The Chrysanthemums (make up discussion)

This is my make-up blog for being gone during the Chrysanthemums discussion. This story was more difficult for me to understand the symbols and other literary elements immediately, and I found that I had to read pieces of the story several times before I caught on to them. John Steinbeck does choose to put meaning into many elements of the story, causing the story to be very meaningful and more interesting.

The symbol in this story was a key element. The chrysanthemums symbolized Elisa's feelings throughout the story. Elisa and the chrysanthemums stood tall, proud, and strong at the beginning; "Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with her scissors
was over-eager, over-powerful" (209). Elisa described her flowers as "...giant whites and yellows...bigger than anybody around here. They were both shut in from the outside world just like the fence symbolizes Elisa's naivity from outside experiences. The fence is described as "...the wire fence that protected her flower garden..." (210). Later, when she cuts her chrystanthemums, Elisa's feelings also seem to be hurt and broken.

As said earlier when referring to the symbols, Elisa is quite a joyful and energetic character. Because of her character and the way she acts at the beginning, the reader is able to understand that something is wrong with her at the end when she changes her mood. The changes in character also help to set the tone towards the end because she grows somber, which is uncharacteristic and the story ends on her being depressed.

The author's style helps to show Elisa's emotional changes as well. Besides the beginning, which moves slower due to the amount of description, Steinbeck uses dialogue to move the story along quickly. After the salesman left, Elisa began to get ready for the evening. This scene is told in great detail to slow down the story and create a shift in momentum and, with that, shifting the tone from a light mood to a sad one.