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John Steinbeck

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Emily Trahan
Pearce
English 1302
22 April 2014
Research Paper

Literature dates back all the way to 5th century AD overtime Literary works have been develop such as novel, poems, and short stories. Short Stories are described has miniature versions of books or novels, where an author takes a tale and crams it into a ten to twenty page story. John Steinbeck is not only a well-known novelist, but also writes short stories like “The Chrysanthemums” and “Flight”. In Steinbeck’s “The Chrysthemums” Elisa Allen is married to a negligent ranch owner. While her husband works on the ranch, Elisa tends to her chrysanthemum garden daily. One day while tending to her garden, a charming tinker man pulls up to her in his wagon and tries to make a …show more content…

The cattle on the higher slopes were becoming shaggy and rough-coated” (p.3). Creating a descriptive image of what the Allen’s farm is like and even giving off some of the five senses while reading those few sentences. Steinbeck in Flight creates the setting for the Torress’ home, describing how “The little shack, the rattling, rotting barn were gray-bitten with sea salt, beaten by the damp wind until they had taken on the color of the granite hills” (p.1). He gives the reader a live image of the weather, the families’ home, and the nature setting of the story. He uses great detail in creating the setting in each of these stories because it sets the tone and atmosphere for each of them. Steinbeck uses his setting to set the theme and tone in his short stories, making the element crucial in each story. In both Flight and The Chrysanthemums, Pepé and Elisa struggle with their identity and who they are. Pepé is nineteen with a dead father, a mother, and two younger siblings. He wants his right to manhood but his mother wants to keep him under wing. This is where the two have conflict, his mother constantly makes him feel like a child and Pepé just wants to show himself and his family that he is ready to be a man. Steinbeck shows this by writing how “Mama thought him fine and brave, but she never told him so. She said, ‘Some lazy cow must have got into thy father 's family, else

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