Of Mice And Men Interpersonal Conflict

Elisa stands guard to her dreams by saying tells, “You might be surprised to have a rival sometime… what a woman might do” (234, L31-34) through this conversation Steinbeck proves the competitive nature of Elisa.

Moreover, Elisa’s interpersonal conflicts are the limitations of her dreams, her strength and her intelligence. Steinbeck shows that a woman of this era, who is forced to suppress her feelings, is deprived from her happiness. The fundamental needs of life which is to be happy and to be able to express is stolen from Elisa. She in turn becomes captivated by stranger’s selfish charms. With limited boundaries, in an isolated, restricted, male dominated, small farm of Salinas Valley during Depression time, Elisa is bound to be nothing more than a secretive, conflicted woman. Elisa’s yearnings are awakened when the tinker comes by and describes his journeyman life style. She responds joylessly,” That sounds like a nice way to live” (231, L40). The second interpersonal conflict is description of her clothes, she is completely uni-sexed, “her figure looked blocked and heavy” (229, L15) and she wore a “man’s black hat pulled low down her eyes” (229, L16). Through this description Steinbeck explains that Elisa Allen does not focus

The character of Elisa is also described as a gardener and protector to her flowers, which is an ultimate symbol of femininity. However, the way in which Elisa gardens; she has strong hands and uses sharp tools, “ pair of short and powerful scissors” (229, L22) shows that she has