The Stolen Party And Eighty-Sixth Street Life Lessons

Jennifer Jovanovic
Dr. Kirkpatrick
English 1302
23 September 2009
Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way Most children possess a certain innocence that adults sometimes criticize, and yet wish they still had. Life can be perfect in the created world of a naïve child until one day a major event or revelation occurs and ushers in a bitter reality, a lesson in life. Oblivious and unwilling to accept the truth when it is spoken by an adult, children often have to experience life lessons first hand in order to learn from them, even when they are painful. Both “The Stolen Party,” and “Helen and Eighty-Sixth Street,” demonstrate how two young, innocent girls, who seem to have life figured out, learn just how distressing the real world can be.
Rosaura is a very smart little girl, one of the top in her class. She is full of hope and innocence, and when she is invited to attend Luciana’s birthday party, she believes she is invited as a friend and as an equal. She fails to see the social class structure that separates her from Luciana, even when her mother reminds her of its existence. Her mother tells her “I don’t like you going. It’s a rich people’s party,” and “That one’s not your friend. You know what you are to them? The maid’s daughter, that’s what” (Heker 89). Rosaura refuses to believe such discrimination could exist because “rich people go to heaven too” (Heker 89) and thinks her mother just doesn’t understand what being friends is all
Vita’s lesson is one she learns through her own actions. Even though she has hoped for her father’s return for several years and has even asked the gods to bring him back, she comes to the realization that the other wishes were not granted by the gods after all. They happened by chance. She finally accepts that her father is not coming back and there is nothing she can do about it. By saying “goodbye,” she is closing that chapter in her life so that she can move on with the next one to come. She has discovered that adults do not always make the right decisions, even the ones who are supposed to love and protect you. Rosaura’s lesson is inflicted upon her by another person. She discovers that being intelligent and associating with other children of higher social order does not shield her from class discrimination. She comes to the realization that she is “not one of them” in their eyes and never will be. Unfortunately, we do not know if Rosaura accepts the money and whether she will find closure in acceptance of her status or if she will rise up and overcome such