottie, are used by Mansfield to comment on the human’s tendency to follow our parent’s lead.
        
        We see this when the narrator tells us “the line had to be drawn somewhere. It was drawn at the Kelveys.”
        Soon, “everybody had seen it except them”. Emmie Cole, a school friend, shows how children imitate their parents when she “nodded to Isabel as she’d seen her mother do.”
        
        Para 3: In contrast, the youngest Burnell sister, Kezia, does not follow this pattern. Through it is human nature for children to be guided by their parents, Kezia follows her own moral compass.
        
        Even though her mother says “certainly not” when she wants to invite the Kelveys to see the doll’s house, she invites them anyway. Else Kelvey reminds her that “your ma told our ma you wasn’t to speak to us,” Kezia decides to be kind and inclusive, “You can come and see our doll’s house all the same.”.
  - - - Point Sentences
        
        Para 1: Kezia is the strongest and most admirable character in the story. One of her key strengths is kindness.
        
        She shows this when she asks “Can’t I ask the Kelveys just once?” This is especially kind because the Kelveys are excluded and mocked (by both children and adults) because of their family’s poverty. They are not invited to see the dolls’ house, but all the other children are. However, Kezia cannot understand why the Kelveys cannot be included - to her they are just other children.
        
        Purpose: Through her good hearted inclusion of the Kelveys, Kezia shows readers that discrimination based on social status is cruel and unjust. It is human nature to focus on other people’s differences, but, through Kezia, Mansfield shows readers a better, more compassionate way to relate to others.
        
        Para 2 Kezia is a strong character because she has strong independent thinking. She shows this when she told the Kelveys that they can come and look at the dollhouse, and ignore the cautions of being caught by the Burnells,
        
        When the Kelveys said “Your ma told our ma you wasn’t to speak to us..” Kezia responded with “It doesn’t matter, you can come and see our dolls house all the same..” She also choose to make her own decisions on what to do when visitors arrived at the Burnells. Kezia “thieved out at the back. Nobody was about; she began to swing on the big white gates.”
        
        Purpose: This means Kezia isn’t easily influenced by the Burnells to talk witht the Kelveys, because she responded that “it doesn’t matter”, she isn’t afraid to be different, and doesn’t necessarily need to do what Isabel and others are doing, treating the visitors. These are traits of independent thinking. The character Kezia, showing this strength of independent thinking, allowed the Kelveys to have a chance of looking at the dollhouse, otherwise they will not be able to look at it. This shows that independent thinking gave the people who are poorer than them hope to not be treated badly, and let them have a kinder future.
        
        Para 3: The Kelveys in the short story showed a weakness of low self-esteem. This is because the Kelvey’s don’t seem to respond to Isabel and Emmie when they said mean things to them because of their social class.
        
        When Lena asked Lil Kelvey “Is it true you’re going to be a servant when you grow up, Lil Kelvey?”. Lil Kelvey didn’t respond, “But instead of answering, Lil only gave her silly, shame-faced smile. She didn't seem to mind the question at all.”.
        
        This quote tells us that Lil Kelvey is ashamed of herself, she thinks she deserved this comment because everyone does this to her, because of the “silly, shame-faced smile” she made. But it could also be true that she will have to become a servant in order to help her and her mother to survive. This show that Lil Kelvey has low self esteem, because she is not responsive to hate comments. This , empahsize the theme of social discrimination, because low self-esteem might affect them to never get to experience a better way of life.
        
        Para 4: Aunt Beryl is a character in the short story that has a weakness of showing cruelty and snobbery to people. She treats the Kelveys cruely and coldly, she display a proud attitude after shouting at them.
        
        In this quote, “ Run away, children, run away at once. And don’t come back again…she stepped into the yard and shooed them out as if they were chickens. “ Or in this quote “Off you go immediately!” she called, cold and proud.”.
        
        This tells us that Aunt Beryl is a mean womaen, she has no sympathy for people who had to be unecessarily treated like this just because they were poor. This weakness emphasize the theme of social discrimination because Aunt Beryl people because of their poor social class.
        
        The characters of Kezia, Aunt Beryl and the Kelveys, through their strengths and weaknesses, help to reinforce the message that social snobbery is wrong. Kindness and moral independence are contrasted with cruel, narrow-minded bullying to help show readers which way is better, and Mansfield shows the damage this kind of prejudice does to innocent children. Interestingly, it is a child who shows herself to be more admirable than the adults, who fail to set a good example. Kezia’s acceptance gives readers hope for a kinder, more tolerant future.
    - - Point Sentences
        
        Para 2
        The experiences of the Kelvey sisters also help Mansfield to criticize the social discrimination that took place in her society. They are clearly innocent victims and thus readers feel pity for their situation. At school, they are usually shunned and sometimes taunted by the other children.
        
        Purpose: This helps Mansfield to achieve her purpose of showing the unfairness of a society that measures people’s worth according to how much money they have.
        
        They are described as always being “outside the ring” at school and are not invited to see the doll’s house by Isabel, the eldest Burnell sister. The other children are told they are not allowed to speak to them, because they are “the daughters of a washerwoman and a jailbird.” Later in the story, they are mocked for their family situation: “Yah, yer father’s in prison!”
        
        Para 1
        Kezia feels sorry for the Kelveys to be excluded:
        Kezia is the youngest Burnell sister. Her experience of having to figure out for herself what is right and wrong is very important in the story..
        
        Purpose: Mansfield uses this experience of Kezia’s to criticise those who simply accept what everyone else does. She shows us that even a little girl can figure out that being kind and inclusive is preferable to cruelly excluding.
        
        Quote about how Kelveys are excluded : "the line had to be drawn somewhereIt was drawn at the Kelveys”)
        Kezia asks for permission: When she is told no, her mother has no explanation for her: “‘But why not?’ ‘Run away Kezia; you know quite well why not.’” This leaves Kezia in a difficult situation.
        
        Para 3 Another important experience of the Kelveys’ is being shouted at and driven away by Kezia’s Aunt Beryl, for doing nothing more than standing in the yard and looking at the doll’s house.
        
        Purpose: Thus Mansfield continues to show how wrong it is to discriminate against children like the Kelveys, who are innocent and fragile.
        
        “‘Run away, children, run away at once. And don’t come back again’ said Aunt Beryl. And she stepped into the yard and shooed them out as if they were chickens.” The animal imagery here shows her lack of respect for them as people. This experience is deeply frightening and humiliating for the Kelveys, who are described as “burning with shame, shrinking together” as they leave the yard. Readers’ pity is once again purposefully evoked,
        
        Conclusion: struggled with the rigid class system and rules of her society. uses the experiences of these little girls to criticise this system and these rules. The lack of moral guidance given to Kezia and the cruelty shown to the innocent Kelveys make readers think about how wrong it is to exclude and discriminate based on wealth or social status. ‘The Doll’s House’ is an important story that shows us the consequences of cruelty and the possibility of kindness.
- - - - Quotes: "Lil Kelvey's going to be a servant when she grows up.”