Symbolism In The Crysanthemums Essay Research Paper

Symbolism In The Crysanthemums Essay, Research Paper

Symbolism in & # 8220 ; The Chrysanthemums & # 8221 ;

At first glimpse John Steinback & # 8217 ; s & # 8220 ; The Chrysanthemums & # 8217 ; seems to be a narrative

of a adult female whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper review, the narrative

reveals strong symbolisms of kids, exposure, and connexion & # 8211 ; being

the most of import, of the chief character. Elisa Allen is the chief character who is

at her strongest and most proud in the garden and weakened when she becomes

vulnerable and loses her connexion to the outer universe. Elisa shows a new aura of

assurance when she makes this connexion to a pedlar, who besides is the cause of

her realisation of world and her weeping.

The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa & # 8217 ; s & # 8220 ; children. & # 8221 ; She tends her garden

and handles the chrysanthemums with love and attention, merely as she would manage

her ain kids. Elisa is protective of her flowers and places a fencing around

them ; she makes certain that & # 8220 ; no aphids, no sowbugs or snails or cutworms & # 8221 ; are t

here. & # 8220 ; Her terrier fingers destroyed such plagues before they could acquire started & # 8221 ; (

221 ) . These plagues represent something that harms the flowers, and she

removes them before they can harm her & # 8220 ; children. & # 8221 ; The chrysanthemums are

symbolic of her kids, and she is really proud of them. She is happy and

pleased by her ability to foster the chrysanthemums as she would her kids.

Elisa & # 8217 ; s exposure is shown through her experience with the pedlar

shows an involvement in the chrysanthemums when he describes them as a

& # 8220 ; speedy whiff of colored fume & # 8221 ; ( 223 ) . By look up toing the chrysanthemums, he

figuratively admires Elisa Allen. The pedlar gives Elisa a connexion that she

can & # 8217 ; t do with anyone else. By giving him the pot to set the chrysanthemum seedlings

in, she gives him the symbol of her inner-self. She begins to experience hope as the

pedlar foliages. She dresses up nice and prepares for her dark out with her

hubby. This readying procedure symbolizes that she is fixing for a alteration in

her life.

Her lavation and dressing is symbolic of her passage. Tearing off her & # 8221 ;

soiled clo

thes” and flinging them into the corner, “she scrubbed herself with a

small block of pumice, legs and thighs, pubess and thorax and weaponries, until her tegument

was scratched and red. & # 8221 ; This is symbolic of Elisa coming out of her old being,

let go ofing a newness she had become to cognize. She & # 8220 ; tightened her tummy

and threw out her thorax & # 8230 ; She put on her newest under-clothing and her nicest

stocking and the frock which was the symbol of her cuteness. She worked

carefully on her hair, penciled her superciliums and rouged her lips. & # 8221 ; All of this is

brought approximately because one adult male took involvement in her private pleasure-the

chrysanthemums. Her connexion with the pedlar has made her come out of

the fencing that she is so used to being inside of. She is free and she likes it.

Elisa has seemed to undergo a complete metabolism from being an

unsocial homemaker to a confident adult female when she makes this connexion. She

self-praises, & # 8220 ; I am strong. I ne’er knew before how strong. & # 8221 ; Unfortunately, at the

decision of Steinbeck & # 8217 ; s short narrative, Steinbeck has her autumn right back into the

rut she so despised. When she realized that the pedlar had dumped out the

seeds and dirt, and she comes back to world and & # 8220 ; turned up her coat neckband so

her hubby could non see that she was shouting weakly-like an old woman. & # 8221 ;

She is crushed and all that she had gained that twenty-four hours was taken off. This narrative

expresses how easy it is for person & # 8217 ; s hopes and assurance can be crushed

if it is given into the incorrect individual & # 8217 ; s custodies.

The rubric & # 8220 ; The Chrysanthemums & # 8221 ; is used to indicate out that Elisa & # 8217 ; s

chrysanthemums are an image of her. The image reflects how she feels

towards kids through her flowers, what her exposures are, and how she

uses them to do connexions. Elisa accomplished what she ever wanted,

but in the terminal a careless pedlar took that off. She returned to being her old

ego, the ego that lived within her ain garden and fencing.

3f8

Steinback, John. & # 8220 ; The Chrysanthemums. & # 8221 ; Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 8th erectile dysfunction. New York: Longman, 2002. 245-253.