Chrysanthemums Vs Tale

Everything is everything in the world of short stories. Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums is full of thick rhetoric that raises questions and stirs the mind and imagination. Everything from the title, to the last line needs to be thought about more than once. The story isn't just about a farmer's wife who likes pretty flowers. Not in the least! The Chrysanthemums is a story about how Elisa Allen is forced to a life that she feels is trapping her. The story is set in the early twentieth century and these times don't allow for just any woman to leave her ordinary, socially and politically correct life. Feminism is a large part of the story, and main character Elisa Allen's language, actions, and even the way she is described play a large

Women in history stood best known for a less ascendant sex in the mid-nineteen centuries. Since times have gone by women had fought for their equal rights and freedom. There had been many stereotypes, where the women were considered as a slave to the men’s because the women’s position was to be the homemakers and a mother to their children, while the men’s are out socializing with others. If they were not happy with the marriage, they cannot just walk out or complain because a women role is to endure all these pains without a word coming out of their mouths. Two out of the ordinary short stories, “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “The Story of An Hour,” mostly focused on a women’s dilemma that they faced near the 19th century. The two main characters in the short stories show some resemblances in some ways, but both characters portrayed them in different ways of how they dealt their sorrows in their marriages.

The short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell compare two married women who live under the shadow of their husbands. Both of these stories were written in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries during the time when women were treated unequally. Women had limited rights. For example, they could not vote, voice their opinion or work outside the home. Glaspell and Chopin were considered feminist writers who focus their writing on the struggle of women during the time when the Women’s Suffrage Movement was beginning; these short stories reflect women’s struggles under the control of men. Married women were responsible for taking care of the household, children and wifely duties while the husbands were responsible for consistently managing the title of “the breadwinner.” Married women were expected to be discreet and obedient to their husbands, which meant that the wives could not express their opinions because of society’s expectations of women. In the short stories, “The Story of An Hour”, by Kate Chopin and “The Jury of Her Peers”, by Susan Glaspell, Mrs. Mallard and Mrs. Wright share a prominent similarity concerning the loss of their individual identity during marriage and realize that the death of their husbands allow them to regain their self-identity.-

Seeing these stories ‘Touching Bottom’ and ‘Chrysanthemums’ I see feminism through women’s strength, weakness and overcome from struggles. In the story ‘Touching Bottom’ women’s strength showed that the protagonist is a strong person in physically and mentally. In the story ‘Chrysanthemums’ I see Elisa’s strength, she is very optimistic and satisfactory person. She can live happy within a small circle. However through feminist point of view I found weakness in both stories too. In the story ‘Touching Bottom’ Kari’s weakness is male dominance and lack of self-confidence on herself. As the story ‘Touching Bottom’ in the story ‘Chrysanthemums’ the weakness of the protagonist is male dominance and lack of self-confidence. However through feminist lenses I see whether the protagonist of the story could able to overcome or not. In the story ‘Touching Bottom’ the protagonist Kari was able to overcome from struggles in contract in the story ‘Chrysanthemums’ the protagonist could not overcome from obstacles and she is still in immature state of mind.

In “The Story of an Hour”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “Trifles”, the authors all question the institution of marriage through the emerging theme of the oppression of women. In each of these works, women are shown trapped in confining marriages. While marriage is supposed to be seen as one of the most beautiful and perfect sanctities life has to offer, these authors portray it as more of a bittersweet agony that women are forced to endure. Chopin, Gilman, and Glaspell use a combination of symbolism and perspective in their literature to bring about this theme of female oppression. With this theme, the authors cause the readers to take a more feminist perspective and question the institution of marriage through the eye of the average housewife of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In John Steinbeck's “The Chrysanthemums”, the setting plays a significant role in the mood and themes of the short story. Set in the 1930s — a period of time also known as the Great Depression — in Salinas Valley, California, the tale revolves around the utter loneliness experienced by the protagonist, Elisa Allen, who is closed off from the “rest of the world” not only by the land in which she lives, but also by the stifling and sexist social expectations for women in her time. The story itself begins with a description of the “high gray-flannel” fog that that surrounds the valley “on every side… like a lid”, with the only light being the “pale, cold sunshine” on the other side of the river. In the middle of this desolate terrain, Mrs. Allen is an anomaly — a sharp, eager woman or whose energy even the “chrysanthemum stems [seem] too small and easy”. The oppressive fog, which makes the “great valley [into] a closed pot”, reminds the reader of how trapped Elisa is; thus, the landscape combines with the imposed gender norms and patriarchal views of the twentieth century to create a melancholy, claustrophobic tone that echoes through the story. From the very beginning, Steinbeck emphasizes the smothering essence of Elisa's life, not only due to the expectations and limitations placed on her because of her gender, but also as a parallel to the restrictive nature of the setting.

In Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemum” a story is told of a woman who loves to garden and tend to her beautiful chrysanthemums, a husband who tends to the matters of business on the ranch, and the strange encounter with a tinkerer. Each of these aspects create the story, but there is more depth than what meets the eye. Through Steinbeck’s short story one can recognize many symbols that represent the different gender roles of men and women and the male dominance perceived during the time the story was written. Some of the symbols Steinbeck places in his story to represent this are the setting of Salina Valley, chrysanthemums, Henry’s apple orchard, a wire fence, and scissors.

     The short story “The Chrysanthemums” shows how extraordinarily forward thinking the author, John Steinbeck, was in his understanding of the pressures that women dealt with in his time. Through the exploration and illustration of women’s emotions, Steinbeck gives us a view into the struggle of women in the early 20th century to find a place for themselves in society as well as establishing their own sexuality(Charters, 502).

“The Chrysanthemums” is a short story written by John Steinbeck. The story was originally published in 1937 before later being released as a part of his The Long Valley collection. This is an important story as it expresses women in a way that is more realistic, showing their true boredom, ambition, and capabilities. Some scholars interpreted this story differently, but C. Kenneth Pellow interprets it as “radically feministic.” The Great Depression was finally ending and women’s rights were rising in importance when this work was published. I believe strongly that Steinbeck 's main purpose for this story was to illustrate feminism.

“The Chrysanthemums”, “a brilliant piece of writing, perhaps the best story Steinbeck ever wrote”, as expressed by Jay Parini in his article Lawrence’s and Steinbeck’s “Chrysanthemums”, is one of the most interesting and ambiguous story of this writer. Steinbeck’s little story shows to the reader the reality of women during the nineteenth hundreds and the great depression.

“The Chrysanthemums” is a short story written by John Steinbeck. It was originally published in 1937 before later being released as a part of his The Long Valley collection. This is an important story as it expresses women in a way that is more realistic, showing their true boredom, ambition, and capabilities. The story begins describing Salinas Valley as a whole, covered by a thick layer of fog. The story then zooms in on Elisa, a middle aged woman in men's clothing, working passionately in her garden. Then approaches her husband, after just finishing a business deal, he invites her out to dinner as he compliments her gardening skills.

The Depiction of Women in "The Yellow Wallpaper," by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck

Secondly, anyone can see that the themes in both story’s show how much of a difference the roles for woman have changed. The theme for “The Story of an Hour” shows that Mrs. Mallard just wanted to be independent but could not because of her husband. She whispers, "Free! Body and soul free!" because she thinks her husband is dead and she will get a new life (Steinbeck). The roles for women have change greatly because women are just as free as men are. A man also cannot control his wife and tell her what she can and cannot do because of the rights women have now. Also, the theme in “The Chrysanthemums” shows that the roles for women in society have changed over time. In the short story, one can see that sexual gratification is a major part of

In the short stories Odour of Chrysanthemums and The Rocking Horse Winner, written by D.H. Lawrence, women are represented as the inferior gender, both of who are not content with their lives, due to living in their husband’s shadows and picking up the pieces of their family’s problems. Both mothers are portrayed by Lawrence as not being entirely innocent, however, they do have a lot to deal with, such as the mother’s need for materialistic success in The Rocking Horse Winner and the mother’s need to be both parental roles, due to the lack of the father’s presence in The Odour of Chrysanthemums. Elizabeth Bates, the wife and mother in the short story Odour of Chrysanthemums is first shown as a long-suffering wife who deserves sympathy from the reader, after her husband’s death, it reveals that she is not as blameless for her unhappiness as first thought. Although the story is told in third person, the narration itself focuses itself around Elizabeth’s perspective. The effect of the third person narrative is so we, as the reader, learn the families events through Elizabeth’s eyes, and therefore feel

I decided to reply to the eighth discussion board posting by Destiny Williamson on John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums.” I agree with Destiny’s point that the themes present in this story are passion, determination, and infidelity. Destiny also stated each character had a passion. For example, Elisa’s passion was gardening and caring for her flowers (chrysanthemums). Elisa took great pride in her work of her beautiful chrysanthemums.