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How Does Steinbeck Use Imagery In The Chrysanthemums

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Women live their lives under the idea that they do not have the right to express themselves independently. Living on a ranch with her husband, Elisa struggles to free herself from the stereotype that women have little value in society. In John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums”, he uses symbolism, imagery, and tone to convey that society often puts a strain on women’s roles in a world surrounded by men. Elisa’s daily life includes tending to her prized possession, Chrysanthemums, but throughout the story the deeper meaning behind these flowers comes to life. Through her eager and aggressive hard work, the small Chrysanthemums seemed to “easy for her energy”(Steinbeck 1). The flowers symbolize her strength and the power that she …show more content…

Salinas Valley was covered by a “high grey-flannel fog of winter” that closed the valley off from the outside world(Steinbeck 1). The color imagery of the dull sky over the valley, created a sort of enclosed barrier over their lives. Elisa is trapped in this position and she struggles to find happiness in her life due to the constant reminder that she is not worthy enough. She “laid his dark suit on the bed” to make sure her husband’s clothes were prepared for his return(Steinbeck 9). This action shows the role that Elisa plays in their marriage. She takes care of her husband so that he does not have to worry about things other than his work to support the family. Her role lies in the household, although she desperately wishes to have more control. The farmhouse had perfectly “hard-polished windows”, with “clean mud-mat” sitting at the door. One of Elisa’s main job is to clean and garden, which is shown by way the house is portrayed in the beginning of the story. It shows her confinement and how she is only allowed to do minimum things in the household,which is not useful if she were to have to make money and make a life for herself. The scenes in this short story portray her guarded and controlled life in Salinas …show more content…

Elisa’s life was quiet and peaceful, where the air around her “ was cold and tender”(Steinbeck 1). At the beginning of the story the overall tone is depressing because Elisa is in a position where she feels like she is being oppressed by her husband and the society. She is stuck in the constant cycle of living a life that she feels like does not suit her capabilities. “Her face was tight with eagerness’ as she began to tell the tinker loads about her Chrysanthemums(Steinbeck 6). After meeting the traveler and after a while of talking, she begins to feel happiness in her life again. She is having a conversation with someone who enjoys talking to her and about things she likes. Elisa longs for the way of being free and able to go where she wants without anybody’s rules but her own.Her life began to dwindle back to normal as she turned to hide the fact “that she was crying weakly-like”(Steinbeck 11). After this experience with the traveler, Elisa senses things going in her direction, but once she sees the flower on the ground she knows that change is going to be hard to come by. Seeing the flower thrown to the side of the road just assures her that men will never respect women for who they are. Elisa is still stuck in a life where she feels as if her hard work gets no

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In John Steinbacks “The Chrysanthemums,” the shift of the setting from the ranch to the road plays an important role in the development of the main character, Elisa. Therefore, in the first setting, Elisa is in her garden attending to her the chrysanthemums, which she loves and cares for. Immediately, we’re placed in a rural setting, where women happen to live in isolation and man is manly. Elisa sneaks quick glances towards the men by the tractor shed, who is talking to her husband, waiting for them to leave, so she can throw aside her gloves and work her fingers into the soil of the garden. However, Elisa shows her fearless side by quickly digging in the garden, with her eagerness to grow her chrysanthemums, right after the men leave.

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The flower represents Ben Day. By the end of the book she finds out he was innocent after serving

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Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is focused on two men and their dream of owning their own farm. On the other hand, Steinbeck's short story “The Chrysanthemums” focuses on some thirty-five-year-old woman who seems to have her heart broken from a stranger. Both of these stories from Steinbeck have in common the use of only one female character in each of these stories, but in “The Chrysanthemums,” he has his viewpoint coming from that of a woman. Along with these similarities and differences, Steinbeck also makes both the women want attention, but Elisa Allen, in “The Chrysanthemums,” is less willing to be open and give trust than Curley’s Wife is in Of Mice and Men. Both of these women present us with Steinbeck's ideas that one

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The Chrysanthemums Literary Analysis One of the themes of “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck is gender inequality. In this short story, the main character Elisa Allen was a strong, smart woman who was stuck being a common housewife. Elisa wishes she could go out and be like the tinker, sleeping under the stars and adventuring every day of her life. Elisa’s husband owns a ranch of some sorts, and when he tells Elisa of the business deal he’d just made he gave her an unspecific explanation, or a dumbed down one so he doesn’t “confuse her”.

