The Chrysanthemums Literary Analysis

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 novel The Sign Of The Chrysanthemum takes place in Japan during the 12th century. This novel is about a boy named Muna, meaning “no name”, that has moved from a rural part of Japan to the city, Kyoto. He was told that his father had a Chrysanthemum tattooed on his arm. Muna sets out to find his father after only knowing this little information about him. Muna was also told that his father was a Heike warrior, which brings up this conflict between two feuding clans. During this time period in Japan there was a conflict between the Heike and the Genji clans. The reason behind their fighting is because of the conflict over political power of Japan. Muna embarks on his journey

Despite differing story lines, Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, depict the same suffering; the isolation that women have been forced to endure throughout history. In the time period that all three characters were placed, it was culturally acceptable for wives to be dominated by their husbands; their responsibility revolving around the needs of their children and those of their spouse. Most women simply did not have a means or an idea of how to rebel against their husbands. The women in all three stories are protagonists who have poor relationships of emotional attachment with their spouses. While the main character of Gilman’s story endures multiple psychotic

Elisa Allen in Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" and Louise Mallard in Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" have a great deal in common because of the fact that they both went through similar struggles. Both Elisa and Louise prove to be strong women that clearly had dreams of their own such as being equal to men and having a passionate relationship with a man. Although that may be true, they lacked resemblance in the true desire they each yearned for.

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.

"The Chrysanthemums" introduces us to Elisa Allen, a woman who knows she has a gift for growing things, but it seems to be limited to her garden. Diligently working in her garden, Elisa watches as men come and go, living their lives unconfined, wondering what it must feel like to have that freedom. That emotion is revealed as Elisa gases at her husband and acquaintances talking, "she looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then." As she tills the soil for her chrysanthemums Elisa tills the thoughts in her head. The garden she so desperately maintained represents her world. A world that will only flourish if nourished. Emotional nourishment and stimulation is what Elisa lacked and longed for. The garden is limited in space to grow and so is her marriage. The garden is safe, non-threatening and so is her world. The garden contains many different elements that make it what it is, although unseen, and if the proper nourishment is not given it will die, as with Elisa.

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

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 short story "The Chrysanthemums" gives insight into the life of its author. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. The locale of the story is of key resemblance to the Salinas in which Steinbeck was born and bread. "Salinas was a typical American small town, [differing] only in location and a few distinctive features" (McCarthy 3). The protagonist of this story, Elisa Allen, also resembles Steinbeck's first wife. "Steinbeck probably based the character of Elisa Allen on his own first wife, Carol Henning Steinbeck. Like Elisa, Carol was a woman of considerable talent and energy who wore 'masculine clothes' and was 'strong, large-boned' and 'handsome rather than

“Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck was written in 1937 when the transition of women from typical housewife standards to the working world was occurring. Steinbeck’s feature character, Elisa, an atypical woman with a love for gardening, embodies the pressures that women face from society when they attempt to express themselves in ways that go against societal standards. In “Chrysanthemums,” Steinbeck uses symbolism to reveal how societal standards cause women to miss out on opportunities and become frustrated because of their inability to express themselves.

The poem describes the weather and its effect on cotton flower by pointing out the dying branches and vanishing cotton. The image of insufficiency, struggle and death parallel the oppression of African American race. The beginning of the poem illustrates the struggle and suffering of the cotton flower; which represent the misery of African Americans and also gives an idea that there is no hope for them. But at the end the speaker says “brown eyes that loves without a trace of fear/ Beauty so sudden for that time of year” (lines 13-14). This shows the rise of the African American race, and their fight against racism. The author used mood, tone and

Kate Chopin's “The Story of an Hour” and Gail Godwin’s “A Sorrowful Woman” are similar pieces of literary work. Both stories offer a revealing glimpse of extremely unhappy marriages due to being forced into stereotypical roles. Both stories portray women, who are trapped in their marriages and trapped in their socially expected matriarchal characters. They are identified by their role as a wife and mother.

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.

In the following short stories Eveline written by James Joyce, The Story of An Hour written by Kate Chopin, and A Rose For Emily written by William Faulkner we find that isolation is a popular theme throughout the stories. There are several factors in each one of the stories that makes us feel the isolation that each one of the women in the stated stories felt. Weather it is Eveline feeling stuck at home due to a request for her to tend to her family and resume the place of her deceased mother. Or Mrs. Mallard with her feeling that “it was only yesterday that she felt that life might be too long” (228). Along with Miss. Emily who seemed isolate her self form the word by closing her door for good. In the three