Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Essay Example For Students

Chrysanthemums By John Steinbeck Essay John Steinbeck wrote The Chrysanthemums in 1938. Steinbeck, as in many of hisnovels and short stories, depicts the life of poor, hard working people. In TheChrysanthemums, Steinbeck writes about a farmers wife living in California. The couple lives on a farm, as many individuals did in that time. Steinbeckdescribes the physical and mental hardships of families living off the land. Inthe short story, The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is constantly with held from lifebecause she is a woman. On every side it (the valley) sat like a lid on themountains and made of the great valley a closed pot. Under the lid wasSalinas Valley, the home of Henry and Elisa Allen. Henry was a farmer who made afair amount of money from his crops and stock. Elisa was Henrys wife; she hadthe hobby of taking care of her Chrysanthemums and the chore of being Henryswife. In Elisas garden, the Chrysanthemums grew with the work of her handsand the care of her heart. She seems to enjoy her garden immensely, but actuallywas trapped in it. She was trapped, because she felt that the only thing shecould do was tend her garden. Henry tells Elisa that her flowers were very goodlast year and some of the yellow flowers were 10 inches across. Henry toldElisa, I wish youd work out in the orchard and raise some apples thatbig. Elisa said, Maybe I could do it, too. Ive a gift with things, allright. Henry changes the subject and starts talking about his livestock thathe sold. Henry would not let her try her green thumb on the orchard, because ofthis, Elisa started to feel the pain of being a woman One day as Elisa wastending her garden, a wagon was passing on the road. Elisa looked up expectingthe wagon to pass, but it did not. The wagon pulled up the driveway. Painted onthe side of the wagon in sloppy words was, Pots, pans, knifes, sisors, lawnmores, Fixed. A big, hairy man got out of the wagon and offered to fix herscissors for her. Elisa claimed she had nothing to be fixed. In hope of gettingwork, the man complimented her flower garden, and as he had planned, the twostarted talking. They talked about his being on the road. Elisa asked him aboutwhere he sleeps and where he lives. Right in the wagon, maam. Rain orshine Im dry as a cow in th ere. Elisa said, It must be very nice. Iwish a woman could do such things. The man replied, It aint the rightkind of life for a woman. This is one instance where Elisa feels trapped as awoman. Elisa asked, How do you know? How can you tell? Elisa does not getan answer. He quickly changed the subject and started talking about herflowerbed. She told the man that the reason the Chrysanthemums were so big, isthat her mother had planter hands that made plants grow and the hands werepassed on to Elisa. He stated that someone down the road needed someChrysanthemums. She was happy to share her garden; she put a Chrysanthemum bulbinto a pot and handed it to the fix?all man. Elisa gave him specialinstructions for the care of the flowers. After this, Elisa decides to let himwork, on a few aluminum saucepans. Elisa pays the man and he leaves. Now thatthe man was gone; Elisa ran to the house, tore off her soiled clothes, and tooka hot shower. She scrubbed her body, hard and long, with a pumice s tone. Sheneeded to rid herself of the fix-all man. Elisa got out of the shower and lookedat herself in the mirror. She looked at her naked body, sucking in her stomachand pushing out her chest. Elisa then put on her nicest under garments. She alsoput on her newest, favorite dress; the symbol of her prettiness. Soon, Henrycomes in the room and says, Why?why, Elisa you look so nice. Elisareplied, Nice? You think I look nice? What do you mean by nice? Henryreplied, I dont know. I mean you look different, strong, and happy. Thecouple leaves the house to go out to eat. As they were driving down the road,they pass the fix ?all man. She looked back and saw her flower bulbs and sandslying on the road. The man kept the flowerpot. Elisa turned to the window andwept bitterly. Elisa then asked Henry, Henry can we have wine for dinner?Then she implied that she might want to go to the fights. Henry had never seenher act this way. Elisa turned up her coat collar so that Henry would not seeher cryi ng weakly?like an old woman. Elisa was a woman who had many conflicts. .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .postImageUrl , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:hover , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:visited , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:active { border:0!important; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:active , .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u588c593658d07ce5832df7655132fbca:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Physical ed curriculum is important in elementary Essay She was living in her flower garden. Everything that Elisa does not have is putinto her garden. Her husband would not let her do any mans work on thefarm. The fix?all man did not even acknowledge her want of being out on theroad. He said it was a mans job. Elisa was repressed and had no way ofexpressing her feelings, except through the flowers in her garden. She wantedsomething new to make her feel like a woman. She scrubbed herself so deeply inthe shower in hope of cleaning herself anything that was not lady like. Elisahad no where to turn. At the end of The Chrysanthemums, Elisa excepts herself asan old woman. Elisa gave up. She did not care anymore. Elisa will probably beliving her life through the Chrysanthemums, until the day she dies.