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Chrysanthemums by steinbeck literary analysis
The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck summary
Chrysanthemums by steinbeck literary analysis
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John Steinbeck's “The Chrysanthemums”
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.
Steinbeck's strong and somewhat manly description of Elisa while working in the garden, gives the distinct impression that she is not as weak as a stereotypical housewife would be. He writes that "Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with." As evidenced by this excerpt you can see that she has covered up her hair with a "man's hat" and has thrown an apron over her dress in attempts to cover up her femininity. This apron also takes on a similar role as a man's tool belt as he works the land. This initial description lends to the notion that Elisa wants to be stronger as a woman, to stand beyond the stereotype of a housewife. Other phrases used by Steinbeck further the above points. The author mentions that her face was "handsome," her work with the scissors was "over-powerful," and her fingers "destroyed such pests." This description shows an inner strength that Elisa possesses; yet she is unable to bring this out. She also hints to the reader that she would like to take on more masculine responsibilities after her husband Henry comments on the size and beauty of her chrysanthemums. He says that he wishes she'd work out in the orchard and "raise some apples that big." She reacts to this by saying "Maybe I could do it too. I've got a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow.” All of these de...
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...sion of Steinbeck's short story, Steinbeck has her fall right back into the rut she so despised. She comes back to reality and "turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman."
Elisa’s inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of her working in the garden, the conversation she has with the “Fixer-Guy”, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner. Steinbeck offers an array of different details concerning the character of Elisa Allen. The main detail being that she is a strong woman on the inside although she seems to struggle in showing it throughout the story. Because of the "Pot Fixer," she is able to act, although for a short time, like that strong woman. Steinbeck unfortunately brings Elisa full-circle, back to where she started. She notices on the way to dinner her chrysanthemum sprouts at the roadside. This, along with her husband’s hesitation to allow her curiosity, puts her back where she started, canceling her emergence. One must ask after reading this short story if Elisa will continue this discontented lifestyle. Or will she be able to blossom beautifully for good, as do her chrysanthemums?
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.
Elisa's unhappiness in her role as the wife of a cattle farmer is clear in her gardening. Through the authors detailed diction it is clear that gardening is her way of freeing herself from her suffocating environment. “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy” which is “over-eager” and “over-powerful” (Steinbeck 460). The intensity with which she gardens, “terrier fingers destroy[ing] such pests before they could get started” suggests more than simply a deep interest, but a form of escape completely submerging her self into the task (Steinbeck 460). It is possible that some...
The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck is not just a simple short story. Yes it is a short story about a country housewife that lives a boring life and grows beautiful flowers. She is then mislead to believe that a perfect stranger has interest in her flowers and is moved to reveal to him her secrets in growing them and even give him not only some of her prized shoots from the flowers but also some work so that he is given what he originally wanted. She then finds her shoots thrown haphazardly on the side of the road. She begins to ask for wine and becomes very saddened and begins to weep. On the surface it seems like a very superficial story about how a woman could be deceived by a man into believing that he has interest in what she can accomplish. However when one reads the story from a higher critical perspective, especially the last line one realizes how deeply profound the story really is. The last line of the story where the main character Elisa Allen declares that a little wine will be enough and she begins to cry like an old woman reveals that she has grudgingly accepted her lot in life and accepts that she can only experience so much fulfillment due to her position in society and the fact that it has stolen her youth and left her a bitter old woman.
In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” John Steinbeck uses symbolism to reflect the characteristics of his main character Elisa Allen. Elisa, a married woman uncovers her deeply smothered femininity in an inconspicuous sense. Her life in the valley had become limited to housewife duties and the only sustenance that seemed to exist could merely be found in her chrysanthemum garden. Not until she becomes encountered with a remote tinker-man out and about seeking for work, does she begin to reach many of the internal emotions that had long inhibited her femininity. The tinker subtlety engages an interest in Elisa’s chrysanthemum garden that encourages Elisa to react radically. When Elisa realizes that there are other ways to live she attempts to lift the lid off of the Salinas Valley, but unfortunately the tinker’s insincere actions resort Elisa back to her old self and leaves Elisa without any optimism for her hollow breakthrough. Steinbeck’s somber details of the setting, strong description of the chrysanthemums and meaningful illustration of the red flower-pot reveal the distant, natural, ambitions Elisa Allen desired to attain.
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).
John Steinbeck, in his short story "The Chrysanthemums" depicts the trials of a woman attempting to gain power in a man's world. Elisa Allen tries to define the boundaries of her role as a woman in such a closed society. While her environment is portrayed as a tool for social repression, it is through nature in her garden where Elisa gains and shows off her power. As the story progresses, Elisa has trouble extending this power outside of the fence that surrounds her garden. In the end, Elisa learns but does not readily accept, that she possesses a feminine power weak for the time, not the masculine one she had tried so hard to achieve through its imitation.
Feminism in John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums. At first glance, John Steinbeck’s "The Chrysanthemums" seems to be a story about a woman whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper inspection, the story has strong notes of feminism in the central character, Elisa Allen. Elisa’s actions and feelings reflect her struggle as a woman trying and failing to emasculate herself in a male-dominated society.
