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The Chrysanthemums summary
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Character Analysis of Elisa Allen in "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck "The Chrysanthemums," written by John Steinbeck, captures one day in the life of a woman who yearns for a more fulfilling life. Elisa is first portrayed as a woman whose tasks are exceeded by her abilities. As the day continues, a stranger briefly enters her life and, through manipulative words, fills her heart with hopes of change and excitement. We learn that these newly-found hopes are crushed when Elisa eventually realizes that she has been used. A stranger manages to break Elisa's heart, not because of who Elisa appears to be, but because of who Elisa really is. To understand "The Chrysanthemums," we must first know the "real" Elisa. As she is first introduced to the reader, Elisa seems to be a woman who is satisfied with her life. Elisa appears to be part of a happy, fulfilling marriage; her husband, Henry, is earning a comfortable living and he even offers to take her out to dinner and a movie in celebration of his most recent sale. We assume that Elisa's main hobby and obsession are...
Within Steinbeck's story, "Chrysanthemums," the main character, Elisa Allen, is confronted with many instances of conflict. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums to symbolize this conflict and Elisa's self-worth. By examining these points of conflict and the symbolism presented by the chrysanthemums, the meaning of the story can be better determined.
The two short stories have different characters, plot and setting and yet they have a common ground in which human beings are deeply involved. In short, the setting of each work powerfully suggests a rather calm, dull and peaceful mood at a superficial level; however, the main characters are struggling from the uncontrollable passions and exploding desire at heart. First of all, in "The Chrysanthemums" the Salinas Valley is depicted as somewhat dull, like "a closed pot." In addition, its geographical setting represents an isolated atmosphere, and, furthermore, Elisa's actions of handling chrysanthemums can be translated into a static, inactive one. However, when it comes to her concealed passion, the whole picture in this piece can be interpreted in a different way. In fact, Elisa is portrayed as "over-eager, over-powerful" in a sharp contrast to the unanimated space in which she lives. On top of that, Elisa expresses her volition to explore uncharted worlds like the peddler who happens to visit her farm house. Also, it must be noted that, even though Elisa does not reveal her desire openly largely due to the authoritative patriarchal system, Elisa's interior motive is directed toward the violent, bloody prizefights. In other words, the imbalance between the relatively restricted setting and Elisa's vaulting desire to wander into the unknown territory is chiefly designed to strengthen the overall imagery of Elisa, whose drive to experience the violent outer world. At the same time, it can be inferred that appearance (setting) and reality (Elisa's human nature) are hard to understand.
The animals in Yellow Wallpaper, Chrysanthemums, and Boys and Girls represents the characters and their characteristics. In Yellow Wallpaper John’s wife has postpartum depression. John is her physician but he doesn’t let her go out or do anything. She sits in a room that she hates and eventually escapes. Chrysanthemums is about a girl named Elisa and she loves to grow chrysanthemums. She meets this guy who is on the road all the time and he lives off of fixing broken pots and pans. Boys and Girls is about a family whose father takes the foxes fur and sells it for calendars. They get two horses named Mack and Flora who are going to potentially be used as horse meat. They don’t kill them instantly because at the time they had too much meat so they used them on the fields although Mack is lazy. They eventually kill both
In the novel The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd the protagonist Lily matures and progresses throughout the novel, learning new skills and tips. When Lily finds out a terrifying truth about her mother she tries not to believe it and runs away. Taking her house maid, who recently was put in jail, with her she travels to a city which she thinks can help her find the truth about her mother. As she goes through this life changing adventure she changes in many ways, in one way she gains confidence, also she realizes the Boatrights and the other Daughter of Mary can act as her mother and finally how she thinks of her dad, T Ray.
In John Steinbeck's short story," The Chrysanthemums," there is a strong underlining of betrayal. We can see betrayal in three forms throughout the story. First we see Elisa being betrayed by the salesman who plays on her emotions by giving her a sales pitch only to get some work out of her. Then, in result to confiding in the salesman Elisa betrays her husband by opening herself up, and confiding to a complete stranger things which she couldn't reveal to her own husband. Finally, we see Elisa betraying herself by not allowing herself to fully express her true emotions, and by being too afraid to step out of societies norms for woman during this time.
The flowers are completely abandoned and unwanted. Steinbeck makes it obvious that the chrysanthemums represent Elisa. The way the tinkerer keeps the pot and throws aside the flowers is symbolic for how society, or men to be specific, disregards women and only takes from them what it wants. The blatant rejection of the chrysanthemums and, to an extension, Elisa herself dampens her mood. When she sees the flowers on the road “it was over.
