Essay on John Steinbeck’s Short Story, The Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums She was wearing â€Å"a man’s black hat†¦clod-hopper shoes, heavy leather gloves† and â€Å"a big corduroy apron† doing her best to cover up her femininity. In John Steinbeck’s short story, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums†, we are introduced to Elisa Allen. Elisa is living during a period after the Great Depression when women’s rights issues were becoming a topic of public concern. Steinbeck uses the character Elisa Allen to portray the women’s struggle for equality. She is a woman deprived of social, personal and sexual fulfillment in a male-dominated world. Elisa struggles to find satisfaction in her womanhood and a desire to escape from her isolated world. â€Å"She was thirty-five. Her face was eager and mature and†¦show more content†¦She fights for his attention and acceptance throughout the story. This makes her turn weaker and weaker until the point where she does not care anymore and accepts the fact that she is a woman and consequently, inferior. â€Å"On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made the great valley a closed pot.† Steinbeck is showing how isolated Elisa feels and how hard it would be to escape the â€Å"pressure of the closed pot†. In many parts of the story she seems very frustrated and trapped with her life and has a need to let go. She envies the freedom of the visitor, â€Å"you sleep right in the wagon†¦it must be nice†. However, he reminds her of her sexuality by saying â€Å"it ain’t the right kind of a life for a woman†. Elisa becomes very defensive by this remark, the feeling of hopelessness comes over her and she realizes that she is indeed inferior to men. Elisa tends her garden with care and finds happiness and strength in it. Figuratively speaking, it takes the place of the children she does not have; it defines her sexuality and femininity. She cares for her flowers so delicately and motherly, placing a â€Å"wire fence that protected her flower garden†. This wire fence symbolizes her isolation from the rest of the world as well as her closed off heart towards her husband. Elisa waits for the time when she will beShow MoreRelatedExploring John Steinbecks Short Story, The Chrysanthemums: Is the Grass Really Greener on the Other Side?939 Words   |  4 PagesJohn Steinbeck used his short story, The Chrysanthemums, as a visual illustration to answer the adage, â€Å"Is the grass â€Å"really† greener on the other side?â€Å" During The Great Depression, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimi sm had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the maxims on which they had based their lives - democracy, capitalism, individualismRead More The Chrysanthemums Essay1649 Words   |  7 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s, The Chrysanthemums, was published in 1938 in a book of short stories, entitled The Long Valley. The Chrysanthemums has been a rather powerful draw for scholars because of its wide gap for interpretations and analysis of its main protagonist character, Elisa Allen and also the unique descriptions used to portray the deeper meaning behind the setting of the story. Themes of sexuality, oppression of women, as well as other numerous types of conflict portrayed in this rather somberRead MoreEssay on Analysis of The Chrysanthemums1139 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis of The Chrysanthemums The short story The Chrysanthemums gives insight into the life of its author. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. 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In order to show this reality,Read MoreEssay about Symbolism in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck700 Words   |  3 PagesSymbolism in The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck At first glance John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums seems to be a story of a woman whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper inspection, the story reveals strong symbolisms of children, vulnerability, and connection--being the most important, of the main character. Elisa Allen is the main character who is at her strongest and most proud in the garden and weakened when she becomes vulnerable and loses her connection to the outer worldRead More Elisa Confused Essay925 Words   |  4 PagesElisa Confused Like many short stories, John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† deceives most readers by appearing to be a simple short story. â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† which only occupies about eight pages in textbooks, captures the emotional pain of a woman trying to live in the 1930’s. As critic Stanley Renner wrote, â€Å"’The Chrysanthemums’† shows â€Å"a strong capable woman kept from personal, social, and sexual fulfillment by the prevailing conception of a woman’s role in a world dominated by men† (RennerRead More Use of Symbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums944 Words   |  4 Pagesof Symbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      John Steinbecks short story The Chrysanthemums is about a proud, strong woman named Elisa Allen who feels frustrated with her present life. Her frustration stems from not having a child and from her husbands failure to admire her romantically as a woman. The only outlet for her frustration is her flower garden where she cultivates beautiful chrysanthemums. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums as symbols of the inner-self