Last Name 1StudentDr. Sarah CreelENG 102Due Date of PaperChoose WiselyEvery day brings opportunities to make choices; some choices are trivial, but others havefar-reaching consequences. In 1909, D.H. Lawrence wrote a short story about a woman who haschosen poorly in the past and now finds herself once again at a fork in life’s road. “Odour ofChrysanthemums” tells of a young, impoverished family whose life is far from easy but has greatpotential. In contrast, another story from the early twentieth century, “The Garden Party,” tells ofa young woman whose life has been nothing but easy. Written by Katherine Mansfield in 1921,this short story presents a life of leisure and pleasure which gives every appearance of continuingthat way unless the protagonist chooses otherwise.Bothstories point readers toward two timelesstruths: in life, one is responsible for the consequences of her own decisions, and personalrelationships with people should take precedence over more worldly considerations.In “The Garden Party,” Laura Sheridan learns that there is more to life than she has beenled to believe. She is a young woman born into great privilege and into a class that gives herexactly two options for what to do with her life: she can marry and run her husband’s household,or she can remain unmarried and live off the goodwill of her parents or brother. If Laura’s familyhad not been wealthy, her choices would have been reduced to only one. She gives everyindication that she is preparing for the life that is laid out before her. Laura is delighted to busyherself with preparations for the garden party. When called out to supervise the delivery of a tent,she is concerned that she will appear as the lady of the manor before the workmen and that they
