Use of Imagery in “The Chrysanthemums”

John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” written in 1934, and published in 1937 which became famous. He eventually received a Nobel Prize for his “realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception.”

“The Chrysanthemums” depicts about feminism in the character of Elisa Allen and her experiences as a woman. Steinbeck was recognized masterful at developing his themes through the use of imagery and symbolism. The themes in this story focused on confinement, isolation, and limitations in life. “The high gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot.” In this line, Steinbeck used descriptive, figurative and sensory language to further emphasize his use of imagery in describing an image of a gray, foggy, winter day. The image of the valley as a “closed pot”, as well as these words, “closed off,” “sat like a lid,” all gave off the feeling of confinement and isolation, which became the theme of the story. The fact Elisa and her husband lived very far from the city, thus making her secluded in her home. Another evidence of confinement in the story is Elisa tending her chrysanthemums within a wire fenced garden, “Then she dug ten parallel trenches to receive the sets. Back at the chrysanthemum bed she pulled out the little