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John Steinbeck describes Elisa as a woman with a lean and strong face, dressed in gardening attire that covers her figure. She is also described as handsome, an adjective usually used for men. Her movements while she worked are said to be over-eager and over-powerful. All of these characteristics show that Elisa is phisically strong woman and that she is quite passionate with her garden work. It could be said that she possesses traits not associated with

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181 Words | 1 Pages

In “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck, Elisa changes from the beginning of the story to the end. Before Elisa meets the man in the wagon she acts like every other woman during the 1930s. She gardens, helps and supports her husband, and stays at home like a woman is supposed to do. The tinker in the wagon has a great impact on her. Elisa wishes that she could have a job like his because she is very smart and adventurous.

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In Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, He uses imagery in all sorts of manners to create a realistic setting and plot. His portrayal of migrant workers and their everyday problems during the depression are quite accurate due to his use of imagery with idioms, dreams, nature, loneliness and animal imagery. The main theme of the book although, happens to be loneliness and fate. Although George and Lennie, the main characters have a symbiotic relationship, fate steps in and destroys their dreams which were so close to being achieved. George is the small, less strong, "brains" of the operation.

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Hardships can shape an individual’s ability to persevere through difficult times and act as barriers to one’s aspirations. A person who faces rough hardships will develop to become rigid and resilient through struggle, while an easily distracted individual may stray off course and be left behind. In the short story “The Chrysanthemums”, John Steinbeck explores the idea that when an independent and strong-willed individual is faced with a patriarchal gender barrier, they are likely to become overwhelmed with feelings of insecurity and weakness. In the mid-1900s, there was a widespread belief in male superiority and the perception that women should not have demanding careers as they were inferior to men in physical, emotional, and mental strength.

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Steinbeck uses similes in his story to give the reader a feeling of hope for the stranger who approaches Mrs. Allen. For example, when “the horse and the donkey drooped like unwatered flowers” highlights that the stranger has been traveling for a long time maybe even without work, leaving food and water hard to acquire for his animals. This gives the reader sympathy for the man, and leaves them curious of why Mrs. Allen is so harsh, rejected his wok repetitively. Another example when the reader builds hope for the stranger is when he starts discussing chrysanthemums with Mrs. Allen. When the stranger describes her flowers that “Looks like a quick puff of colored smoke?”

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851 Words | 4 Pages

The story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck takes place on a ranch down in the Salinas Valley, where there are three main characters. These three characters consist of Elisa Allen, Henry Allen and the repairman. Elisa is Henry’s wife, she worked on their farm to harvest the Chrysanthemums each season. Henry was the man who owned the farm, but always had other things to take care of such as his steers. Then the repairman, he was the man that traveled from Seattle to San Diego on a wagon.

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922 Words | 4 Pages

Colorless Chrysanthemum “The Chrysanthemums” is a short story by John Steinbeck that is about a woman named Elisa, a woman who spends all of her time gardening her prized chrysanthemums; these prized chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s role as a woman. Steinbeck shows this role as a woman in several way; the chrysanthemums first symbolize Elisa’s maternal instinct, and her want for children, the chrysanthemums then symbolize Elisa’s sexuality and then her femininity. The chrysanthemums first symbolize Elisa’s natural maternal instinct, and her want for children. Elisa is thirty-five year old woman, and while it is still possible for a woman of her age to become pregnant, it is quite a bit harder, with a tendency for more complications.

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1784 Words | 8 Pages

Interestingly though, Steinbeck paints a very manly sketch of the wife, not distinctively feminine by the standards of his time, whose face looks “eager and mature and handsome” (Steinbeck 1). Besides, her actions resonate with manly fortitude and sparks of energy as is evidenced in the line: “(E)ven her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy” (Steinbeck 1). Elisa’s gardening attire disguises her feminine grace. She seems to have found comfort in the heavy gardening costume, man’s black hat, clod-hopper shoes, and big corduroy apron (Steinbeck 1).

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

Diaz uses the setting of the house to characterize the mother. Various aspects of the house primarily focuses on depicting the unusual relationship between the mother and the narrator. The abrupt transition from the setting of the pool

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469 Words | 2 Pages

Gray with a flannel fog of winter describes the Salinas Valley where Elisa lives and the dress and manners she has on her ranch in the foothills. Confined by the dark fog that restricts the valley and the surrounding mountains like a “lid placed on a pot,” she and the valley have no sunshine, no happiness, no noise, and no warmth. While the Allen ranch is clean and organized, a feeling of oppression and entrapment is felt in the physical setting and is seen in the development of the character Elisa. The valley, “Closed off” by the winter fog and isolated from other life, Elisa is also trapped and closed off in a life behind her garden gates.

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Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.

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