Living a distant life can have dire effects on a person which Elisa consistently displays in the story which acts as the first reason on why Elisa does not come of age. When Henry, Elissa’s husband, approaches Elissa, she nervously asks,“ Henry, who were those men you were talking to?” ( Steinback 2). Just by hearing the phrase, rReaders can tell something is not sitting right with her as if she were riddled with anxiety or fear. These characteristics in her voice are signs she is disconnected from the people around her. Elisa most likely does not receive much attention in her life from other people, and Henry appears to be Elisa’s only person to talk with. Without Henry, Elisa would truly be alone which would cause her to feel even more distress than she already does. Elissa may have abandonment issues which is why she tensed up when she saw Henry speak to the people from the meat company. Elisa’s self-alienation stops her from coming of
As Elisa and her husband leave for dinner, she sees that the tinker has thrown her chrysanthemums onto the side of the road. This is a painful and emotionally experience, she realizes that she has been used, in a way. “She tried not to look as they passed it, but her eyes would not obey. She whispered to herself sadly, "He might have thrown them off the road.” ….” But he kept the pot," she explained.” She has let someone into the most personal aspects of her life and soul, has given him a piece of herself and the tinker has merely discarded it. Elisa try to forget the horrible moment with some wine at her dinner with her husband. “"Henry," she asked, "could we have wine at dinner?” She wants to take away the pain by using alcohol as her source of escape from the reality she is living in. This is a painful experience for her--she realizes that she has been exploited, in a way. She has let someone into the most personal aspects of her life and soul, has given him a piece of herself (quite literally) and the tinker has merely discarded it. Up until this moment, allowing herself to feel has only been positive for Elisa. But now she realizes that to truly experience life, one must feel pain as well. This is difficult for Elisa. She wants to revert back to her "fog" of not feeling; she wants to take away the pain by putting up her barriers again. At the end of the story, Elisa is “crying weakly, like an old woman” she could not control her feeling broke and unwanted by the one person she thought was interested in her and her
John Steinbeck’s, The Chrysanthemums, was published in 1938 in a book of short stories, entitled The Long Valley. The Chrysanthemums has been a rather powerful draw for scholars because of its wide gap for interpretations and analysis of its main protagonist character, Elisa Allen and also the unique descriptions used to portray the deeper meaning behind the setting of the story. Themes of sexuality, oppression of women, as well as other numerous types of conflict portrayed in this rather somber short story have made it a popular study among scholars and students alike. Steinbeck also uses literary elements including a dramatic tone, rich symbolism, and personification which increase the stories feeling and value exponentially. Steinbeck was critically acclaimed for his portrayal of the “common man” through his ability to illustrate in a “realistic style rich with symbolism,” the essence of life in the 1930’s (Price, Victoria).
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 pretty'" (Hughes 23). Similar to the time frame in which Steinbeck lived, the theme of the story comes across as being male dominant and the rustic setting allows us to visualize this.
In this short the Chrysanthemums, written by John stein beck. The author tells a character who is in need of love. Stein back reflects the charazteratiom of Elisa in the story because he shows us how Elisa character changes threw out the story. The traits of Elisa’s show us that Elisa is strong and want affection and resorts to the chrysanthemums as a way to show herself.
"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 a man's life. Through symbolism in "The Chrysanthemums," John Steinbeck creates a sexually repressed and discouraged Elisa Allen who is isolated from society however still retaining their values and is also trapped in a fruitless marriage.
The "Chrysanthemums" was written by John Steinbeck and introduced in 1937. In this story it is evident that Elisa has suppressed sexual desires that are awakened. At the ripe age of thirty-five, Elisa is at her sexual peak, but because of being betrayed by men, she is unable to fulfill those desires.
Innocence is something always expected to be lost sooner or later in life, an inevitable event that comes of growing up and realizing the world for what it truly is. Alice Walker’s “The Flowers” portrays an event in which a ten year old girl’s loss of innocence after unveiling a relatively shocking towards the end of the story. Set in post-Civil War America, the literary piece holds very particular fragments of imagery and symbolism that describe the ultimate maturing of Myop, the young female protagonist of the story. In “The Flowers” by Alice Walker, the literary elements of imagery, symbolism, and setting “The Flowers” help to set up a reasonably surprising unveiling of the gruesome ending, as well as to convey the theme of how innocence disappears as a result of facing the harsh reality of this world.
In the story, Steinbeck used the third person limited point of view to show that Elisa still has that dim hope for change. We see her inner struggles by the chores she performs throughout the household as she acts “strong” towards her husband and the bearded man as a sign of responsibility in herself. In paragraph 8 of page 9, the narrator explicitly says, “Elisa stiffened and her face grew tight. Henry stopped short and looked at her. ‘Why—why, Elisa. You look so nice!’”. The composure that follows once Henry steps in shows Elisa’s loyalty towards her husband. This indicates that Elisa has changed from her usual self where she no longer has borders to instill her actions. Steinbeck further emphasizes how Elisa has changed by having the husband describe her physical and emotional transformation. The third person limited point of view increases how the feeling is described by showing how happy Elisa is after Henry comments on her clothing. This point of view increases the feelings that Elisa has shown throughout the story by showing what she expressed in the environment. It is only by the end when she finally realizes that taking down her borders had resulted to lagging from her current