John 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.
In the story “Marigolds” by Eugenia Collier there is a lot of imagery and diction. The imagery was mainly focused on how the town looks and the contrast between the town and Miss Lottie’s house. In the text is states how that the only beautiful part of the house is the marigolds, “Miss Lottie's marigolds were perhaps the strangest part of the picture. Certainly they did not fit in with the crumbling decay of the rest of her yard”(Collier 23). This quote is trying to say that her house was a very old house that no one really cared for but, the marigolds were always taken care of and that was the only beauty in the whole yard. This quote is also using juxtaposition to show that the marigolds and the house do not go together and they contrast
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the female narrator is greatly troubled by the suppression of her imagination by her husband and her ultimate isolation due to this subordination. These feelings are reflected through the author’s use of setting as the narrator’s dreary and malicious descriptions of the house and the wallpaper mirrors her emotional position.
In the short story “The Flowers”, Alice Walker sufficiently prepares the reader for the texts surprise ending while also displaying the gradual loss of Myop’s innocence. The author uses literary devices like imagery, setting, and diction to convey her overall theme of coming of age because of the awareness of society's behavior.
Chrysanthemums are beautiful, delicate flowers, which often symbolize happiness. In the short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck walks the readers through the lives of Elisa and Henry Allen. They live on a foothill ranch in Salinas Valley, California, where they spend most of their days living a simple lifestyle. The Allens focus their time on maintaining their ranch, but in the eyes of Elisa, this meant more time for her to tend to her beloved chrysanthemums. Steinbeck incorporates quizzical diction and repetition to characterize Elisa and to define happiness, to convey the message that it is more important to be happy than to try to please everybody else.
There are many different forms of literature out in the world. They come in forms of novels, short stories, articles, and poems. They help people by allowing them to be informed about certain topics and they even make people forget about their daily lives while they enter a totally different world. If literature never existed nobody would obtain new information, they wouldn’t escape reality, famous authors wouldn’t be famous, and publishers wouldn’t be publishing any great works of art. What makes literature, literature, is its wide use of imagery and symbolism. Without it, people wouldn’t be looking for the deeper meaning of a certain phrase and they wouldn’t be imagining what the character is going through. Besides, the authors work would
In John Steinbacks “The Chrysanthemums,” the shift of the setting from the ranch to the road plays an important role in the development of the main character, Elisa. Therefore, in the first setting, Elisa is in her garden attending to her the chrysanthemums, which she loves and cares for. Immediately, we’re placed in a rural setting, where women happen to live in isolation and man is manly. Elisa sneaks quick glances towards the men by the tractor shed, who is talking to her husband, waiting for them to leave, so she can throw aside her gloves and work her fingers into the soil of the garden. However, Elisa shows her fearless side by quickly digging in the garden, with her eagerness to grow her chrysanthemums, right after the men leave. Consequently,
The novel starts with a rich depiction of the setting. Steinbeck utilizes graphic dialect to show that the area is a place of rest. The particular colors, foliage, and creatures that are specified make a relief, notwithstanding for those young men and men from the farms who beat a way to the water. For instance, Steinbeck utilizes the imagery to propose that this place is a position of solace and that the Salinas River is a
In “Marigolds” the author uses diction, symbolism and point of view, to develop the theme that people can create beauty even in the poorest of situations. Through diction, Collier is able to show the reader the contrast between the beauty of the marigolds compared to the run-down town the story is set in. Through her use of symbolism the author shows how much the marigolds mean to Miss Lottie. Through her use of point of view readers have a clear view of the look and atmosphere of the old town and the how the marigolds were the only beautiful thing
Alice Walker uses imagery and diction throughout her short story to tell the reader the meaning of “The Flowers”. The meaning of innocence lost and people growing up being changed by the harshness of reality. The author is able to use the imagery to show the difference between innocence and the loss of it. The setting is also used to show this as well.
Symbolism can be defined as the use of symbols that an author uses to suggest more than the literal meaning of the object .Symbolism often allows the reader to understand the text better and connect with the story on a different level. In The Handmaid’s Tale, symbolism can be seen in various parts of the novel. One of the most common type of symbolism that can be identified in the text is through the use of colours. One of the most obvious symbols in the novel is the uniform that every Handmaid is supposed to wear. The whole dress is red except the top part of the dress. Talking about their dress, Offred says that is designed in such
The 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.”
In Yellow Wallpaper,The Chrysanthemums and Boys and Girls women/girls role in society is often limited.In yellow wallpaper John’s wife is suffering from postpartum depression.John does not let her do anything even write in her diary or read.In chrysanthemums Elisa is the best at what she does which is planting chrysanthemums.A guy came to Elisa in a wagon and told her i travel and fix pots for a living.She gave him a pot with the flower in it.She thinks that the flower is her children traveling because she does not have the chance to travel like the guy in the wagon.In boys and girls the narrator is a girl.She lives in a farm with her parent and younger brother Laird.They killed and skinned foxes.They get two horses to feed the foxes.Mack
Women's roles have changed throughout time. Both The Chrysanthemums, written by John Steinback, and The Story of an Hour, by Kate Choppin, are stories that use both direct and indirect characterization on women and their roles in their time. Throughout The Chrysanthemums, there are examples of our protagonist Elisa Allen struggling as a woman in the 1930s Great Depression society. In The Story of an Hour, it focuses on the fact that the protagonist, Mrs. Louise Mallard, feels oppressed and stripped of her freedom as a person. In addition, these two women grew from their pain, but were still seeking for more.
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.