The Chrysanthemums Literary Analysis
Masculine and Feminine Roles in Steinbeck’s “Chrysanthemums”
In the story “The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck, Elisa Allen lives an unsatisfactory life as she desires more than what is bestowed upon her. The reader learns Elisa’s husband is culpable for not seeing the beauty of his wife, leaving an open door for the antagonist, a traveler, to prey upon Elisa’s. Steinbeck uses Masculine and Feminine roles of the early 20th century, Internal Conflict, and an antagonist, to show Elisa’s struggle for Identity.
Steinbeck illustrates Masculine and feminine roles of the 20th century in the “Chrysanthemums” to show Elisa’s struggle with identity. Elisa role as wife is brought to light through the task she is given as a character and wife. The reader sees this here as she draws her husband a hot bath fulfilling his needs before her own as she isn’t dressed yet for the evening “He entered the house calling, “Elisa, where are you?” “In
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Elisa is experiencing conflict with each person she encounters on several levels, as well as with nature itself as she tends the garden and lives life. The garden itself is changing Elisa’s physical characteristics as the story unfolds. The internal conflict Elisa works through is the most prevalent, allowing for a round character. Steinbeck exposes this in multiple dialogs throughout the short story that reveal a character full of inner turmoil about who she is and what she wants out of life. Steinbeck reveals a sense of lostness and need for something more in Elisa here “Elisa Brought him a fifty-cent piece from the house and dropped it in his hand. “you might be surprised to have a rival some time,. I can sharpen scissors. Too. And I can beat the dents out of little pots. I could show you what a woman might do.”” (851), as the reader see’s she tries to find herself in letting the traveler know she is capable of the same things he
The Chrysanthemums Rhetorical Analysis Essay
484 Words | 2 PagesFurther supporting Henry’s expectations, the way Elisa dresses while she gardens, downplays her femininity. As Elisa is busy working in the fields, her hair gets in her way and she moves it to the side. In the process she “left a smudge of earth on her cheek” (1). Having dirt on her face did not concern her, and so she did not take time to remove it. In Elisa’s mind, tending her garden allows her to find inner happiness amongst her chrysanthemums.
'Symbolism In John Steinbeck's Chrysanthemums'
542 Words | 3 PagesJohn Steinbeck’s short story, “Chrysanthemums”, was written in 1938. The story tells of a woman’s struggle to find self respect and worth from her male counterpart within a very patriarchal society. Throughout the story symbols are constantly used and Steinbeck specifically chooses symbolism in order to express the inequality of women during that time. The use of chrysanthemums in Steinbeck’s story is to symbolize Elisa and her self worth.
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The Chrysanthemums Literary Analysis Essay
374 Words | 2 PagesThe 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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The Chrysanthemums Setting Analysis
469 Words | 2 PagesThe setting shapes the mood and tone of a story and has a great affect on what happens in a story. The setting influences the events that take place, how the characters interact and even how they behave. Settings show where and how the character lives, what they do, and what they value. Characters have a relationship with the setting just as much as they do with other characters in the story. This is seen in the effects the setting has on the development of the Character Elisa in the story “The Chrysanthemums.”
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Essay On The Chrysanthemums
884 Words | 4 PagesElisa Allen, the protagonist of The Chrysanthemums was miserable, a 35 year old women, and dressed manly when tending to her flowers. ‘Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clod- hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron with four big
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