Analysis Of Identity Crisis In John Steinbeck's 'The Chrysanthemums'

When her husband Henry had commented about her strong chrysanthemum crop, Elisa is pleased by the manliness the word implies but her husband reminds her of her femininity by offering her an evening on the town to celebrate the big business deal he had done. After this conversation with her husband, she goes back to her masculine role of transplanting the flowers. Loneliness takes a role from the start on how Elisa is lonely just for the simple fact that she 's a woman trapped in a world of men. Steinbeck displays loneliness with "The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side, it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot (704)." While adding the fact that the men do business and Elisa is settled to attend the house it makes a pretty strong sense of solitude. This is soon coming to a change once a man knows as the tinker disrupts her usual solitude. It is when her isolation is broken that the story truly begins to unfold.

Elisa, also a housewife, usually had activities involved in routine housework and maintaining her flower garden, that was filled with chrysanthemums. She took care of the chrysanthemums as if they were her children, and being a farmers’ wife, she had more free time than her husband, Henry. When the tinker, also known as the tin man, came up to Elisa for work he tried to manipulate her into giving him some work to do. When the tinker saw there was no way Elisa would give him work, he tried to work her. “What’s them plants, ma’am?” (Steinbeck, 208). Tinker asked Elisa about the plants probably so he could influence her about chrysanthemums- that way they bond on the subject of the flowers and from there Elisa started to explain the importance of these flowers. Elisa doesn’t realize she’s being played with until near the end when tinker finally leaves she waves goodbye to him but her voice drops as she says the word “Goodbye to goodbye”, finding that the tinker threw Elisa’s chrysanthemums away (Steinbeck, 210). This quote showed the attachment for the chrysanthemums Elisa had, and the minute the tinker threw away those flowers, it broke Elisa’s heart. This makes Elisa thinks about how a man can get what he wants while Elisa

The author utilizes similes to draw parallels between Elisa Allen's emotional state and her physical surroundings, creating a poignant reflection of her constrained existence. For instance, when Elisa first engages with the tinker about her chrysanthemums, Steinbeck describes her excitement as "her eyes shone with a kind of feverish excitement. " This simile not only captures the intensity of Elisa's emotions but also suggests a suppressed enthusiasm longing for release. Furthermore, as Elisa watches the tinker depart, the author compares her "strained face" to "tight-hardened lines." This simile evokes a sense of the enduring strain that defines Elisa's life, encapsulating the confines imposed by societal expectations.

“The Chrysanthemums” is a short story in The Long Valley, a collection of short stories by John Steinbeck. This story dramatizes the efforts made by a housewife, Elisa Allen, to compensate for the disappointments which she has encountered in her life. Steinbeck makes it clear that Elisa yearns for something more in her life then the everyday routines of farm life. While Elisa is portrayed as strong, in the end, her strength serves to be insufficient in having the courage to effect any real change in her life since her fragile self-esteem proves to be too susceptible to outside forces.

The flowers are beautiful and eye catching, but serve no real purpose to the house. Elisa feels a connection to the flowers when she tends to them. She claims to have “planter’s hands” just like her mother. When someone compliments or asks about the chrysanthemums her mood brightens, as if they are acknowledging the work that she puts in and her talents. However, after the tinker leaves and Henry and Elisa are driving down the road, she notices that the tinker had discarded the chrysanthemums she had given him on the side of the road. This symbolizes the society that she lives in discarding her abilities and drive because of her

     John Steinbeck uses symbolism to give alternate meanings to his short story “Chrysanthemums.'; A symbol is a device used to suggest more than its literary meaning. He uses these symbols to look further into the characters and their situations. The character Elisa has a garden, which is more than just a garden, and the chrysanthemums that she tends are more than just flowers. There are actions that she performs in the story, which also have other meanings.

The short story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck shows themes of loneliness, confinement, and limitations. The story takes place in the United States shortly after the Great depression. During this time, thousands of Americans were looking for ways to progress and possibly change the farming lifestyle that many Americans were accustomed to living. John Steinbeck uses imagery to express how the main character Elisa Allen feels constricted to her life on the foothill ranch.