Throughout the story, Henry Allen’s selfishness and mixed priorities result in the neglect of Elisa which causes her to feel unappreciated and unloved. Elisa is not very comfortable around her husband Henry, this fact is illustrated when “he leaned over the wire fence that protected her flower garden from cattle and dogs and chickens” (Steinbeck 270). By keeping Henry outside of the garden, on the other side of the fence it is shown that Elisa does not trust him to get near her chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemums are very symbolic in the story as they symbolize Elisa Allen herself, and her only source of joy in the world. Henry is not welcomed into the garden for fear that her confidence, joy and beauty may be crushed. Henry opposes Elisa and the hard work the protagonist has put into her chrysanthemums. Henry tells her that “[he wishes she would] work out in the orchard and raise some apples [as big as her chrysanthemums]” (Steinbeck 270). In doing so, Elisa’s efforts go un...
To fully appreciate literature, we must look at it from every angle possible. There are many ways to criticize a piece of literature. Each way helps a reader to better understand the work in its own different way. I hope to outline and give examples of the many different ways that the short story The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck can be interpreted.
While reading The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck I sympathize for Elisa because I know what it’s like to be deemed as inferior to people around you even when you know your real capability. The most significant conflict in the story is the restriction of Elisa's life as a woman secluded on a little farm in the Salinas Valley in the times after the Depression. Restricted by gender roles to labor inside the borders of the farm while the men relish more sovereignty and mobility, Elisa's yearnings are roused when the tinker comes by and expresses his journeyman lifestyle. She responds contemplatively, "That sounds like a nice way to live"(Steinbeck.1442). Another major conflict is Elisa's deep appealing attitude towards life which cannot be mutual.
John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” is an illustration of a married woman’s frustration with the limitations imposed upon her by society. As Steinbeck’s character, Elisa Allen, tends her garden and interacts with the male characters in the story her annoyance and emotions from living in a male dominated world are revealed. Throughout the story Steinbeck relays the main characters feelings of isolation, dissatisfaction and oppression by her environment.
In John Steinbeck’s story, “The Chrysanthemums,” isolation is a major theme portrayed, and Elisa, the wife who loves her chrysanthemums to no end, can be described in many different ways that reflect this. Elisa is confined to the roles of women that society holds as standard, and only finds release from her gardening, causing her to not be very open or outgoing around her husband, Henry Allen. The initial dialogue presented between Henry and Elisa sets the tone for their unrefined talk, and shows the couple's internal problems. In the beginning of the story, we learn that Elisa's skills as a gardener denies Henry the slightest opportunity for anger or protest. These actions in the short story lead the readers to believe that Elisa is very
Within the society of The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is a very strong and independent woman, who is also very neat and organized in the work that she does. These attributes all contribute to her great personality, but allows for some separation from the ideal figure of women in society. Evidence of Elisa’s dignified and separated personality is when Steinbeck goes on about her over-powerful and mature nature on page 1 and 2 of The Chrysanthemums; “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” (Steinbeck, 1-2). As for Mabel, within the society she is considered a nervous, depressed and isolated woman, who has been forced to labour over her brothers since her parents are gone, and the society/community has not helped her to see her inner beauty and strength. With this in mind, we can see that in her eyes, Mabel’s only way to find happiness is by finding someone to love (her). Mabel’s need and desperateness for someone to love (her) is pretty frequent and conscious throughout The Horse Dealer’s Daughter, although it is sometimes hard to see how isolated and separated Mabel is from the society, not just her family. Evidence of these feelings are shown when Lawrence exclaims; “She thought of nobody, not even of herself. Mindless and persistent, she seemed in a sort of ecstasy to be coming nearer to her fulfilment, her own glorification, approaching her dead mother, who was glorified.” (Lawrence,8). Throughout both stories, Elisa and Mabel show separation and isolation from society and their “roles,” but each express their separation in a different way. For Mabel, she is separated/isolated from society because she has no parental influence to guide her, and she is
“She tried not to look as they passed it, but her eyes would not obey.” Here is when she realizes that she was taken advantage of, the man had gotten rid of the chrysanthemums. “He might have thrown them of the road.That wouldn’t have been much trouble, not very much. But he kept the pot, He had to keep the pot. That’s why he couldn’t get them off the road.” Also “She said loudly, to be heard over the motor.’It will be good, tonight, a good dinner.’”(pg 1253) This gives the reader the realization that the man needed the pot to sell it and that in fact their inference about Elisa getting taken advantage of was correct. When Elisa comes to the realization she becomes emotional. “She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly like an old woman.”(pg1253) She was emotional because now she knew that her life will always be what it is now. There will be nothing more to her life but her chrysanthemums, just like the chrysanthemums had nothing else but Elisa. She is stuck. In this story the chrysanthemums symbolize the life of Elisa and many other
"The Chrysanthemums" introduces us to Elisa Allen, a woman who knows she has a gift for things, but can't make more use of it than to grow her chrysanthemums. She is trapped in the Salinas Valley, where winter's fog sits "like a lid...and [makes] the great valley a closed pot." Her human nature has made her complacent in ordinary life, but the short glimmers of hope offered by her flowers and a passing stranger reveal that there is more to Elisa than her garden. Her environment may be keeping her inside her small garden, but inside her heart there is a longing for more.