Steinbeck’s central idea suggests
women can be confined by, and conditioned to follow, society’s adherence to stereotypical gender roles
. Steinbeck uses the round characterization of Elisa to further his central idea.
What is the main idea of the Chrysanthemum?
The central idea in Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” concerns
a woman’s loneliness and unfulfilling life in her marriage, which she sublimates by gardening and tries to satisfy through her fantasies with the tinker man
, only to be brought back to the reality of her loneliness when she discovers that the tinker man had …
What is the meaning of the chrysanthemums as the Central?
The chrysanthemums symbolize
both Elisa and the limited scope of her life
. Like Elisa, the chrysanthemums are lovely, strong, and thriving. Their flowerbed, like Elisa’s house, is tidy and scrupulously ordered.
Why did Steinbeck write chrysanthemums?
Steinbeck wrote “The Chrysanthemums” in 1934, as
the United States was just beginning to recover from the Great Depression
. The Depression began with the collapse of the New York Stock Market in October 1929, and eventually affected employment and productivity around the world.
What is the lesson learned in chrysanthemum?
Early elementary students experience a tactile and visual lesson about how unkind words can “wrinkle” your heart. The lesson
develops emotional intelligence
by making the connection between words, actions and feelings.
What point of view is The Chrysanthemums?
“The Chrysanthemums” is told in
the third person
, but the narration is presented almost entirely from Elisa’s point of view. After the first few paragraphs that set the scene, Steinbeck shrugs off omniscience and refuses to stray from Elisa’s head.
Why did the chrysanthemums symbolize in this story?
First, the chrysanthemums symbolize
Elisa’s children
. … Elisa’s pride in her ability to grow such beautiful flowers reinforces the fact that the flowers are a replacement for her children. In the second part of the story, the chrysanthemums come to symbolize Elisa’s femininity and sexuality.
What does the wire fence in the chrysanthemums represent?
In “The Chrysanthemums,” the wire fence symbolizes
Elisa’s separation from the world
. The fence serves both to protect and imprison her….
Why is Elisa attracted to the Tinker?
She is attracted to the tinker because,
as Stanley Renner points out, he represents a world of adventure and freedom that only men enjoy
(306). … Elisa realizes her hopes for equality are nothing but a dream because she has been betrayed by her basic nature and by men.
What is the context of the chrysanthemums?
Steinbeck wrote “The Chrysanthemums” in 1934, as
the United States was just beginning to recover from the Great Depression
. The Depression began with the collapse of the New York Stock Market in October 1929, and eventually affected employment and productivity around the world. Banks collapsed and businesses folded.
Why does Elisa claim she is so good with plants?
She
knows a great deal about plants
, most likely because as a woman, gardening is the only thing she has to think about. … Her brief flashes of brilliance in the tinker’s presence show us how much she is always thinking and feeling and how rarely she gets to express herself.
What is the teacher’s name in Chrysanthemum?
This bullying at school continues until one day the other kids in her class are introduced to the charismatic and lovable music teacher
Mrs. Twinkle
. She expresses a different opinion about the name which results in a change of heart from Chrysanthemum’s classmates.
What type of story is the chrysanthemums?
| Author John Steinbeck | Genre Fiction | Published 1937 | Publisher Harper’s Magazine | Media type Print |
|---|
Who is named Chrysanthemum?
Summary. The plot deals with a
young mouse
named Chrysanthemum, who loves her long, beautiful name until a girl named Victoria and her friends, Rita and Jo, tease her about it.
What is the again and again in Chrysanthemum?
How is this Again and Again? This is considered Again and Again because
Chrysanthemum repeatedly says how much she loves her name, over and over again
.
Who is the antagonist in the chrysanthemums?
Henry Allen
Henry, though hapless, bumbling, and well-intentioned, represents the social strictures that keep Elisa contained. He’s the husband, the provider, and presumably expects Elisa to keep house and garden without complaint.
What time period is the chrysanthemums set in?
Time era/Setting
The short story “The Chrysanthemums,” was set in the era of
1920s-1930s
. This can be seen when the author says ” The strangers were getting into their Ford Coupe.” (“The Chrysanthemums,” Steinbeck, page 106, paragraph 8, line 1-2.)
Who is the protagonist in the chrysanthemums?
Elisa Allen
The protagonist. A robust thirty-five-year-old woman, Elisa lives with her husband, Henry, on a ranch in the Salinas Valley.
Where is John Steinbeck’s short story The Chrysanthemums set?
The story takes place in
the Salinas Valley in December at Henry Allen’s ranch in the foothills
. Immediately, we’re placed in a rural setting, where women are isolated and men are manly.
