The Chrysanthemums Questions and Answers
The Chrysanthemums
What is the central idea in Steinbeck's story "The Chrysanthemums"?
In this story, John Steinbeck conveys the idea that suppressing one’s authentic self does not change one’s identity. The protagonist, Elisa, lives a contented, generally satisfied life on a small...
The Chrysanthemums
What is the function of the setting in "The Chrysanthemums"?
The setting of John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" has much to do with the character of Elisa Allen. Much like the Salinas Valley of California where she lives that is compared to "a closed...
The Chrysanthemums
Why did Elisa cry like an old woman in "The Chrysanthemums"?
She cries like an old woman because she is defeated and she is weakened and powerless to go back and change it. She is defeated in the sense that the man from the repair wagon manipulated her and...
The Chrysanthemums
In "The Chrysanthemums," what is Elisa and Henry's marriage like?
Elisa and Henry's marriage is moderately happy but lacks a certain spark. How do we know this? Because Elisa is so susceptible to the flattery of a handsome drifter. Had Henry been perhaps a little...
The Chrysanthemums
In "The Chrysanthemums," how does Steinbeck characterize Elisa?
In John Steinbeck's short story, "The Chrysanthemums," Elisa, the protagonist, is characterized at first as a woman who find pleasure in what she does on her husband's ranch. She especially loves...
The Chrysanthemums
What literary devices are employed in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"?
The opening of the story features richly described imagery described in metaphoric terms, including "grey-flannel fog" and "black earth shining like metal." Steinbeck uses similes to describe...
The Chrysanthemums
What does this wire fence suggest in "The Chrysanthemums?"
At the beginning of the story, the narrator notes how efficient Elisa is at caring for the chrysanthemums; the suggestion is implied that she is capable of much more. This suggestion is fitting...
The Chrysanthemums
Why does the traveling salesman take an interest in Elisa's chrysanthemums?
The tinker who passes by Elisa and Henry Allen's farm is looking to sell Elisa his services. He is a mender of pots and a sharpener of scissors and knives. He is not really interested in Elisa's...
The Chrysanthemums
How do you interpret Elisa’s asking for wine with dinner? How do you account for her new interest in prizefights?
Enotes has an excellent article on the question of Elisa's sexuality, the link to which I provide below. In short, this critic argues that the tinkerer stirs sexual feelings in...
The Chrysanthemums
What are the major conflicts in "The Chrysanthemums"?
The opening description of Elisa strongly suggests that she is an extremely capable woman whose potential is not being fully tapped on the farm where she lives. The house is aggressively...
The Chrysanthemums
What might be a good thesis statement for an essay on the short story "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck,...
John Steinbeck’s famous short story “The Chrysanthemums” might easily provide the basis for a successful short film. The story has a lucid plot, memorable characters, an interesting setting, and...
The Chrysanthemums
In what year is the setting of the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck?
Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums" does not contain any specific reference to the year in which the events of the story take place, but the story's publication took place in 1937, two...
The Chrysanthemums
Identify metaphors and hyperbole in "The Chrysanthemums." John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"
Authors often use literary devices in their narratives as the employment of this figurative language embellishes a story, making the common uncommon, extending the meaning of something beyond its...
The Chrysanthemums
How do Elisa's feelings and actions toward the stranger change over the course of her conversation with him in "The...
Metaphorically linking Elisa with the "closed pot" of the fertile Salinas Valley, Steinbeck has both the land and Elisa existing in "a time of quiet and of waiting." After the stranger, who is "a...
The Chrysanthemums
Is the main character of "The Chrysanthemums" round and dynamic?
No, Elisa Allen is not a round and dynamic character. She is a round character for sure; however, she is not dynamic. She is the same woman at the end of the story as she is at the story's...
The Chrysanthemums
In "The Chrysanthemums," what is Elisa referring to when she sees the "dark speck" on the road when heading to town...
The "dark speck" that Elisa notices at the end of the story as she drives into town with her husband for dinner refers to the dirt that she gave the peddler. This of course triggers off a kind of...
The Chrysanthemums
Why is Elisa considered a complex character?
Elisa is perhaps considered a complex character because she seems sometimes passionate and lively and at other times melancholy and restless. She is passionate and lively when she is working with...
