Diversity In The Doll's House

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My second focus question was: How are young people presented in Katherine's work?

'The Doll's House' reflects financial diversity which causes the young people in the story to separate themselves from the children of financially unstable families. The Burnell children in particular are presented as being socially exclusive of the Kelveys simply because the Kelveys are seen as being financially unstable. This is a reflection of the era that the story was set in, not just because of financial exclusion but also including racial, sexual and religious exclusion. The views that society had around these matters gave young people impressions influenced by the opinions of older generations. We can see this in the Dolls House when Kezia Burnell, being the youngest child, disobeys the wishes of her aunt and speaks to the Kelveys. She goes against her aunt because she cannot understand the need to exclude the Kelveys. Being so little, societal exclusion is not an issue for her so she forfeits the normalities within her community, i.e. shunning those of lower societal status. Kezia doesn’t see the line drawn between rich and poor. This presentation of young people is …show more content…

This setting highlights the immaturity of the Burnell children in group situations i.e. shunning the Kelveys for reasons the Burnell's do not fully understand. The chosen setting in this story once again reflects Katherine's willingness to challenge society. In this case she is questioning the influence that the older generation have on young people. The fact that Kezia chooses to disobey her aunt and speak to the Kelveys in the school yard shows her being able to overcome the barrier that the older generation created. I think Katherine chose a school as the main setting to emphasise the issue of the children being exclusive of the Kelveys, and Kezia's response to that. I believe that Katherine is telling her audience that it

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