Discussing the Chrysanthemums Essay

Thesis: “The Chrysanthemums” points out the flaws society has concerning gender inequality, specifically the oppression and underestimating of women. This is clear in the characterization of Elisa, Henry, and the Tinker, the symbolism of the chrysanthemums, and the motif of clothing.

The novel The Sign Of The Chrysanthemum takes place in Japan during the 12th century. This novel is about a boy named Muna, meaning “no name”, that has moved from a rural part of Japan to the city, Kyoto. He was told that his father had a Chrysanthemum tattooed on his arm. Muna sets out to find his father after only knowing this little information about him. Muna was also told that his father was a Heike warrior, which brings up this conflict between two feuding clans. During this time period in Japan there was a conflict between the Heike and the Genji clans. The reason behind their fighting is because of the conflict over political power of Japan. Muna embarks on his journey

“The Chrysanthemums” is one of John Steinbeck’s popular short stories. “The Chrysanthemums” represents inequality of gender, limitations, and feminism. The story is about a married woman living in the early 1900s who longs for a more exciting, meaningful existence. Elisa Allen is intelligent, accomplished, attractive, and ambitious. Yet she feels confined in her life and marriage.

John Steinbeck's short story, The Chrysanthemums, and Kate Chopin’s , The Story of an Hour, both exhibit a main theme of female isolationism due to being treated as a possession in marriage, as well as the forbidden desires in life that were seized from both female protagonists.

The Chrysanthemums story is in a way similar to the Story of an Hour. In both stories, we find gender inequality. In these stories, both women feel limited and restricted because of their gender. Also, they are married, but they are not happy with their husbands. The women in both stories felt that the lack of agency keeps them submissive to their husband. This story shows how feminism has been a topic that concerns women since the earliest years.

In the short story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck a woman named Elisa lives in a male dominate time and seems to be dissatisfied with her life. Elisa and her husband live in the Salinas valley located in California. Elisa spends most of her time working in her chrysanthemums garden. Her husband just struck a good deal and sold a portion of his cattle and wants to take his wife out on a date. As the day goes a man comes to Elisa house asking for directions but he actually had a completely different motive. He was in desperate need of work and didn’t know where his next meal would come from. After there somewhat brief conversation she gives him something to work on and he goes on his way. Her thoughts are not reviled and the short story truly lacks in showing her emotions and discontentment. The story shows how a feminist woman can feel very out of place when it comes to her life and her job.

Most women have a sense of freedom and independence from their male counterparts, but they will not reach out away from their sheltered lives with a male to a new challenge or a new life. Women whom breakout of the their molds made by their significant other take a chance with life and try to become the independent woman others dream about at night. On the Allen’s farm, chrysanthemums flourish, but does Elisa Allen flourish with them? With tender care, the flowers grow heartily and healthily, though the one who tends them is not so satisfied with her rooting in life. In “Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck portrays Elisa Allen as a stereotypical female, yearning to bloom like the flowers she harvests.

“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.

In The Chrysanthemums, John Steinbeck uses the chrysanthemums Elisa grows as a symbol to represent her sexuality. Chrysanthemums, in particular, have myriad assortments, coming in a wide spectrum of colors and sizes. However, almost all are distinctly known for their drastic difference in appearance after blooming; they change from a tightly-packed cluster of florets to an expansive bundle of vibrant petals. This mirrors Elisa’s sexuality in that she keeps it close and unexposed, but once she chooses to let it free, it is expressive and personifying. Elisa chooses to grow “giant [white] and [yellow]” (Steinbeck 318) chrysanthemums that look like “a quick puff of colored smoke” (Steinbeck 318). The first aspect

“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.

According to your agency’s website you’re actively seeking a wide range of fiction, so I would like to present my novel, A Flower for You, for representation.

Freedom is the ability to speak, act, think, and do what you want without any restrictions from anyone or anything. The stories “The Story of an Hour” and “The Chrysanthemums” have a theme of freedom that is expressed through the use of the main characters Elise and Mrs. Miller (Louise). The two characters are woman who wish for freedom. Though they are women with husbands that love them and beautiful homes they are restricted by their marriage, gender, and the social norm of their time period. These two women do not just want any type of freedom, they want freedom of independence. To do as they wish, act as they wish, speak as they wish.

The claim that "Odour of Chrysanthemums" is a well-crafted story is hardly brave or risky, for many would agree. For instance, the man who in a sense discovered Lawrence, English Review editor F. M. Ford, said this about "Odour of Chrysanthemums":

Today, sex is a much talked about subject, and roughly half of high school students participate in the act. Although in modern society the value of ‘saving one’s self for marriage’ is dated and carried out by few, in ‘The Chrysanthemums’ by John Steinbeck, this ideal is presented frequently. The story begins with an awkward conversation between Elisa and her husband. When her husband leaves, a tinker driving up to Elisas’ estate while she is working away on her chrysanthemum garden. In an attempt to fix any of her pots and pans containing holes, the man approaches Elisa. She is first annoyed with him, for she keeps refusing his services, but her annoyance melts away and is replaced with charm when he asks about her chrysanthemums. The tinker

I have currently been building a life in the deep parts of the tropical rainforest. Things here are very different from home. They don’t have regular seasons here like places normally do. Spring, summer, fall, and winter are non-existent; instead, they have wet seasons and dry seasons. Both wet and dry last 6 months each. The wet season lasts from December-May, and gets 6-12 feet of rain during this period! The dry season lasts from June-August, and gets about 6 inches of rain.