The Chrysanthemums Characters

Characters

Elisa Allen
Elisa Allen is the story's protagonist, a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives on a ranch in the Salinas Valley with...

(The entire section is 465 words.)

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Next:Critical Essays Previous:Themes

What is the use and importance of irony in "The Chrysanthemums"?John Steinbeck's "The...

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...
What would Elisa ("The Chrysanthemums") and Missie May ("The Gilded Six-Bits") talk about if they...

In order to imagine what these two women would find to talk about, it is important to understand how they are similar and how they are different. Both Eliza and Missy May have good husbands. Both...
In "The Chrysanthemums," what is Elisa and Henry's marriage like?

Elisa and Henry have a solid relationship. They are both hardworking and "strong" people. Their relationship, while not really discussed, seems a little stiff. They decide to go out...
What are the major conflicts in "The Chrysanthemums"?

The most important conflict in the story is the limitation of Elisa's life as a woman isolated on a small farm in the Salinas Valley in the years after the Depression. Confined by gender roles to...
What literary devices are employed in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"?

Steinbeck uses in vivid imagery, which sets up the contrast between Eliza's "light" and the "grey" that consumes her world. The land parallels Eliza's isolation, both...