“The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker

“The Stolen Party” by Liliana Heker is a short story about a girl’s life experience that changes her point of view on society. One day, she gets an invitation to a rich daughter’s birthday. Her mother is a maid and works for them. Rosaura’s youth and innocence shows that she doesn’t realize the true meaning of the invitation, and firmly believes that there is no social distinction between the rich and the poor. She believes that even if she is the maid’s daughter she is welcomely accepted in the party.

Although she is only nine years old, Rosaura feels confident that she knows more about rich people than her mother. Heker uses symbols and figurative language to convey “to always be yourself.”

Heker used symbolism to show Rosauras connection with Senora Ines and the magician and the monkey. Senora Ines and the magician are taking advantage of somebody that is clueless as to what is going on.

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Senora Ines led Rosaura to believe that she was Luciana’s friend, but she was really there to be part of the help. At no point of during the birthday party does Rosaura feels exploited by Senora Ines. In fact, she doesn't see any class distinction between the rich and the poor. She is only about nine years old, and to her doing all that work only means to help the rich girl's birthday like any friend would do, and not because she is a maid herself. Rosaura noticed all the other kids got toys when they left, but “ Rosaura really and truly earned it.” (p.111) It was a $20 dollar bill.

Heker used figurative language to show that Rosaura over exaggerates and she will be fine.

Rosaura thought if she couldn’t go to Luciana’s party then she would die, and she really wasn’t going to die. "Monkeys at a birthday?” She said. "Get away with you, believing any nonsense you're told!" Rosaura was deeply offended. She thought it unfair of her mother to accuse other rich people of being liars simply because they were rich. She doesn't approve the way her mother speaks, her mother uses mean words that really offend her. That all had to do with Rosaura going to Luciana’s party. “I’ll die if I don’t go,” she whispered, almost without moving her lips, but Rosaura really wasn’t going to die if she didn’t go to the party.

It's only after the party is over that Rosaura learns the painful lessons about life. Since the start, she always wanted to prove her mother wrong. She tells her that she is right about the monkey and that Luciana, the rich, didn't lie. It's when she is about to leave that Rosaura starts to feel left out. She senses a tension, everyone is getting little presents and she starts to think that she might be different from the others and won't get any presents. To cheer herself up she says: "I was the best-behaved at the party.” (p.114) She boasts about her behavior to conceal her fear of being left out, but when Senora hands her the present like Rosaura expects, she is clearly shocked to see that instead of getting the presents she gets money. It's only now that she realizes the true reason for her invitation.

Rosaura's reaction at the end of the party clearly proves us that she all the time thinks that she is invited because she is friends with Luciana. She is sad to realize that she is, in fact, different from the others, that her mother is right all along and that there is a social distinction between the rich and the poor. It is now that Rosaura knows that she is a maid like her mother. She sees that Senora Ines uses her not because she is special but simply because she there to fulfill a maid's job. Her innocence and her naiveté blinds her from seeing the truth. So when Heker uses symbols and figurative language to convey “to always be yourself” Rosaura needs to follow those guidelines to not be let down.