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Jose Sheridan
Laurie is Laura’s brother, confidant, and character foil. He is close to Laura in age but behaves in an exceedingly formal way, like a caricature of British gentry. While he is a comforting and understanding presence for Laura in his first two appearances (when they hug and Laura realizes how excited she is for the party, and later when he complements her hat and she decides not to mention Scott’s death), in his final appearance at the end of the story, Laurie embraces the crying Laura and assumes he understands the reason for her tears but really does not. He responds to Laura’s half-sentence “Isn’t life—” with the story’s final line, “isn’t it, darling?” Although the narrator suggests that Laurie believes he understands what Laura means to say, he clearly does not, and their miscommunication evinces the growing gulf between Laura and her family.
Laurie Sheridan Quotes in The Garden Party
The The Garden Party quotes below are all either spoken by Laurie Sheridan or refer to Laurie Sheridan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Garden Party
Quotes
The little cottages were in a lane to themselves at the very bottom of a steep rise that led up to the house. A broad road ran between. True, they were far too near. They were the greatest possible eyesore, and they had no right to be in that neighbourhood at all. They were little mean dwellings painted a chocolate brown. In the garden patches there was nothing but cabbage stalks, sick hens and tomato cans. The very smoke coming out of their chimneys was poverty-stricken. Little rags and shreds of smoke, so unlike the great silvery plumes that uncurled from the Sheridans' chimneys. Washerwomen lived in the lane and sweeps and a cobbler, and a man whose house-front was studded all over with minute bird-cages. Children swarmed. When the Sheridans were little they were forbidden to set foot there because of the revolting language and of what they might catch. But since they were grown up, Laura and Laurie on their prowls sometimes walked through. It was disgusting and sordid. They came out with a shudder. But still one must go everywhere; one must see everything. So through they went.
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Explanation and Analysis:
"Isn't life," she stammered, "isn't life—” But what life was she couldn’t explain. No matter. He quite understood.
"Isn't it, darling?" said Laurie.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Garden Party LitChart as a printable PDF.
Laurie Sheridan Quotes in The Garden Party
The The Garden Party quotes below are all either spoken by Laurie Sheridan or refer to Laurie Sheridan. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
The Garden Party
Quotes
The little cottages were in a lane to themselves at the very bottom of a steep rise that led up to the house. A broad road ran between. True, they were far too near. They were the greatest possible eyesore, and they had no right to be in that neighbourhood at all. They were little mean dwellings painted a chocolate brown. In the garden patches there was nothing but cabbage stalks, sick hens and tomato cans. The very smoke coming out of their chimneys was poverty-stricken. Little rags and shreds of smoke, so unlike the great silvery plumes that uncurled from the Sheridans' chimneys. Washerwomen lived in the lane and sweeps and a cobbler, and a man whose house-front was studded all over with minute bird-cages. Children swarmed. When the Sheridans were little they were forbidden to set foot there because of the revolting language and of what they might catch. But since they were grown up, Laura and Laurie on their prowls sometimes walked through. It was disgusting and sordid. They came out with a shudder. But still one must go everywhere; one must see everything. So through they went.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
"Isn't life," she stammered, "isn't life—” But what life was she couldn’t explain. No matter. He quite understood.
"Isn't it, darling?" said Laurie.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
