Perspectives

Literary movement

The short story “Sunday in the Park” by Bel Kaufman has several elements of modernist literature.

One of them is the open ending and the pessimistic nature of the story. The ending coincides with its climax, the highest point in the story. The conflict between the woman and Morton is left unresolved. 

The disillusionment of the main character is another modernist element. The woman’s positive feelings of peace and content at the beginning of the story turn into frustration and resentment towards her husband at the end. Similarly, the idyllic setting of the park turns into the scene of an unpleasant incident. 

The symbols used in the story – the park, the sandbox, the dirt, also point to a modernist text. The symbols all serve the ...