“The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck points out the numerous issues that are concentrated on the gender and sexual tensions between the characters: The Tinker, Elisa and Henry Allen. As the story begins, Steinbeck displays the weather as a “time of quiet and waiting” (358). The orchards have been cultivated and the fields have been cut, the only thing missing is the rain. Steinbeck proceeds to state that the, “fog and rain do not go together” just like the male and female characters of the story
Elisa Allen in John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” and Sumita in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s “Clothes” desire to achieve equality in societies that limit them because of their gender. Both stories rely heavily on the use of symbolism and the authors use the most prominent symbol in each story as its title. These stories have similar conflicts, but have different circumstances surrounding the plot which contribute to their dissimilar outcomes. A major contrast between Steinbeck’s story and Divakaruni’s
lesson it teaches. Theme can be created by a combination of different literary elements along with the plot. The short story “the chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck is a good example of how literary elements work together to form a meaningful message and have an effect on the reader. Steinbeck's life helps him use setting, characters, and symbolism to create theme. John Steinbeck was born in 1902 in Salinas, California. This is an important fact, because his story is also set in Salinas in the 1930s
In John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemum’s, the author is able to depict the many dominant and submissive features of men and women during this time period. The reader is immediately placed into a setting where the two genders are socially isolated from one another, setting up for much of the interactions that occur between characters. Through characterization, Steinbeck uses main characters the Tinker, Henry Allen, and more particularly Elisa Allen to illustrate what is was like to be in the shoes
days. Men believed themselves to be smarter than women and women are just caged inside the house as a housewife role. There is a belief that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, never been seen as an individual in the society. The women’s in “The Chrysanthemums’ and “The Yellow Wallpaper’ are victims of a male dominated society, where a woman’s gender was determined by her role and where women is
society and the men around them. At first, women did not disapprove of taking care of the household, however, once they realized that they were not reaching fulfillment in their lives, this is when the fight for equality began. John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums”, illustrates the hardships women faced, most importantly Elisa Allen, when their lives were restricted with certain boundaries placed upon them by society. Men, like Henry Allen and the tinker, restricted women to the norms that
In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” Elisa Allen resides in the valley with her husband Henry Allen. It’s an ordinary mundane day in the Salina’s Valley for the Allen’s when Henry is making a business deal while wife Elisa tends to her garden with ease. Henry approaches Elisa to let her know the business deal has gone well, and they plan to have diner in the city. A While after this she hears a scraggly wagon approaching and she sees a man emerging from the wagon who appears to be a tinker. The