The 1930s were not the easiest time to be a woman, and John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums” touches on the emotional aspect of this in the best way a man could. Steinbeck explores the denial of female sexuality and the devastating results it can have through the use of symbolism and lack of character growth. Elisa is his leading lady, affectionate and attentive toward her ever-growing chrysanthemums and disregarded by those around her. Elisa is pretty, as most Steinbeck females are, but is seen as simple and lacking in any substance to those around her. She is aware of this, and because of it, is quick to respond to any form of attention. Through the analysis of the symbolism and character development, one can discover the underlying tones of sexuality and desperate longing found within the text throughout.
Steinbeck was known for his ability to create lasting symbols that are discussed within the walls of every literature class, ever. “The Chrysanthemums” is no different, filled with things that mean something other than what they are literally shown to.
The largest and frankly, most obvious piece of symbolism within the text is of course the chrysanthemums themselves. While most see the flowers as the physical manifestation of her desire for children, when looked at a bit more closely, they can be taken to stand for her sexuality and the way in which it is constantly denied, given the time and circumstances of the story. She is seen as a trivial girl by her husband as drawn from his regular condescension, and as a little fool who will do what is requested as long as a little attention is paid to her by the Pot Seller.
She knows exactly how to manipulate her flowers in order to get the most out of them. She knows...
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...ain disregards her, saying, “You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee, happy enough to eat it like a watermelon.” (Steinbeck, p. 250) How romantic, Henry. She doesn’t lose her inner strength with that one, however. Choosing to overcome the comment and to look past it, she continues on her journey of making Henry see the woman she has “become”, if only momentarily. “”I’m strong,” she boasted. “I never knew before how strong.”” (Steinbeck, p. 250) However, when she sees the flowers thrown carelessly into the road and realizes the Pot Mender had done so after choosing to keep the pot, she deflates instantly, realizing that this is the life she is stuck with. This is her past, her present, and her future, and she is utterly hopeless to change it.
Works Cited
Steinbeck, J. (1938). The chrysanthemums . (pp. 244-252). Perfection Form Company.
In Toni Morrison’s novel, The Song of Solomon, flowers are associated with romance and love, and so the way in which the central female characters interact with flora is indicative of the romance in their lives. Flowers, red roses in particular, are a universal symbol for love and fertility. Though Ruth Foster, Lena called Magdalene Dead, and First Corinthians Dead are associated with different types of flowers in distinctive ways, the purpose of the motif stays the same; flowers reveal one’s romantic status and are a precursor for the romance that is to come. Throughout the entire novel, the flowers share in common that they are not real. Some flowers appear printed, others as fake substitutes, and some are imaginary. This is an essential
Flowers can be seen to represent emotions that are felt when opressions on women are seen. Poisonous flowers represent the determination that these women use to find a better life in this society
Flowers are incredibly important, especially in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There are three main flowers pointed out in the course of the whole story. There are Miss Maudie’s azaleas, Mrs Dubose’s camellias, and Mayella Ewell’s geraniums. Each bloom was assigned in this way solely for the relation towards their corresponding characters. Flowers can be used to express emotion or send a message, and those associated with Maudie, Dubose, and Mayella are vital to the novel.
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums”. Literature: Reading Fiction, Poetry, Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw, 2008. 459-466. Print.
...sion of Steinbeck's short story, Steinbeck has her fall right back into the rut she so despised. She comes back to reality and "turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly-like an old woman."
Elisa Allen is a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives on a ranch in the Salinas Valley with her husband Henry. She is "lean and strong," and wears shapeless, functional clothes (Steinbeck 203). The couple has no children, no pets, no near neighbors, and Henry is busy doing chores on the ranch throughout the day. Elisa fills her hours by vigorously cleaning the ''hard-swept looking little house, with hard-polished windows,'' and by tending her flower garden (204). She has ''a gift'' for growing things, especially her chrysanthemums, and she is proud of it (204).
Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V Roberts and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2012. 416-422. Print.
"The Chrysanthemums" is a good depiction of most marriages in the early 1900's, the husband is the chief breadwinner and the wife is considered nothing more than a housewife. "The simple story outlines are enriched by irony and imagery which contrast the rich land and the sterile marriage, the fertile plants and Elisa's inner emptiness" (McCarthy 26). The story begins by introducing the setting: "The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and the rest of the world" (Steinbeck 115). This vivid illustration unconsciously gives the reader a look into the dominating theme. However, it is not until the climax of the story that the reader begins to notice Elisa's true pain and need for her own self-identity. The main protagonist i...
The poem as a whole is a metaphor of a woman to nature, specifically a certain species of flower, which accurately represents the growth that occurs within her. Women are often compared to nature in poetry, as it represents their beauty and delicacy, much like Williams did in this poem. Queen Anne’s lace is a white flower with a purple spot in the middle, also called the flower’s “beauty mark.” Douglas Verdier from Poetry for Students points out that the name of the flower alludes to the face of a queen, being fair and pure (189). Queen Anne’s lace is also a hardy flower that is able to thrive in many environments, supporting that the woman of the poem is beautiful yet strong (Stephenson). The metaphor to this flower shows the man’s adoration towards the beauty of the woman in the poem.
In this short the Chrysanthemums, written by John stein beck. The author tells a character who is in need of love. Stein back reflects the charazteratiom of Elisa in the story because he shows us how Elisa character changes threw out the story. The traits of Elisa’s show us that Elisa is strong and want affection and resorts to the chrysanthemums as a way to show herself.
word “art” which may imply something about the materialistic world that she tries to be a part of. Interestingly, and perhaps most symbolic, is the fact that the lily is the “flower of death”, an outcome that her whirlwind, uptight, unrealistic life inevitably led her to.
Fully bloomed roses conjure the image of a flower whose petals are at the stage of falling off.... ... middle of paper ... ... She creates, first, an image of the fish as a helpless captive and the reader is allowed to feel sorry for the fish and even pity his situation as the narrator does.
The roses in the garden are something the serving-man remarks on “roses occasionally suffer from black spot . . . It is always advisable to purchase goods with guarantees…” (Aldiss 450) Here Teddy reports directly to the need for replacement of such false reality in order to omit imperfections. The rose is initiated earlier as a symbol for Monica, when she plucks one and shows it to David, and at the end he picks one as a reminder of her. And Teddy senses the importance of the roses for the mother and the child as he tries to bond
When Elisa’s husband Henry comes over and compliments her garden and ability to grow things, Elisa is smug with him and very proud of her skill with the flowers. Her "green thumb" makes her an equal in her own eyes. When Elisa’s husband asks her if she would like to go to dinner, her feminine side comes out. She is excited to go eat at a restaurant and states that she would much rather go to the movies than go see the fights, she "wouldn’t like the fight’s" at all (paragraph 21). Elisa is taken aback by her own submissiveness and quickly becomes preoccupied with her flowers as soon as her husband leaves.
And when they look for a messenger to go find flowers, they’re talking about re-finding the tranquillity and lack of fear that they wanted. I believe that the burials, actually represent life. It may sound a bit peculiar, but in real life once you get accustomed to living a happy, joyful life, you then will not be able to live without it and so, you will need to do practically anything, as the people in the star did, to find the “flowers”. The symbol of the deity that the youth saw in the temple, I understand that by the way in which the story progresses the symbol is actually representing the fact that war, or trouble (the bird of prey) destroys all happiness or good hearted feelings. I think that the representation is what I mentioned above, because when the messenger “goes” to the foreign star he sees destruction and a total lack of joy.