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Originally published in 1985, Bel Kaufman's haunting short story Sunday in the Park presents a seemingly innocent and mundane tale of children playing under the watchful eyes of their parents, while exposing the undercurrents of intense emotion which course through every human interaction. Beginning with an anonymous mother and her husband Morton enjoying a picturesque day in the park, along with their toddler son Larry, Kaufman's story immediately jars the reader's sense of expectation by employing a set of contrasting images. By initially describing her husband by observing that "Morton was so city­pale, cooped up all week inside the gray factorylike university" (Kaufman), the mother figure signals a preexisting sense of dissatisfaction with him that soon manifests itself through the confrontation to come. When the young bully begins taunting Larry, silently throwing sand in his hair while menacing both son and mother, Morton is finally forced to intervene and he "put his Times down carefully on his lap and turned his fine, lean face toward the man, smiling the shy, apologetic smile he might have offered a student in pointing out an error in his thinking" (Kaufman). The ensuing standoff between the mild mannered Morton and the father of his son's tormentor is depicted in agonizing fashion by Kaufman, who captures the minutiae of typical human behavior, and the greater symbolism behind those actions, through her sharp and incisive prose.

A narrator, who is without a name, tells of his first hand experiences throughout the story. This is in contrast to ‘Miss Brill’ in which narrative is delivered in the third person, with the use of free indirect speech to depict the story and portray the characters. By Wells selecting a first person narrative he draws the reader closer into the character’s mind set. This gives Wells the ability to convey the primary characters full spectrum of emotional thought, from open mindedness to the conflict and fear within him. First narrative provides the reader insight to thoughts and observations therefore adding suspense of the unknowing into the gothic style.

In order to bring us closer to Miss Brill, Mansfield uses the technique of showing, by

Written in third person limited omniscient, and filtered predominantly through Catherine. The unknown narrator slips effortlessly into free indirect disclosure, which adopts the tone and inflection of an individual characters voice. This technique allows the narrator to intrude into the narrative to offer advice, or to foreshadow the characters. However, the narrator frequently breaks from convention and addresses’ the reader directly.

very structured and uses a variety of symbolism within it. In “Miss Brill” Mansfield uses a language which marks a separation of purpose and

In Miss Brill, by Katherine Mansfield, the author chose to use 3rd person omniscient point of view where the narrator is free to roam to any character they like. Which the narrator did, it moved from Miss Brill to an elderly couple to a young girl who broke Miss Brill's fantasy, back to Miss Brill. In the story, the narrator doesn’t talk about how Miss Brill feels but instead uses her fur to convey Miss Brill's

In “Miss Brill,” Katherine Mansfield employs theatrical details, animal imagery, and subtle symbolism to reveal that humanity will always desire to avoid isolation through a desperate search for company. When describing the environment that encompasses Miss Brill, Mansfield applies theatrical details to unveil the truth behind Miss Brill’s role in the so-called stage production: Miss Brill holds a fictional role in this societal play and in the lives of those around her. Mansfield also utilizes theatrical details to establish Miss Brill’s desperation to find a place to fit in. Creating a pathetic tone to portray this desperation, Mansfield says that “They were all on stage. [. . .

In Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Miss Brill,” she uses characterization to develop a whimsical tone that sharply shifts to a more despairing tone that reveals the theme of how prejudice towards people can have a profound impact on their self-image. “Miss Brill” is about an older woman who tries to fit into her surroundings by listening to other people around her and has a rude awakening where she becomes self-aware of who she is. Mansfield develops the character of Miss Brill through indirect characterization. One way this is done is developing Miss Brill to show that she is a lonely, older woman who inserts herself into people’s lives by “listening as though she didn’t listen” (Mansfield, Paragraph 3). Through her actions, the audience learns that this is how she tries to fit into her surroundings, saying that she’s an actress (Paragraph 9) which allows her to justify her actions and deem herself important and wanted.

Mansfield often utilizes similes and metaphors in her story. Similes and metaphors help Mansfield not just tell but show her story. They describe in greater detail and create an image in the reader’s mind. Near the beginning of “Miss Brill”, Mansfield wrote, “The air was motionless, but when you opened your mouth there was just a faint chill, like a chill from a glass of iced water before you sip...” (30). This here shows that, again, Mansfield is interested about Miss Brill’s life.

In “Miss Brill,” Katherine Mansfield utilizes Miss Brill’s thoughts and actions and the surroundings to characterize Miss Brill as a lonely character. Mansfield immediately introduces Miss Brill with a very odd scene that shows her conversation with the fur coat. This quickly and effectively establishes the type of person Miss Brill is. As a result, Mansfield suggests that Miss Brill is a lonely and an “abnormal” person to illustrate to the audience how society treats those who are not considered “normal” through the later actions of a young couple.

In Miss Brill’s point of view, Mansfield writes, “Oh, how fascinating it was! … watching it all! It was like a play” (17). She begins to imagine that she is a part of a play rather than a woman sitting in a park monitoring those around her. It is at this point, that Mansfield introduces the distorted disposition Miss Brill has come to acquire.

Katherine Mansfield was very detailed and caught my eye when referring to her character Miss Brill. Mansfield, the author of Miss Brill, shows Miss Brill having many observations, which many were contradicting. Mansfield describes the scene in such great detail that I imagined myself as being there. Mansfield made sure the reader understood the meaning and point of the short story. Mansfield created the character Miss Brill very interesting. Miss Brill couldn’t seem to focus on one thing at a time. Miss Brill seemed to be very judgmental.

The narrator in the story “Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield, is telling us this story in the third person singular perspective. Our narrator is a non-participant and we learn no details about this person, from a physical sense. Nothing to tell us whether it is a friend of Miss Brill, a relative, or just someone watching. Katherine Mansfield’s Miss Brill comes alive from the descriptions we get from this anonymous person. The narrator uses limited omniscience while telling us about this beautiful Sunday afternoon. By this I mean the narrator has a great insight into Miss Brill’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and into her world as a whole, but no real insight into any of the other characters in this story. By using this point of view,

Mansfield created the story with the intention of allowing it to be open for various interpretations; though she includes specific detail concerning the characters Mansfield does not elucidate them in a manner that clearly defines their personalities. The story, like the budding rose, is one that never peaks to maturity, but rather remains in the developing stage because of its ambiguities which cause it to be discussed and interpreted in many varying ways.

The narrator is unknown to the readers but describes Catherine’s, and other characters inner thoughts, that would otherwise be reserved to them. Although it is Catherine that is made the main focus, “Catherine’s feelings, as she got into the carriage, were in a very unsettled state; divided between regret for the loss of one great pleasure, and the hope of soon enjoying another”, her narrative representation is sympathetic and pleasant but the third-person structure also allows for Catherine’s nature to be presented without confusing the