Confinement In The Chrysanthemums

1. In "The Chrysanthemums," the interaction between Elisa and the traveling repairman helps develop the story's theme about taking risks. Describe their interaction and explain how it helps to develop the story's theme. Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your ideas. (10 points)

Everything is everything in the world of short stories. Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums is full of thick rhetoric that raises questions and stirs the mind and imagination. Everything from the title, to the last line needs to be thought about more than once. The story isn't just about a farmer's wife who likes pretty flowers. Not in the least! The Chrysanthemums is a story about how Elisa Allen is forced to a life that she feels is trapping her. The story is set in the early twentieth century and these times don't allow for just any woman to leave her ordinary, socially and politically correct life. Feminism is a large part of the story, and main character Elisa Allen's language, actions, and even the way she is described play a large

The story “The Chrysanthemums “took place in the Salinas Valley in central California, the time was in December. These two elements set the scene of the story. Letting you imagine a valley with farms around it. This is very important in the story because it helps the reader see how one may live back in this time period on a farm. It also help set the picture for the rest of the story to how she and her husband’s relationship is and how a Tinker came in and helped cheer Elisa up and lead her to believe change could be ahead for her. Which suddenly was taken away.

Elisa Allen is a lonely woman who enjoys growing and nourishing her chrysanthemums. Since her husband is always working the cattle in their farm, she never has enough attention or any kind of affection. The result of this dispassionate marriage leads Steinbeck to describe his main character as follows, "Her face lean and strong…Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low…clod-hopper shoes…completely covered by a big corduroy apron…" (Page 206-207) This neglect from her busband causes her to turn to her

John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" shows the true feelings of the main character, Elisa Allen, through the use of setting and her interactions with other characters in the story. By way of vivid descriptions, Elisa's feelings of dissatisfaction over the lack of excitement in her life are portrayed. Her role as a mere housewife and then the subsequent change to feelings of a self-assured woman are clearly seen. These inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of Elisa working in the garden with the chrysanthemums, the conversation she has with the man passing through, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner.

She does not help with the ranch or the cultivation of the orchard, but rather tends to her own garden. Her reportedly stellar chrysanthemums represent her delicate side. By maintaining and ensuring a yearly exemplary flourish, Elisa sustains and nourishes her suppressed womanly essence. Although Steinbeck reveals that, “The

In the early 20th century, a male author, John Steinbeck, wrote about women’s oppression in the short story, “The Chrysanthemums”. It was different than other stories about women’s oppression because it was in the male point-of-view rather than a female’s point-of-view. This brilliant short story is narrated by a third-person narrator and has some interesting characters such as Elisa, Henry and the traveling salesperson. In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums”, the juxtaposition between female and male norms and the symbolism throughout the story illustrates how women were perceived as simplistic and weak people reflected by the gender expectations in the early 20th century.

"The Chrysanthemums", one of John Steinbeck's masterpieces, describes a lonely farmer's wife, Elisa Allen. Elisa Allen's physical appearance is very mannish yet still allows a hint of a feminine side to peek through. John Steinbeck brings symbolism into play to represent Elisa Allen's frustrations and hidden passions. Isolation is another representation through symbolism found in "The Chrysanthemums." Elisa's failing detached marriage is represented through two symbols. The two reoccurring symbols are the chrysanthemums and fences. John Steinbeck draws pity from the reader for Elisa Allen who desperately wishes to experience the passions of a fulfilling marriage and the stimulation of

In “The Chrysanthemums” John Steinbeck uses the symbolism of the flower and the pot to develop the theme of a woman’s desire for freedom in a restrained world. To set the background, Steinbeck begins his story with a dense foggy winter hovering over the Salinas Valley to signify Elisa’s confusion and doubt about her gender role in life. The fog that hovers on top of Salinas Valley illustrates Elisa’s clouded judgment and uncertainty of her future. “It was a time of quiet and of waiting” (Steinbeck 1) for Elisa Allen to wait for a clearer and warmer day to come in order to make a change she desperately needed in her life. As she works in the flower garden she notices her husband is talking to two businessmen.

Throughout history, women have had to overcome countless societal barriers. Whether it’s being the head of a household or the President of the United States, men have always held a higher position in society over women. However, that has never stopped women from trying to work towards earning themselves a higher position in society, but unfortunately no matter how hard women try to be like men there will always be boundaries that can’t be crossed. A good example of this reasoning is illustrated in John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums” which illustrates how Elisa’s dress and the fence surrounding her garden are used to show the many boundaries that Elisa has imposed on her life. Steinbeck opens this work by portraying Elisa as

In conjunction with the symbolic representation of Elisa’s life, the dramatic description of the environment can also be seen as a unique representation of the relationship conflict between husband and wife. Steinbeck’s foggy description demonstrates conflict through the following statement, "a time of quiet and waiting." This description is interesting because the fields are personified as waiting for rain, however, “rain and fog do not go together” therein lies the conflict just as Elisa waits for a positive change in how her husband treats her (Palmerino, Gregory J). Gregory P. further points out that, “The natural elements of the foothills ranch seem as unwilling to confront each other as the characters that inhabit its environs. Hence, fog and rain can be seen as the female and male equivalents to Elisa and Henry.” This only further solidifies the deep rooted troubles within Elisa and her relationship with her husband. The setting of the story is personified to act as a symbolic representation of the couple’s relationship (Steinbeck, John 337-338).

The symbolism “The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck describes the character of Elisa Allen as someone who isn’t loved by her husband, Henry Allen. Throughout the story the author mentions Henry and Elisa don’t sleep together, they both have their separate rooms. When the Tinker showed up to the Allen’s ranch Elisa became confident about her feeling more feminine. The attention Elisa was getting made her act like a dog. The character of Elisa symbolizes her being a caged animal because she is isolated from the world.

MyHang Phan Professor Floridia English 102 10/21/2014 Lost in the Valley The short story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck is about a woman who struggles with the roles and expectations of a female in the mid-1930. The story takes place in the Salinas Valley where a young beautiful woman named Elisa lives with her husband, Henry. Henry is a businessman who takes care of the orchard; meanwhile, Elisa spends her time tending to her chrysanthemums. Elisa wears heavy clothes de-sexualizing her.

Ma Tzu-ts’ai who is addicted to plant chrysanthemums refuses the idea of selling the flowers in order to make a living. Because Ma is so deeply in love with chrysanthemums that he is willing to travel to different places to purchase the best and rare varieties. When Ma heard that someone in Nanking has some varieties not seen in the north, he immediately “set out for Nanking, where repeated requests earned for Ma two little shoots, which wrapping with the utmost care” (Pu, 140). Because Ma does not listen to T’ao’s idea of selling chrysanthemums for money, so T’ao starts the business himself and earned a lot of profit out of it. In a short period of time, T’ao become richer and richer. After T’ao arranged the marriage for his sister and

In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums”, he uses the chrysanthemums, fence, and garden to symbolize Elisa’s thoughts and feelings throughout his story. He uses these symbols to show love, neglect, loneliness, protection, and passion for his characters.