The Stolen Hour

A detailed Summary of The Stolen Hour

In the story of "The Stolen Hour" by Lillian Hecker she tells us an interesting story of a young girl and her experiences that could change her for the rest of her life. The young girl named Rosaura is the daughter of a servant that works for a wealthy family, but young Rosaura does not see herself as poor and insignificant. She believes she is just as good as everyone else. Although Rosaura is not a part of the same social and economical category as the people at the party, she doesn't see herself in the light, until an event in the story takes place and she begins to distinguish herself in a way that is completely opposite of what she thinks at the stories beginning.

All of Rosaura's young life she is constantly told who she is, and of her irrelevance compared to that of the rich people. As she is getting ready to go to the party to see her friends, her mother says, "You know who you are to them? The Maid's daughter, that's what" (Hecker handout). After being told over and over by others who you are, sometimes we feel limited as to what we may be able to become. In everyday life, my friend's parents are doctors, and all of his life others have told him that he would become a doctor. Just as Rosaura is

All the events in the story lead young Rosaura to believing that her opportunities are few. As the story began she was just an innocent little girl wanting to go to a birthday party, then as the story progressed to the end she looses this innocence and begins to recognize and conclude that she is different from the other children. At the turning point, when the money is offered in place of the toy, Rosaura's character I believe undergoes a complete change. She actualizes that she may be just the daughter of an employee; her views change from positive to negative, and her fantasy world disappears. This self-realization could harm a young person for life, as it did Rosaura. These actions lead me to the conclusion that children should always be told that they can be anything, and even if they can't we have no right to make them believe that they are restricted in the amount that they may be able to achieve.

Throughout the story Rosaura has a great imagination and very positive views on life. When her mother tells her it is a rich peoples party trying to infer that is not her place to be, Rosaura puts them on the same level by saying, "Rich people go to heaven too" (Hecker handout). Rosaura does not to settle in life with trivial things she wants a big nice house and wonders if her mother will still love her if she becomes rich (Hecker handout). Here we see Rosaura looking forward toward the future not ruling out anything. She knows in her life she will become something. We find out she is one of the smartest girls in her class and she is also very pretty. Just before the end

Some common words found in the essay are:
Lillian Hecker, hecker handout, , rosaura's life, hecker handout rosaura, daughter employee, children told, little girl, handout rosaura, rich people, world lives,

Approximate Word count = 1073
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English