Short Story: Standard of Living

Author: Dorothy Parker
Question: Explain what comment Dorothy Parker is making on the standards by which people judge their own lives and those of others? What aspect of this story is considered escape fiction, support answer with references to the story?

PLease help have been stuck on it for a while.
Thank you

Parker comments on the shallowness and materialism of contemporary society. The girls are the epitome of selfishness and irrelevant standards. The escape fiction part is the imagining of a person leaving them a million dollars in a will.

http://aurora-suryacinta.blogspot.com/2012/04/standard-of-living-by-dorothy-parker_18.html

Thank you Ms. Sue

In the short story "Standard of Living" by Dorothy Parker, the author comments on how people often evaluate their own lives and the lives of others based on material possessions and societal expectations. The story can be considered as "escape fiction" because it presents a scenario where the characters indulge in fantasies to escape the harsh realities of their own lives.

The story follows two working-class women, Annabel and Midge, who wander around the luxury department store "Bergdorf’s" in New York City. While there, they become captivated by a display containing a mink fur coat priced at $2400, a significant sum of money at the time. Despite their modest means, the women become fixated on the coat and fabricate elaborate fantasies about how possessing it would drastically improve their lives.

Through these fantasies, Parker emphasizes the characters' desire to escape from their mundane existence, hoping that acquiring the fur coat would elevate their social standing and validate their worth. It reflects the societal pressure to conform to a certain standard of living, where material possessions are seen as a measure of success and happiness.

However, Parker subtly critiques this mentality by highlighting the unattainability of such luxuries for individuals like Annabel and Midge. In the end, they acknowledge the impossibility of purchasing the coat but continue to fantasize about it, emphasizing the tension between their realistic circumstances and their desire for escape.

The story's "escape fiction" element lies in how the characters use their imagination and daydreams as a temporary refuge from their discontented lives. It allows the readers to explore the characters' longing for something beyond their current reality, ultimately pointing out the futility of fixating on material possessions as a means of achieving happiness.

By satirizing the characters' obsession with the mink coat and their scripted fantasies, Parker challenges the standards by which people judge their own lives and the lives of others. She suggests that true contentment and self-worth cannot be found solely in material possessions, but rather in accepting and appreciating one's own circumstances, regardless of societal expectations.

To analyze the story further, you can examine specific moments where Annabel and Midge imagine their lives with the fur coat, their interactions with the saleswoman, and their conversations with each other. These instances will provide more evidence of the author's commentary on societal standards and the escapism found within the story.