Beauty in the “ Chrysanthemum” and “Allal” Short Story's

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Beauty in the “ Chrysanthemum” and “Allal” In the Chrysanthemum by John Steinbeck the main character Elisa is a women that is being held down in her house and uses the flower to show her true passion. In the story Allal by Paul Bowles, Allal is the main character that is being out casted, therefore uses the snake to show is inner strength. In both the stories both of the character are being treated like non-humans with no right. The snake in Allal and the flower in the Chrysanthemum both symbolize beauty that reflects in the characters. Allal is a man that was being discriminated against, his mother was the main reason for this. She walked out on him as soon she gave birth to him. Allal started working as soon as he could walk and the community around him neglected him, seeing him as an outcast that doesn’t fit into the norms of their society. Allal knows that for a fact, “ I am not like the rest of them here,”(Bowles411). This clearly shows that he knows what the society thinks of him and he just have to coup with it. The first time that Allal laid eyes on the snakes was in the was after he took the old man back to his house. “ One- reddish gold serpent, which coiled itself lazily in the middle of the floor, he found particularly beautiful.”(Bowles411). Allal had a connection with the snake as soon as he saw it come out the basket. From all the snakes that were there he was attracted to the red one. He had the desire to own, as he fell the need to have it and be one with it. Allal found out from the old man that he could control the snakes by not speaking if they were given some “ majoun,”(Bowels411). Allal felt the need to try this, so for the first time the idea of “ actually taking the snake first came into his head,”(Bowles411). Although the old man has to leave early, Allal succeeds of taking the red snake away from him as he felt the need too as soon

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