The Chrysanthemums
After the stranger leaves in "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck, what does Elisa do?
The visit that Elisa has had with the stranger has awakened a desire to inject more excitement into her life and her marriage. Her vigorous bathing with a pumice stone is meant to suggest her...
The Chrysanthemums
For what purpose does Steinbeck provide such a detailed account of Elisa's preparations for her evening out in "The...
Steinbeck's purpose in this section of text is to highlight the contrast between Elisa's lack of femininity early in the story and the feminine confidence the farm's visitor elicits. Elisa's face...
The Chrysanthemums
The story indicated that Elisa Allen cried like an old woman. How does an old woman cry and why do they cry like this?
In John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums," Elisa Allen presents as a strong, capable woman. She is proud of the work she does at home and in her garden, and Steinbeck makes it clear that...
The Chrysanthemums
How is "The Chrysanthemums" an example of Naturalism?
As defined by Buzzle.com... "Naturalism in literature was a literary movement that suggested the involvement of environment, heredity and social conditions in shaping the human character." In the...
The Chrysanthemums
What is the use and importance of irony in "The Chrysanthemums"? John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"
Irony, a contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs, serves to increase the impact of the story as well as its tone, the air of mystery that exists in "The Chrysanthemums." In...
The Chrysanthemums
What do the chrysanthemums symbolize in Steinbeck's story "The Chrysanthemums?"
"The Chrysanthemums" can be read in a feminist context as what Peter Lisca calls a "silent rebellion against the passive role required of her as a woman." This is a good starting point to...
The Chrysanthemums
How does the setting in the first two paragraphs of "The Chrysanthemums" foreshadow what happens?
The short story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck tells of a couple living on a cattle ranch on the foothills of the Salinas Valley in California. The woman, Elisa, is thirty-five years old....
The Chrysanthemums
Which incidents complicate the conflict in "The Chrysanthemums"? Which quote reveals the climax?
Elisa, the main character in this story, has an internal conflict. She struggles with her love for aesthetic beauty and desiring her husband to see and recognize it, not only in her flowers, but...
The Chrysanthemums
What excerpt from "The Chrysanthemums" foreshadows that Elisa is feeling trapped?
The crucial moment of foreshadowing in the story occurs when Elisa sees a dark speck on the road and realizes, to her great sadness and disappointment, that the traveling tinker has discarded the...
The Chrysanthemums
Why does the tinker throw away the chrysanthemums? (i.e. What is the significance of that act--for him and for...
When the tinker arrives on the Allen farm, his main objective is to be able to repair something so that he can earn money. After Elisa tells him that she has nothing in need of repair, he does not...
The Chrysanthemums
I'm writing an analytical essay on The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck. Please suggest a possible thesis statement.
Coming up with a thesis statement for John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"—or any piece of literature—is a process in and of itself. A thesis statement is basically a position you are arguing...
The Chrysanthemums
Identify and explain one symbol in "The Chrysanthemums."
Since the original question is "Name ten objects in the chrysanthemums that symbolize something [sic]," here are other symbols that John Steinbeck employs in his short story in addition to the...
The Chrysanthemums
What does Elisa see at the end of "The Chrysanthemums" that makes her sad?
In John Steinbeck’s story, Elisa has greatly enjoyed discussing gardening with the itinerant peddler who has stopped by the farm. Although some part of her understands that she is trying to sell...
The Chrysanthemums
What is the significance of the traveling repair man?
In John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums," the traveling repair man ignites the repressed passion in Elisa as well as her other hidden qualities. When he arrives he finds Elisa unreceptive to him;...
The Chrysanthemums
How does Elisa and Henry's relationship change over the course of The Chrysanthemums?
In her first interaction with her husband, Elisa is a little smug with him. He compliments her work but then, somewhat dismissive, says she ought to put more work into the orchard. He has sold some...
The Chrysanthemums
Please analyze the quote below from "The Chrysanthemums." "Far ahead on the road Elisa saw a dark speck. She...
Let us remember what has happened to Elisa through her meeting with the tinker man. She, through his interest in her and her chrysanthemums, suddenly feels free to imagine a different life where...
The Chrysanthemums
Using Freytag's pyramid, what is the rising action of "The Chrysamthemums"?
