“the Chrysanthemums Is a Story About a Character in Conflict.” Describe the Conflict Within the Character of Elisa Allen and the Way It Is Affeted by Her Encounter with the Stranger.

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“The Chrysanthemums is a story about a character in conflict.” Describe the conflict within the character of Elisa Allen and the way it is affeted by her encounter with the stranger. The Chrysanthemums is a story about a character in conflict- it is the story of Elisa Allen being restricted by the society’s expectations but encountering a stranger who enables her to drop her facade as a ‘strong’ woman and exhibit her hidden innate softer side. Elisa is a middle-aged country woman who has been inhabiting and working in the foggy Salinas Valley, in a distant and isolated ranch. Not only is the quiet farm in the gloomy valley confined from the rest of the world but dwelling in this small valley also confined Elisa from exposing her true character. Author John Steinbeck has used techniques of imagery of her surroundings, symbolism, and themes, to illustrate and inform readers the development and progress of the conflict inside Elisa. The chrysanthemums is a powerful symbol in the story as it is depicted as her most valuable possession and it also represents only the inner workings of her character. Elisa Allen is described as ‘strong’ by her husband, Henry, because this strength is the façade that Elisa puts on in front of her husband. In The Chrysanthemums, a stranger entered her life- her ranch in the Salinas Valley- and affected her character by showering her with sweet words and creating the rising sensation of her want to be treated like a woman- to be called ‘beautiful’ and not ‘strong’. After some manipulation on the pot-mender’s part, she gradually drops her façade as a tough farmer’s wife and instead opens up to him. ‘Her face was tight with eagerness’ as she explains to the stranger the process of planting chrysanthemums. Author John Steinbeck has made an unmistakably distinctive relevance towards Elisa Allen and her beloved chrysanthemums. This

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