Well, when i started reading this story, from the descriptions of the house, to the setting of stage coaches trotting by, i felt as though this was a part of the Irish culture i had never fully been aware of. The whole idea of this family having a party every year, when people come from all over, to socialize, eat goose, and drink liquor, seems more proper, and elegant that the rustic culture that comes to mind when i first think of "Ireland."
The first day of class we wrote on the board that Ireland was trying to distance themselves from the pretentious, proper gatherings and personalities of England. Not that this story is full of pretentious people, but parts of it, i felt as though i was reading scenes from the Great Gatsby. The scene in which Mary Jane is playing the piano, and Gabriel does not really care for the song she is playing, seems like a forced, dual purposed performance: to entertain the guests, and perhaps show off?
This interpretation may be me completely stumbling off the main path of this story, but it was my first instinct that there were parts to this party that were a little fake, and staged, which skewed away from the traditional, relaxed Irish culture i knew before reading this story.
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