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)

The Chrysanthemum, we would be able to see his portrayal of a typical household husband and wife. Steinbeck shows the husband, Henry, as the bread winner who earns his living in the day and spends time with his wife, Elisa, at night. Elisa, on the other hand, is portrayed as the stereotypical wife who manages the household. She handles the housekeeping and keeps her activities within the vicinity of their house. As the story progresses, Steinbeck provides a clear definition on how the roles of men and women are seen in this society.

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

Towards the end of the story, Elisa feels rejected when she sees the chrysanthemum flowers were tossed off the side of the road. The chrysanthemum was a metaphor to explain the life of women, they need a lot of attention to bloom and if they are not taken care of they can die or dry up. “She turned up her coat collar so he cannot see that she was crying weakly---- like an old lady.” (pg.8) At the end of the story, Elisa’s husband realized that his wife changed by not reacting to his comments as she usually did, but agreed with him, “It will be good, tonight, a good dinner.”

Elisa, also a housewife, usually had activities involved in routine housework and maintaining her flower garden, that was filled with chrysanthemums. She took care of the chrysanthemums as if they were her children, and being a farmers’ wife, she had more free time than her husband, Henry. When the tinker, also known as the tin man, came up to Elisa for work he tried to manipulate her into giving him some work to do. When the tinker saw there was no way Elisa would give him work, he tried to work her. “What’s them plants, ma’am?” (Steinbeck, 208). Tinker asked Elisa about the plants probably so he could influence her about chrysanthemums- that way they bond on the subject of the flowers and from there Elisa started to explain the importance of these flowers. Elisa doesn’t realize she’s being played with until near the end when tinker finally leaves she waves goodbye to him but her voice drops as she says the word “Goodbye to goodbye”, finding that the tinker threw Elisa’s chrysanthemums away (Steinbeck, 210). This quote showed the attachment for the chrysanthemums Elisa had, and the minute the tinker threw away those flowers, it broke Elisa’s heart. This makes Elisa thinks about how a man can get what he wants while Elisa

Firstly, Elisa and Mrs. Mallard related in the fact that they both faced the sad reality that women in their time periods were unbearably unequal to men. For example, in "The Chrysanthemums," it was clear that women had no say in the business aspects of things such as running a ranch. This is

In The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is a woman who is trapped at her husband Henry’s ranch by her gender and society’s idea of what a woman can manage. She is a very strong, capable woman who works all day to make the house spotless and the garden thrive. Elisa is good at her work, “behind her stood the neat white farm house… it was hard swept looking little house, with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud-mat on the front steps”. That show just how much work she puts into keeping the house clean. Elisa knows she is capable of successfully accomplishing any number of what society labels as men’s work and being held back makes her bitter and resentful. In an attempt to feel freedom, Elisa gifts some of her chrysanthemums to a traveling solicitor. She is devastated when she spots the flowers dumped on the road on her way to town with Henry. Elisa, like her flowers, feels discarded and devalued by men and society.

In the portion of the story where Elisa is talking to the "Fixer-Guy" who happens to pull down the road to her farm, Steinbeck shows Elisa's eagerness for attention and how she comes to the realization that there is a more exciting life outside the farm. In the “Fixer-Guy”, Elisa finds somebody who sees her as more than a housewife, someone who can appreciate her from an unbiased viewpoint. He offers his services and she turns him down saying “I tell you I have nothing like that for you to do.” At first she resists conversation with him. Then when he asks about her plants Steinbeck writes “The irritation and resistance melted from Elisa’s face.” “I raise them every year, bigger than anybody around here”, she boasts. She is now very eager to talk about her chrysanthemums. Elisa's face becomes "tight with eagerness" as she talks about them, as if they were her children. The vibes from her infatuation with these flowers are picked up by the old man, and there is an unspoken connection between these two perfect strangers as they have both chosen their own preoccupation in life, his being a passion of pots and hers a love of chrysanthemums. It is this connection that ignites the realization that she longs to break free from the everyday routine she calls life. This feeling is so strong that "her hand went out toward his legs in the greasy black trousers" as if to grasp a piece

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

If he gave her any personal praise, as a woman of distinct qualities (one who was vital to the farm's survival), he might be empowering her. Thus, he keeps his praise for her superficial skills, growing flowers. In this way, Henry frustrates Elisa by not seeing into her true character. The flowers represent Elisa trying to find some way of escaping from her frustrated and repressed husband, not from her own sexual frustration.

She is attracted to the tinker because he represents a world of adventure and freedom that only men enjoy (Renner 306). Elisa’s relationship with the male characters reminds her of her place as a woman in the male dominated world of

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

The story begins with Elisa alone working and taking care of her garden and the chrysanthemums which is very typical thing or as a hobby for a woman to do. The author describes Elisa; her face as “lean and strong”, her figure as “blocked and heavy” in her gardening clothes. “From a distance, she could easily be mistaken for a man” (Higdon). All of these descriptions show that Elisa is trying to suppressed her femininity, and she is trying to show her masculine side, wanting to blend it with the men, not wanting to show her feminine side. The author also describes Elisa when she is working on the chrysanthemums as “eager and mature and handsome”.

In his short story, The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck does an excellent job at portraying the 1930’s Salinas Valley lifestyle through his accurate depictions of realism, regionalism, and naturalism. With the use of realism, Steinbeck narrates the everyday life and challenges of Elisa Allen and her husband Henry. In a conversation between Elisa and a migrant worker, Steinbeck says, “I go from Seattle to San Diego and back every year. Takes all my time. Abou six months each way.

In “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck it surrounds a woman named Elisa. Elisa’s marriage dynamic proves to be complicated as the banter between her and her husband Henry demonstrates the inability to communicate. Isolation leaves Elisa not satisfied in her life and marriage. Therefore, the loneliness Elisa looks for comfort when a tinker shows up looking for work and cons her. The tinker appealed to Elisa making her feel less alone than she usually does and even shows interest in her beloved flowers. By the tinker using Elisa’s interests, her loneliness subsides as she then craves the attention he gives. In “The Chrysanthemum” Steinbeck shows a theme of isolation throughout the story as Elisa is isolated from society, isolated from her own feelings, and even in her marriage.