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Social stratification and gender
Symbolism about the chrysanthemums by john steinbeck
What do the chrysanthemums symbolize in this story
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SS 10
As usual, answer the following questions completely by referencing specific parts of the stories.
“The Chrysanthemums”
1. How does Steinbeck’s description in the first two paragraphs give us insight into limitations in Elisa 's life?
The first description gives the reader insight into Elisa’s life. Steinbeck describes the valley as being “closed off,” and a “pot.” scene This similar to the restrictions Elisa faces in her life. Elisa is closed off and sealed in by societal restrictions that stipulates what women can do and what they could not.
2. What does the fence symbolize? The chrysanthemums?
The in both instances where the fence was mentioned, it acted as a physical barrier between Elisa and the men. However, the fence symbolizes
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In the beginning of the story Elisa was dressed in a very unattractive and manly way. The narrator stated she looked “blocked and heavy in her gardening costume.” In the bathing and dressing scene, however, Elisa took care in what she was doing and what she wore. She dressed slowly and put on her newest and nicest underwear. She also selected a dress that emphasizes her beauty. Elisa even went a step further and put on makeup. Elisa totally transformed from the woman not afraid to get her hands dirty to a beautiful, dutiful wife ready for a night on the town. Elisa scrubs herself so hard to remove not only the dirt on her from gardening but to remove her feelings of wanting to live like a …show more content…
She had let her guard down and trusted that the handyman new someone who appreciated and somewhat valued her work. She was so sad when she saw the flowers she gave to the handyman lying on the road that she tried, unsuccessfully, not to look at it. Also, when she passed the handyman wagon she turned her back to them. After passing she cried, according to the narrator, like a weak old woman. “The Lottery”
1. How does the opening scene contrast with what happens at the end of the story?
The opening scene of the story is quite opposite from the end. The story opens with the description of a “clear and sunny summer’s day. The Lottery would take place early enough for the residence to get home and resume their normal activity. The children were playing boiturous
2. What is Tessie’s reaction when her family is chosen? Is it normal?
Tessie’s reaction is normal. When her family was chosen she was upset and insisted that Mr. Summers had cheated. She kept repeating that her hadn’t given her husband enough time. Like any mother, Tessie is concerned about the wellbeing of the member of her family.
3. Why is Old Man Warner included in the story? What attitude does he
This essay of literary criticism is going to be on the Chrysanthemums written by John Steinbeck. This short story is considered to be one of the greatest short stories of all time. The author uses characterization to describe Elisa, she is a dynamic character. He shows us that she is a very lonely strong woman in the begging who wants to be loved. Who later changes because of this mysterious man. In this paper, I will prove that the author wanted to show Elisa as a dynamic character and how she changes through the story, from being strong and lonely in the begging, in the middle she because friendly talking to this man, and finally she gets all nice and dressed to go out
While Boyle describes Mrs. Ames as elegant, gentle, and quiet, Steinbeck gives to Elisa more strength. Her face was “lean and strong”, and her figure looked “blocked and heavy in her gardening costume”. Both women find their own ways to cover lack of happiness in their everyday lives. The astronomer’s wife is managing the house finding the silliest things to keep her busy: “…from the removal of the spot left there from dinner on the astronomer’s vest to the severe trashing of the mayonnaise for lunch”. Elisa spends her days in garden raising chrysanthemums “bigger than anybody around here.” The fact that these two women did not have any children can mislead us to the conclusion that they were both trying to satisfy the instincts they were probably having at the age of thirty-five. While this is the case with Elisa, the astronomer’s wife had different problem: the lack of communication with her husband and incapability to understand the world he was in.
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.
Elisa Allen is a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives on a ranch in the Salinas Valley with her husband Henry. She is "lean and strong," and wears shapeless, functional clothes (Steinbeck 203). The couple has no children, no pets, no near neighbors, and Henry is busy doing chores on the ranch throughout the day. Elisa fills her hours by vigorously cleaning the ''hard-swept looking little house, with hard-polished windows,'' and by tending her flower garden (204). She has ''a gift'' for growing things, especially her chrysanthemums, and she is proud of it (204).
...er introduction is the main reason why the foreshadowing is necessary for the reader. Therefore, this extract sets the tone for the rest of the book, a constant suspense on what will happen to Lennie and Curley's wife.
In the whole of the novella, Steinbeck uses a great deal of imagery in his writing, Therefore, helping us to understand the settings of the novel in much more detail. Within the first page of the book, Steinbeck uses a great deal of words and phrases that contribute to the recurring theme of loneliness. The name of the town in which he bases the entire novel is ‘Soledad’ which means ‘Lonely’ In Spanish. This is a key part of the novel, as it means the whole book’s surroundings, (no matter where it is), is based around that one meaning of ‘Loneliness’. Further on, in the first page Steinbeck describes to the reader the surroundings of the town, he uses a range of detailed vocabulary to emphasise the towns’ Isolation and Loneliness.
