The Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Essay - 1694 Words

The story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† by John Steinbeck, like many stories by this author, is loaded with symbolism and concepts about human nature. Each description of characters, places, and physical aspects is written in a way that is simple to understand, but one should not be tricked by his ordinary words since there is always a greater meaning behind them. In this particular story, if one considers the period of time when the story was written, which was the nineteen thirties, is perceived how Steinbeck presents the readers with an uncommon matter that not many writers wrote about. That matter, being, the topic of women and their sexuality, which is the main focus of the story, in a time when a woman s life is dominated by men and as a consequence, many women are deprived of their personal, social and sexual fulfillment. These deprivations in a woman’s life are illustrated within the descriptions and events that occur around the primary symbol in this story, the flo wer chrysanthemum, which as the story advances, reveals itself to symbolize Elisa’s femininity, her fulfillment as a woman and even her. Elisa’s masculine descriptions such as her face being â€Å"lean and strong,† her body being â€Å"blocked and heavy,† and the â€Å"man s black hat† that she is wearing, which in a way, they hide the feminine side of her, but in another way they also emphasize how she could be doing a different, or more challenging, job in her life than just cultivating flowers. In the story, she is moreShow MoreRelatedThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck875 Words   |  4 Pages Introduction The Chrysanthemums author, John Steinbeck, struggles to equality using Elisa Ellen. The Chrysanthemums depicts a capable, a woman who is denied fulfillment socially, sexually, and personal fulfillment through prevailing the woman s role conception in the men dominated the world. The appearance, speech, and actions of Elisa depict that frustration that women experienced in 1930 s Steinbeck s masculine world. Thus, this brings the questions: In what ways does Elisa s characterRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck1559 Words   |  7 PagesThe Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck is a rich piece of work that has many underlying meanings hidden within it. I find that it was no mistake that this entire short story is a metaphor. Each character plays their own role in creating this metaphor from the very beginning of the story all the way until the bitter end. As well as characters, the lack of one particular â€Å"character† in this story seems to be the most important metaphor of all. No one character is more important than the other. They allRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck982 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is a short story written by John Steinbeck. The story was originally published in 1937 before later being released as a part of his The Long Valley collection. This is an important story as it expresses women in a way that is more realistic, showing their true boredom, ambition, and capabilities. Some scholars interpreted this story differently, but C. Kenneth Pellow interprets it as â€Å"radically feministic.† The Great Depression was finally ending and women’s rights were risingRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Essay1327 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The Chrysanthemums† By John Steinbeck â€Å"Tears, Idle Tears† By Alfred, Lord Tennyson Both of these stories has the speaker/main character going through an emotional journey and in a way they are pretty similar with their own little differences. This story, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums†, and this poem, â€Å"Tears, Idle Tears†, are both similar in the way that the main character/speaker of the story is upset and is crying either at one point in the story or in all of the poem. And, well, it’s not just that butRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck889 Words   |  4 PagesWhen John Steinbeck s short story The Chrysanthemums first appeared in the October 1937 edition of Harper s Magazine (Osborne 479), Franklin D. Roosevelt had just been reelected president. The country was recovering from the Great Depression, unions were developing, and child labor in manufacturing was terminated (Jones 805-6). The first female cabinet member in American history, Frances Perkins, was appointed the Secretary of Labor (Jones 802). She was one of the few women in her time to gainRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Analysis935 Words   |  4 PagesIn John Steinbeck‘s short story â€Å"The Chrysanthemums † Elisa Gives off the impression that she is not satisfied with her life. She can’t put a finger on her source of discomfort, but knows that she is not quite satisfied with how her life is continuing. Elisa’s husband doesn’t give her the proper attention she is craving, so elisa turns to her only sense of compassion; her garden. Elisa uses her beloved chrysanthemums to express her inner feelings about what it’s like to truly care for something.Read MoreSymbolism in the Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck1758 Words   |  8 PagesJohn Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums is a story that is full of symbolism. After the first read, it might seem like an innocent tale about a woman and her garden. However, upon further examination, the reader learns it is actually a story about a womans desires and frust rations in her life. Steinbeck uses many examples, such as the flowers to symbolize the thoughts and ideas of the main character, Elisa, in this story. Elisa Allen is a lonesome woman who gets pleasure from growingRead MoreThe Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck Essay1029 Words   |  5 PagesSteinbeck’s â€Å"Chrysanthemums†: How Boundaries Limited Elisa’s Pursuing for Self Fulfillment â€Å"The Chrysanthemums†, â€Å"a brilliant piece of writing, perhaps the best story Steinbeck ever wrote†, as expressed by Jay Parini in his article Lawrence’s and Steinbeck’s â€Å"Chrysanthemums†, is one of the most interesting and ambiguous story of this writer. Steinbeck’s little story shows to the reader the reality of women during the nineteenth hundreds and the great depression. In order to show this reality,Read MoreThe Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Analysis949 Words   |  4 PagesBiography John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, which is where the short story, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† is set in 1902. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature and his held in high regard, but not quite as high as Faulkner and Hemingway. Steinbeck died of a heart attack in Salinas, California in 1963 (Levant). Overview Steinbeck published the short story The Chrysanthemums in 1937 and included as part of his collection The Long Valley the following year. In the story, Henry AllenRead MoreSummary Of The Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck858 Words   |  4 PagesSummary Response Essay- â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Their are times in life when we all get so busy that we forget to make time for people we care about. This is because we take each other for granted and push aside the important things such as having fun, talking to each other and enjoying life with each other to deal with things we consider to be more important and concerning. This type of situation is becoming way too common in todays society with people connected with their work and that we no longer