Elisa is especially proud of her chrysanthemums and how big they are this year. Steinbeck exhibited this pride Elisa portrayed as "she straightened her back and pulled on the gardening gloves again. Yes they'll be strong this coming year." Elisa worked hard at her garden and it was important to her. In fact it was the only thing she had to be proud of. For Elisa the chrysanthemums symbolized the work she feels she is capable of as a

John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" shows the true feelings of the main character, Elisa Allen, through the use of setting and her interactions with other characters in the story. By way of vivid descriptions, Elisa's feelings of dissatisfaction over the lack of excitement in her life are portrayed. Her role as a mere housewife and then the subsequent change to feelings of a self-assured woman are clearly seen. These inner feelings are most apparent with the portrayal of Elisa working in the garden with the chrysanthemums, the conversation she has with the man passing through, and finally, when she and her husband are going out to dinner.

It outlines the struggle an individual faces in finding stability between developing a sense of forming a unique identity while still being accepted and “fitting in” with society. Erikson believed that when teenagers adequately navigated their way through this crisis, they would transpire into having a clear understanding of their individual identity and easily share this new ‘self’ with others. However, if an individual is unable to navigate their way through this crisis period, they may be uncertain of who they are which can result in a lack of understanding, leading to disconnection from society and the people around them. If youth become stuck at this stage they will be unable to become emotionally mature adults, according to Erikson’s theory. This period of an individual’s life allows them to investigate possibilities which will lead them to discovering their own identity based upon the result of their explorations.

The chrysanthemums being fenced in from the rest of the ranch symbolizes her feelings of isolation. Elisa craves to live an exciting life like the tinker does but is told that such lifestyle women cannot live. A reader could analyze that Elisa’s chrysanthemums are a replacement for the children she lacks. In Skredsvig analysis she states, “Elisa's planting skills is the possibility that her gardening is a sublimation of her frustration over having no children and a projection of her "natural" role as mother” (Skredsvig). Elisa tends them with love and nurture as the flowers are her pride and joy. Additionally, they represent Elisa’s femininity and sexuality as a woman. For example, Elisa feels resentful of Henry because he does not appreciate her femininity image; however, after having an encounter with the tinker, her hopes are renewed and revived for a brighter future. As she gets ready for a night out with Henry, she admires herself in the mirror appreciating the beautifulness of her sexuality with confidence. After witnessing her flowers wrinkled on the road, Elisa is devastated to see her flowers diminish symbolizing

An impending identity crisis is another contributing factor in Holden 's breakdown. According to Plotnik, "Identity refers to how we describe ourselves and includes our values, goals, traits, interests and motivations" (394). Erik Erikson theorized about identity by way of "eight developmental periods during which an individual 's primary goal is to satisfy desires associated with social needs" (Plotnik 393). These stages span from infancy to old age. During adolescence, Erikson views people in the psychosocial stage of identity vs. role confusion.

Steinbeck introduces Elisa, the main character, as a masculine young woman with a “face lean and strong” (Steinbeck 209) and “her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat...clod-hopper shoes.” (Steinbeck 209) He lets the chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s true beauty. She feels that her husband does not see her as beautiful woman. All he can see is a house wife and a gardener. He shows little interest in the chrysanthemums. When Henry says, “You’ve got

In John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums, the reader is introduced to the seemingly timid and shy Elisa Allen. Elisa is routinely planting her yearly sets of Chrysanthemums, which appear to be the sole receptor of her caring and gentle touch, but all the while it is evident that “the chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy.” Her hidden eagerness seems not only out of place, but out of touch with her dry and wilted surroundings, of which her husband, Henry, abruptly interrupts her steady pace. Inquiring of dinner plans, he is quickly shuttered out, so that Elisa can continue her work in the fenced in flower bed. This seems to be the only place on the ranch that belongs to her, and thus devoting the entirety of her

According to Erikson, the development of the lifespan is a lifelong process from birth to death and includes the formation of identity (Broderick & Blewitt, 2010). I will cover in the paper six life events that influence my identity development from childhood to middle adulthood. Each life event will be explained based on the significance of the event as well as the impact the event had on my development. Also, theories will be discussed as they relate to my development.