What are the main settings in the chrysanthemums?
The story takes place in the Salinas Valley in December at Henry Allen’s ranch in the foothills. Immediately, we’re placed in a rural setting, where women are isolated and men are manly. One thing we might note here is the contrast between Elisa’s closed-off Salinas Valley and the world of the tinker.
What kind of feeling do you get from the opening description of the chrysanthemums?
Answer Expert Verified. The detail from the beginning of “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck foreshadows Elisa’s feelings of being trapped in the description of the setting.
What does Elisa see at the end of the chrysanthemums that makes her sad?
Elisa feels that it would’ve been less hurtful if he would’ve discarded them in the ditch or somewhere off the road, but because he kept the pot they were in, he dumped the pieces of her/her flowers directly on the road. Seeing her flowers (herself) tossed aside on the road is what makes her sad.
What kind of person is Elisa in the chrysanthemums?
Elisa Allen The protagonist. A robust thirty-five-year-old woman, Elisa lives with her husband, Henry, on a ranch in the Salinas Valley. Even though Elisa is associated with fertility and sexuality, the couple has no children. She is a hard worker, her house sparkles, and her flowers grow tremendous blooms.
What is the moral of the chrysanthemums?
“The Chrysanthemums” is an understated but pointed critique of a society that has no place for intelligent women. Steinbeck uses Henry and the tinker as stand-ins for the paternalism of patriarchal societies in general: just as they ignore women’s potential, so too does society.
What is the purpose of the chrysanthemums?
Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums as symbols of the inner-self of Elisa and of every woman. First, the chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s children. She tends her garden and handles the chrysanthemums with love and care, just as she would handle her own children.
Why is Elisa attracted to the Tinker?
She is attracted to the tinker because, as Stanley Renner points out, he represents a world of adventure and freedom that only men enjoy (306). Elisa realizes her hopes for equality are nothing but a dream because she has been betrayed by her basic nature and by men.
Why does Elisa cry at the end of the chrysanthemums?
Elisa “cries like an old woman” because she is absolutely crushed because she realizes that she has been duped by the tinker and that he was not interested in her chrysanthemums at all. He had only pretended to be interested in Elisa talking about them in order to get some business from her (some pots to mend).
What happens at the end of the chrysanthemums What does the stranger do that?
At the end of “The Chrysanthemums,” what does the stranger do that makes Elisa sad? A. He tells Henry about her rude behavior. He throws her chrysanthemum sprouts onto the road.
What does Elisa see as she and her husband drive into town at the end of the chrysanthemums?
Elisa loses her composure for a moment and then agrees with him. As they drive along the road toward Salinas, Elisa sees a dark spot up ahead and can’t stop herself from looking at it, sure that it’s a pile of discarded chrysanthemum shoots that the tinker has thrown away.
What is Elisa’s reaction to the stranger’s leaving?
After the stranger leaves, Elisa feels energized. She feels profoundly alive and attractive. So to make herself appear on the outside the way that she feels on the inside, she applies her normal house cleaning zeal toward herself. She bathes and shaves and scrubs herself clean.
What is the stranger’s motivation for pretending to be interested in Elisa’s chrysanthemums?
What is the stranger’s motivation for pretending to be interested in Elisa’s chrysanthemums? A He wants Elisa to give him work so he can earn some money.
Why is Elisa considered a complex character?
In the short story of “The Chrysanthemums”, the writer John Steinbeck characterizes Elisa as a complex character who remains the main protagonist of the story. Her diverse emotions, interactions with the other characters, her reactions to the conditions of the other people around her.
How do Elisa’s feelings and actions toward the stranger change over the course of her conversation with him?
How do elisa’s feelings and actions toward the stranger change over the course of her conversation with him? a. she is angry at him, but then her feelings give way to fear and uncertainty. she resists him at first but then warms up and begins to feel a connection with him.
What does Elisa invitation to the stranger?
What does Elisa’s invitation to the stranger to enter her garden tell the reader about her feelings toward him? A. She is in love with the stranger and wants him to stay on the farm with her.
How does the stranger interaction with Elisa at her garden?
How does the stranger’s interaction with Elisa at her garden differ from Henry’s interaction with her at her garden? A. Henry yells at Elisa to give up her flowers, while the stranger seems more interested in her hobby and encourages her.
How are Elisa and the chrysanthemums similar?
Answer and Explanation: In “The Chrysanthemums,” Elisa is similar to the chrysanthemums that she grows. When they are protected and nurtured, the chrysanthemums…
What characteristics do Elisa and the chrysanthemums share?
Answer: Elisa and the Chrysanthemums share these characteristics: beauty, strength, the inability to go out and explore.
What do the chrysanthemums symbolize for Elisa?
The chrysanthemums symbolize both Elisa and the limited scope of her life. Elisa explicitly identifies herself with the flowers, even saying that she becomes one with the plants when she tends to them. When the tinker notices the chrysanthemums, Elisa visibly brightens, just as if he had noticed her instead.
How does the chrysanthemums begin?
The story begins in the Salinas Valley, which is pretty common in several of Steinbeck’s stories. Elisa is planting her beloved chrysanthemums when her husband comes to speak with her after he made a deal selling some head of cattle to the Western Meat Company.