Elisa Allen embodies the image of a simple woman eager to escape the confines of a gender defined role in society. Readers are introduced to Elisa as a 35 year old, strong woman living with her husband, Henry, on a ranch in Salinas Valley (Steinbeck 460). Elisa’s masculinity is highlighted from the attire she is wearing to the strength in her hands. Henry affirms that Elisa is capable in her endeavors when he states, “you’ve got a gift with things,” in regards to her garden (Steinbeck 460). Even though Elisa is delighted at Henry’s suggestion that she work in the orchard, the idea does not seem to get a second thought (Steinbeck 460). The idea of a woman working in the orchard is dismissed on the premise that the orchard is not a woman’s place. In Elisa’s account with the man in the wagon, her sexuality exudes in her graphic explanation of picking off the flower buds and being under the stars, to the point that she almost physically touches the man (Steinbeck 463). Her desire would go unsatisfied, as it would not be appropriate for her to act on her impulse. Elisa is searching for fulfillment in life but finds her role to be trivial. Intrigued by the idea of traveling, as the gentleman in the wagon does, she states, “It must be very nice. I wish women could do such things.” She is shot down as the man replies, “It ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman” (Steinbeck 464). This conversation clearly depicts the prevalent inequality of the sexes. Furthermore, once the man leaves in the caravan Elisa cements her urge for something more, looking out at the horizon whispering, “That’s a bright direction. There’s a glowing there” (Steinbeck 464-465).
Steinbeck begins the story by creating a serene mood when describing the setting. He illustrates how the Salinas River looks, and stating that “the water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool” (1). Steinbeck’s word choice alone (“twinkling,” “golden,” and “fresh and green”) makes the setting appealing to the reader. The peaceful mood is created through the way he closely describes every detail; the images that the reader follows are animated and picturesque. He uses such a long sentence with semi-colons, commas, and dashes to make the passage flow smoothly, as opposed to choppy. The run-on like syntax he uses creates a comfortable feeling, showing that the Salinas River and everything surrounding it is an undisturbed area; the...
This frustration is evident when Elisa is first introduced. Her figure is described as "blocked and heavy" because she is wearing heavy gloves, heavy shoes, a "man's black hat," and a big apron that hides her printed dress (Steinbeck 330). Her home has the masculine qualities of being "hard-swept" and hard-polished" (Steinbeck 330). Elisa is bored with her husband and with her life (McMahan 455). Obviously, Elisa is unhappy with the traditional female role and is attempti...
Elisa is at her strongest and most proud in the garden and becomes weak when placed in feminine positions such as going out to dinner with her husband. Steinbeck carefully narrates this woman’s frequent shifts between femininity and masculinity over a short period of time. In the opening of the story, Elisa is emasculated by the description of her clothing. She wears "a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figure print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron." (paragraph 5).
Many readers who analyze Steinbeck's short story, "The Chrysanthemums", feel Elisa's flowers represent her repressed sexuality, and her anger and resentment towards men. Some even push the symbolism of the flowers, and Elisa's masculine actions, to suggest she is unable to establish a true relationship between herself and another. Her masculine traits and her chrysanthemums are enough to fulfill her entirely. This essay will discuss an opposing viewpoint. Instead, it will argue that Elisa's chrysanthemums, and her masculine qualities are natural manifestations of a male dominated world. Pertinent examples from "The Chrysanthemums" will be given in an attempt to illustrate that Elisa's character qualities, and gardening skills, are the survival traits she's adopted in order to survive, and keep her femininity and vulnerability in a man's world.
An extremely capable women, Elisa Allen, armed with her scissors, clodhopper shoes, corduroy apron, and a man’s hat, seems to be anything but a demure, timid women. However, her husband, Henry, views her in a stereotypical way, seeing her as a helpless woman who is disinterested in practical concepts. Though he acknowledges she has “got a gift with things,” he limits her gifts to things that deal with a typical woman’s job: gardening. In addition, Henry jokes, “I wish you’d work in the orchard and raise some apples that big,” though he does not really except, or desire, her to leave the hobby of her flowers to perform “real” labor around the farm. Furthermore, after Henry decides to treat her to dinner, he playfully jokes with her about going to a boxi...
A more clear example of how Elisa feels can be better explained by Steinbeck's description of the where Elisa and Henry live. "The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On e...
A plethora of emotions triggers a person's motivation to write. Whether it is disappointment, fear, bliss, or pure excitement, feelings produce an overwhelming sensation. The response to these feelings can rise from a person's environment, relationships, interests or current struggles. However, emotional madness can be simmered down through a practice of writing (Science 20). Clinical trials indicate that writing about deep or traumatic experiences can clear the mind of all the “confining” stresses and emotional suffocation (Bolarius 2). In detail, a new brain imaging study, conducted by UCLA psychologists, reveals how “verbalizing” feelings can cause a sense of peace and prove to be a “cathartic” exercise (Science 20). In fact, writing down emotions born from experiences provides an opportunity in the documentation for posterity. In the same way, John Steinbeck, the author of Nobel Prize winning literary work, has marked milestones in the history of literature, leaving insightful and evocative images in the hearts of millions and for future generations. Steinbeck's work has drawn influence from several events in his life. David Bender, author of the Literary Companion, writes that any “serious” work from Steinbeck “must begin in his western home of the Salinas Valley” (Bender 13). Steinbeck's strong relationships and time growing up in the West were tremendous influences in his novels The Grapes of Wrath and The Pearl, as well as his short story “The Chrysanthemums.”
The setting in the beginning of The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, creates a mood of peacefulness and tranquillity. The image portrayed by the author is that of a typical town on a normal summer day. Shirley Jackson uses this setting to foreshadow an ironic ending.