The Chrysanthemums Questions on Gender Roles
The Chrysanthemums
Major conflicts and climax revelation in "The Chrysanthemums"
The major conflicts in "The Chrysanthemums" are Elisa's internal struggle with her unfulfilled desires and her external conflict with societal gender roles. The climax reveals her deep sense of loss...
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...
The Chrysanthemums
Irony and Symbolism in John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums"
In John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums," irony and symbolism are pivotal. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa's strength, beauty, and unfulfilled desires, paralleling her constrained life. Irony...
The Chrysanthemums
Why is Elisa from "The Chrysanthemums" 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
Why does Elisa end John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" "crying weakly"? Has she found resolution?
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
Why does Elisa resist being labelled as "strong" in "The Chrysanthemums"?
I would say there are a couple of reasons Elisa rejects this description. For one, even though she projects a no-nonsense image, she actually longs for a soft place to rest, mentally, that...
The Chrysanthemums
The pivotal realization or profound moment in "The Chrysanthemums"
The pivotal realization in "The Chrysanthemums" occurs when Elisa recognizes her unfulfilled desires and the limitations placed on her by society. After a brief encounter with a tinker, she feels a...