A Two-Class Society Exposed in the Stolen Party In a perfect world we would all live together in peace. But we don't live in such a world. In Liliana Heker's short story "The Stolen Party" we are reminded of the real world and the thin line that separates the lower class from the upper class. In an instant we see all the discrimination and inhumane treatment that some people feel they have the right to inflict on those they consider "not one of them." The story is about Rosaura, the nine-year-old daughter of a woman who is not a house cleaner for a wealthy family. Rosaura often accompanies her mother to work and does her homework with Luciana, the daughter of the house. As a result, or so she thinks, Rosaura is friends with Luciana and was invited to her birthday party. Rosaura's mother states that she does not want her daughter to go to the party because "it is a rich people's party" (1133). She tries to explain to her daughter that people will look at her as "the servant's daughter" and not as another person (1134). But Rosaura is only nine years old and "the smartest in her class" (1134), and she feels that Luciana is her friend and would not harm her in any way. Rosaura chooses not to listen to her mother's advice because she feels she knows what is best for her. Here we see that Rosaura's mother is trying to make her daughter know the difference between Luciana's family and her own family. We can assume that her mother has already had a similar incident in her life and wants to prepare her daughter for disappointment. Brandon Spontak states that "Rosaura's mother is not very educated...but she has an instinct that only comes from years of experience that she uses to spot life's problems" (89). Being Rosaura's more... middle of the card... delicate balance" (1137), he realizes that there is a thin line between classes of people and that he has made things even worse by offering money to Rosaura. in a world perfect this would never happen. Innocence would not be stolen, dreams would come true and people would look at each other with acceptance, not with ignorance in their hearts. The truth is that it is not a perfect world, and the line never disappears that some people make it more obvious than others. Works Cited Elliot, Kevin "The Stolen Future." Hymn to friendship and other essays. VWC. Virginia Beach: Connie Bellamy, 1996. 59-60. Heker, Liliana. "The Stolen Party." Harper Anthology of Fiction. Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 1133-1137.