Self-Identity Through Symbolism in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"

The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck illustrates through subtle symbolism a muliebritys struggle for sexual identity. Elisa Allen, the protagonist of the story, cultivates a homogeneousness of herself through her chrysanthemum garden, but fragments of her are also depicted by key objects encountered during the story. Elisa tries hard to project a tough, potent image of herself rather than the fair(prenominal) alternative, but the effort results in nothing but a façade. The Chrysanthemums takes place in Salinas Valley, California, a site of isolation t assume builds an atmosphere of hopelessness. The winter fog sits wish a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot, (Steinbeck 359) which effectively foreshadows what a dead strike down Elisas life will reveal itself to be. Elisa Allen is a fair sex adequate of doing many things but has no outlet to typeface her skills receivable to the social implications imposed on her by the males of society. S he is physically set forth as universe thirty-five...her face was angle of inclination and strong and her eye were as clear as water...her figure of speech looked blocked and weighed down(p) in her gardening costume, a mans black hat pulled blue over her eyes (Steinbeck 360).

Elisa can be seen as unhappy with her female role, and her unhappiness as a woman has led her to try to take on both more than masculine activities and to put more fervor into the feminine tasks she already does--when she is pruning the chrysanthemum stalks, her face was eager and mature and crowing; up to now her work with the scissor s was over-eager, over-powerful (Steinbeck 3! 60), and her home is draw as being a hard-swept looking little house, with hard-polished windows (Steinbeck 360). manpower are chiefly described as being handsome, and the adjectives apply to describe Elisas activities strike the personality of someone who is either incredibly... If you deprivation to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

If you want to get a full essay, visit our page: write my paper