According to Freytag's Pyramid, a tool of structural analysis of a literary piece, the rising action is the segment of the story in which the conflicts begin to escalate. In John Steinbeck's "The...
The Chrysanthemums
What is theme and the meaning in the short story, "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck?
The theme is the general idea or message about human nature or life that a story can convey.The meaning stems from how details in a story are used to express the overall theme/general idea of the...
The Chrysanthemums
In John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums," as Elisa, both realistically and symbolically, goes out into the world, has...
In the story, "The Chrysanthemums," by John Steinbeck, Elisa's "sense of power" comes from her ability to make things grow. She takes great pride in this, and this helps her to define who she is...
The Chrysanthemums
In John Steinbeck's Chrysanthemums what is the point of view?
Steinbeck's "Chrysanthemums" is a short story first published in an 1937 issue of Harper's, and later in a collection of stories in The Long Valley, published in 1938. It is believed by some to be...
The Chrysanthemums
How does John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" begin?
The story begins with a descriptive narrative about the Salinas Valley, in which the story is set. After a couple of paragraphs about the geographical setting, Steinbeck hones in on Henry Allen's...
The Chrysanthemums
Describe the main symbols and how do their meanings change in "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck?"
In John Steinbeck's "The Chrsanthemums," chief among the symbols are the chrsanthemums, of course, pots, the fence, and the tinker man, but there are others, as well. In the exposition,...
The Chrysanthemums
What is the tone in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"?
The narrative focuses on Elisa Allen, and she is a woman who seems to feel that she is marginalized by the male forces that surround her. She is clearly energetic, strong, and capable, but her...
The Chrysanthemums
Elisa lives in the Salinas Valley. Why did this make her more willing to talk to the man traveling in the caravan?
Many of John Steinbeck's short stories and novellas take place in the Salinas Valley, like "The Chrysanthemums" and Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck grew up in the Salinas Valley, and he knew the area...
The Chrysanthemums
How is the symbol of loneliness represented in "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck?
The symbol of loneliness is the clump of chrysanthemums Elisa carefully pots for the tinker to take with him. When she later sees them lying in the road, unceremoniously dumped with the pot...
The Chrysanthemums
What motivates the stranger to ask Elisa about her chrysanthemums?
The stranger is a tinker: someone who travels from place to place, mending metal objects such as pots and pans. As part of his job, he effectively has to sell his skills to the people he meets on...
The Chrysanthemums
What is the significance of the landscape, the weather, the fog, and the fence in "The Chrysanthemums"?
Elisa's sense of self-worth is tied to the land. She's connected to the season, the climate, and the terrain in which she lives. The author sets the mood of the story with the winter fog, which...
The Chrysanthemums
In "The Chrysanthemums," how are Elisa and the chrysanthemums similar?
The connection between Elisa and her treasured chrysanthemums is illustrated in John Steinbeck's short story "The Chrysanthemums." The opening of the story shows the relationship Elisa has with her...
The Chrysanthemums
Does the theme of the American Dream appear in the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck?
The quest for the American Dream is portrayed through two different characters in "The Chrysanthemums." The typical American Dream is at least partially dependent on earning an income capable of...
The Chrysanthemums
"The Chrysanthemums" how does Elsa act differently with her husband and the stranger?
Elisa Allen and her husband have a certain barrier between them in their relationship that prevents intimacy and stimulation, whereas with the stranger, Elisa seems to subtly seek an intimacy and...
The Chrysanthemums
Who is the antagonist in Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"?
A superb story, John Steinbeck's "Chrysanthemums" has been one about which critics are divided over whether the main character, Elisa Allen, is sympathetic or unsympathetic, powerful or powerless....
The Chrysanthemums
By what means do you learn about the main character? Please support with quotations. "The Chrysanthemums"...
Having written of his story, It is entirely different and designed to strike without the reader's knowledge it is only through minimal indirect characterization that the reader learns of Elisa in...
The Chrysanthemums
In a complete sentence try to state the story's theme? Why are Elisa's chrysanthemums so important to this story?
Elisa's chrysanthemums are the only things that give her life meaning, but when the unscrupulous traveling tinker throws them away on the road it is as if he is negating her reason for living. The...
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