Use of Symbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums Ess

Use of Symbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums John Steinbecks diddle story The Chrysanthemums is about a proud, strong woman named Elisa Allen who feels baffle with her present life. Her frustration stems from not having a child and from her husbands failure to approve her romantically as a woman. The only outlet for her frustration is her blossom forth garden where she cultivates beautiful chrysanthemums. Steinbeck uses chrysanthemums as symbols of the inner-self of Elisa and of e very woman. First, the chrysanthemums symbolize Elisas children. She tends her garden and handles the chrysanthemums with love and care, just as she would handle her own children. Elisa is very protective of her flowers and places a wire fence around them she makes sur... ...age, but her recognition that her life is not going to change is crystallized when she sees the flowers thrown on the road. It devastates her completely to have to settle for such an unfulfilling life. Work Cited Steinbeck, John. The Chrysanthemums. Literature An access to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th ed. New York Harper Collins, 1995. 239-47.