Is the chrysanthemums an allegory?
“The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck, is an
allegory of an intelligent married woman, whose marriage is functional but passionless
. … The chrysanthemums are acknowledged throughout the story as a symbol of Elisa’s life and happiness. In the story, the chrysanthemums functions as Elisa’s children.
What happens at the end of chrysanthemums that makes Elisa sad?
While they are driving down the road,
she sees her gift of chrysanthemums lying in the road
. She does not say anything to her husband, who drives on past the “dark speck.” The experience saddens her, because she knows the peddler did not appreciate what she valued.
How is Elisa a complex character?
Elisa is perhaps considered a complex character because
she seems sometimes passionate and lively and at other times melancholy and restless
. She is passionate and lively when she is working with her hands, planting and caring for the chrysanthemums, but she seems melancholy and restless because she does not have…
What are planting hands does the Tinker understand her explanation of them explain your answer?
Does the tinker understand her explanation of them? It means
you’re able to put your hands in the ground & create. He doesn’t understand exactly how important they are to her
.
What is the conflict in the chrysanthemums?
The prominent conflict in this story is
man vs self
. Elisa deals with an internal conflict where she is not entirely satisfied with her life. She is not thoroughly happy with the way she feels or is being treated in her marriage.
Is Elisa happy with her life?
Elisa is clearly
unhappy
with her life but will not confront this unhappiness. She hides her emotions from her husband.
Why does Elisa cry like an old woman in the chrysanthemums?
Elisa “cries like an old woman”
because she is absolutely crushed because she realizes that she has been duped by the tinker and that he was not interested in her chrysanthemums at all
. He had only pretended to be interested in Elisa talking about them in order to get some business from her (some pots to mend).
What does the Tinker repair?
The Oxford Dictionaries says that to tinker is to “
attempt to repair or improve something in a casual or desultory (unfocused) way
.” The Free Dictionary says that a tinkerer is “one who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts.”
How would you describe Henry and Elisa’s marriage?
Elisa and Henry have
a functional but passionless marriage
and seem to treat each other more as siblings or friends than spouses. Elisa is a robust woman associated with fertility and sexuality but has no children, hinting at the nonsexual nature of her relationship with Henry.
What characterization does Steinbeck use to describe Elisa?
In “The Chrysanthemums,” Steinbeck uses
both direct and indirect characterization
to describe Elisa.
What is Henry’s view of Elisa?
In many ways, Henry’s character serves as a personification of the American patriarchy—
he believes very little in Elisa and expects even less
. Ironically, despite being her husband, Henry knows little about Elisa, including who she is and what she is capable of.
What does Eliza do after the stranger leaves?
After the stranger leaves, Elisa
feels energized
. She feels profoundly alive and attractive. So to make herself appear on the outside the way that she feels on the inside, she applies her normal house cleaning zeal toward herself. She bathes and shaves and scrubs herself clean.
Who carved the butter dash?
Hopping up, she approaches the butter churn in the corner and asks Mama if she can have its top, which had been carved by
Uncle Buddy
. Dee wants the dasher too, a device with blades used to make butter.
How does the old man know immediately the size of the great marlin he has caught?
How does the old man know immediately the size of the great marlin he has caught? …
Santiago has encountered this fish before as a younger man
. He pulls and pulls on the line and nothing happens. He doesn’t know the size of the fish until after the sharks have attacked it.
How does Chrysanthemum feel about her name?
(Mouse Books)
Chrysanthemum thinks
her name is absolutely perfect
—until her first day of school. … Chrysanthemum thinks her name is absolutely perfect—until her first day of school. “You’re named after a flower!”
What happened in the middle of the story Chrysanthemum?
The one in the middle talks about how Chrysanthemum loves to see her name written on envelopes, birthday cakes…even when written in her own writing.
She “thought her name was absolutely perfect. And then she started school
.” That’s when the teasing began and she began to question the name she had loved for so long.
Is Chrysanthemum a mouse?
Chrysanthemum is a story about
a young mouse named Chrysanthemum
who loves her long beautiful name until a girl named Victoria and her friends, tease her about it.
Is Chrysanthemum a girl name?
The name Chrysanthemum is
a girl’s name meaning “gold flower”
. One of the rarest of the flower names, that of the blossom celebrated in Japan as a symbol of the sun and a possible object of meditation.
Why did Chrysanthemum’s parents give her that name?
Her parents named her Chrysanthemum. …
Chrysanthemum loved the way her name looked when it was written with ink on an envelope
. She loved the way it looked when it was written with icing on her birthday cake. And she loved the way it looked when she wrote it herself with her fat orange crayon.
