In the short story “Sunday in the park” we are presented with the conflict between two men from different social classes. The story shows how different social backgrounds seem to make it impossible for the men to discuss even ridiculously small matters on which they don’t agree.
It also shows how hard it can be to judge what’s wrong or right.
The story takes place in a park, where a little family are enjoying a peaceful afternoon at the playground. When another boy throws sand at the little son, the mother tries to stop him, but she doesn’t succeed. The other boys father is just encouraging his son to continue. The conflict arises as the family father is asking the other man to be reasonable. At this point of the story we have already been introduced to the two different social classes.
The family father is highly educated, and spends his week as a teacher at the university. He’s a lean, pale man with a shy, apologetic smile, and he always uses a very polite and well-formulated language. But when it comes to confrontations with people, who use other modes of expression, he isn’t able to make himself clear. He’s actually kind of powerless, not only because of his physical weakness, but also because of his lack of adaptability. He doesn’t seem to know that reasonable arguments don’t have any effect on a person who’s just trying to provoke everybody.
The other man is big and impolite, and you clearly notice his stupidity and his need to provoke other people. He’s very fond of primitive expressions and of interrupting other people. His behaviour is generally very hostile, but he’s also very relaxed.
The power struggle between the two men naturally passes of on his terms. The big man is trying to