Chrysanthemums Essay

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At first glance John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums' seems to be a story of a woman whose niche is in the garden. She seems to be oppressed by a male-driven society. It is a story about a marriage which has its limitations. Elisa seems to be a lonely woman who finds more joy and fulfillment in gardening than she does in her marital life. The flowers have been used to symbolize Elisa's soft and delicate character. Upon deeper inspection, the story reveals strong symbolisms of children, vulnerability, and connection--being the most important, of the main character. Elisa Allen is the protagonist who is at her strongest and most proud in the garden and weakened when she becomes vulnerable and loses her connection to the outer world. Elisa shows a new aura of confidence when she makes this connection to a tinker, who also is the cause of her realization of reality and her crying. The author compares Elisa’s character with the Chrysanthemums who both have a strong and rough exterior but deep inside have a compelling sense of beauty. The Chrysanthemums represent her repressed feelings and desires. John Steinbeck mentions Elisa's face as "lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water". By this sentence, he wishes to describe the hardworking nature of Elisa as well as the softness and kindness of her soul. She tries to define her role as a woman through gardening and attempts to show off her power in a male-dominated society. While she works in the garden, the author uses a number of different words to symbolize her barriers in life. Steinbeck says, "...and he leaned over the wire fence that protected her flower garden from cattle and dogs and chickens." What he’s trying to say is that she is fenced from the harsh world filled with filth and hardships. Elisa's inner frustration can be judged from her dressing. Although she is doing a feminist work of gardening, she

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