for friends rather than the silly boys she danced with This shows her innocence She wants to break class barriers However Laura s thoughts are idealistic as she doesn t fully understand the realities of the working-class life Laura s Empathy Laura is different from her family because of her sensitivity and empathy When she learns about their neighbor Mr Scott s death she is deeply affected She suggests that they should cancel the garden party She says But we can't possibly have a garden-party with a man dead just outside the front gate Laura is the only person in her family who doesn't think it's right to throw a party when a neighbor has just been killed in a horrific accident Mrs Sheridan and Jose both accuse her of being extravagant and unreasonable Laura s Awakening and Maturity After the party Laura is sent to the Scotts home with a basket of leftover food This visit becomes a turning point in her journey toward maturity When Laura sees the poverty of the Scotts neighborhood she feels uncomfortable She thinks that her fine dress and hat are inappropriate for the grieving family When she sees Mr Scott s body she realizes that a luxurious lifestyle like the garden party is meaningless in the face of death This moment teaches Laura that death transcends social barriers She apologizes saying Forgive my hat It symbolizes her shame and growing awareness one step closer to maturity The symbolism of the Hat The hat Laura wears symbolizes her struggle between her family s values and her own growing sense of empathy Earlier in the story the hat serves as a distraction from her empathy for the Scotts At the Scotts house it becomes a symbol of her shame and awareness of class differences The Open Ending and Laura s Growth The story ends with Laura s incomplete sentence Isn t life It shows her inability to fully understand her feelings about life death and the divisions between classes While Laura s journey is not complete the story shows her first steps toward maturity as she begins to question her upper-class world In conclusion Katherine Mansfield portrays Laura as a young girl who is developing from innocence to maturity Her experiences particularly her encounter with death help her see beyond the superficial concerns of her wealthy family