The time period in which a piece is written is critical to its understanding. Knowing the culture and quality of life can give intel as to why the characters’ act in certain ways. “The Garden Party” was written in 1921 at the beginning of the roaring 20’s. Laura and her family lived an extravagant life style. They were unaware and unconcerned that other people around them were not as fortunate. The wealth and morale of the 1920’s shaped this reading because it showed the way women were feeling, the wealth of the economy, and gave insight to the everyday lives of Americans.

The roaring 20’s was a prosperous time for Americans. World War 1 had just ended and America became the wealthiest country. There was a strong sense of a new era coming about and it was evident in the lives of the people. In 1920, Harding was elected as president of the United States and he promised that he would return America to normalcy. Women also gained the right to vote in 1920, and that left the women of the U.S on a undeniable high. For the first time, they were able to claim a higher social standing that could be compared to that of a man. Not only was the political and economic parts of the country changing, but the everyday lives and culture was changing as well. The majority of people living in the United States in the 1920’s were young with the median age being just 25. They were mostly white and a member of a household. They were adopting new ideas, traditions, and discovering new technology and fashion trends. Having wealth and a new exciting and changing economy, they thought they lived in a time period that everyone would be proud to live in. 

In “The Garden Party” Laura and her family were portrayed as being entitled. Most of the characters mentioned in the story were female. Laura and her mother spent the first part of the story ordering around the men who were setting up the party. It makes sense that Mansfield would characterize these women into a position of power. Women were just given the right to vote and feeling on top of the world, herself included. Women were feeling powerful and like they had a voice in the country. Laura’s mother spent the majority of the short story talking about all the extravagant party ideas and ordering around her workers. She did not take into consideration that she could be boasting or bragging because she was simply taking advantage of her newfound identity as a woman who is entitled. Laura on the other hand felt bashful about the situation because she did not want to feel like she was flaunting her wealth. This could be because she had not been through the same situations as her mother and did not realize how big of a deal it was to be able to have the right to vote. This aspect of “The Garden Party” portrayed the 1920’s very well because a lot of people got tied up in their wealth and luxuries that they did not always take the time to look around and be thankful that they gained this right. 