This is definitely observed in this story. However, I
would want to add that it is the upper class that are concerned with frivolous affairs.
It is they who have the luxury and the money to be able to spend their time focusing on
such concerns. The working classes are shown to live bleak lives characterised by
struggle and effort. Note how easily Laura is persuaded to not cancel the garden party
by her mother with the aid of a new hat, "trimmed with golden daisies and a long black
velvet ribbon." The opportunity to wear such a hat, which makes her look like a
beautiful young woman, causes Laura to forget her scruples about holding a Garden Party
when the nearby Scott family has just suffered such a terrible tragedy. Likewise, note
the way that Laura reflects on the corpse of Mr.
Scott:
What
did garden parties and baskets and lace frocks matter to him? He was far from all those
things. He was wonderful, beautiful. While they were laughing and while the band was
playing, this marvel had come to the
lane.
The body of Mr. Scott
stands as a rebuke to Laura and her preoccupation with her appearance and the party,
supporting the definite theme of frivolous pass-times that are engaged in by the rich.
Laura, when she sees the body of Mr. Scott, understands herself and her class much
better as she sees a man at peace.
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