The Chrysanthemums in Morales 2341 Spring 2015 Class TTH

Apr 07, 2015 Janetrendon rated it it was amazing

Elisa and Her Chrysanthemums
Steinbeck sets the theme in this “The Chrysanthemums” by describing Elisa and her chrysanthemums and how they play a huge role in her life; he describes her being alone and only focused on her chrysanthemums, until someone pays her a visit. The chrysanthemums symbolize that Elisa is isolated; they give her some type of enlightenment to her life and finds escape in taking care of the chrysanthemums, she treated them as if they were her own children. Elisa is in he Elisa and Her Chrysanthemums
Steinbeck sets the theme in this “The Chrysanthemums” by describing Elisa and her chrysanthemums and how they play a huge role in her life; he describes her being alone and only focused on her chrysanthemums, until someone pays her a visit. The chrysanthemums symbolize that Elisa is isolated; they give her some type of enlightenment to her life and finds escape in taking care of the chrysanthemums, she treated them as if they were her own children. Elisa is in her mid thirties and married to a man named Henry Allen, they live secluded and surrounded by mountains, “On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot”. The weather at this time is cold and slightly windy, “It was a time of quiet and of waiting, the air was cold and tender” (p.1). Elisa and her husband have all the work around the house done and do not show much emotion towards each other. Elisa doesn’t get out much, when her husband invites her out to dinner and a pictrue show she gets quite excited. A man named Tinker shows up, wanting to profit from Elisa, he ends up targeting the one thing she loved most.
As her husband leaves to go get work done Elisa continues to take care of her chrysanthemums, until she is startled by a noise, It was a wagon that had a burro and an old horse pulling the man in it, that had a sign on it.Elisa thought the wagon was just passing but to her surprise it turned into her path way, There was also a dog that was underneath the wagon, as soon as they pulled up to Elisa’s fence. As Elisa and Tinker made small talk, Elisa began to giggle then suddenly became serious in giving him directions to keep on going “I think you’ll save time if you go back to the Salinas road and pick and pick up the highway there”” (p39). Tinker made it clear that he wasn’t in a hurry and was there because he needed work to do. Tinker was desperate to get some work out of Elisa he kept on insisting on trying to fix something for her or creating small talk with her. At this point Tinker became desperate and used the only thing he saw in front of him to his advantage. As soon as Tinker inquires about Elisa’s Chrysanthemums he got her to give him a few ,saying it was for a lady he knew, Elisa was eager in giving him a few for the lady he knew. Elisa became very joyful in explaining the care plan for her chrysanthemums. She got a little too excited and became desperate for Tinker.Once she gave tinker her precious chrysanthemums she also gave him work to do. Tinkers mood changed immediately and as soon as he finished fixing her cans she gave him fifty cents, he was back on the road.
Elisa stood watching Tinker as he left for a moment then ran inside to get dressed up. Elisa got all dolled up, when her husband arrived he barely recognized her, “” Why—why, Elisa. You look so nice!” (p99). As they were on their way to town to watch a movie Elisa noticed something on the road she didn’t even want to look at it was her chrysanthemums lying there on the ground,” Tinker had lied to her. Once Elisa absorbed this mood changed and she told her husband she wanted to drink wine. Seeing her Chrysanthemums on the road like really tore Elisa apart, it was as if her children were left to die, “She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying—weakly like an old women” (pg.121).
To me the last paragraphs were very touching and sentimental, I thought this was great story, im sure many have felt used at some people have felt robbed or used at some point in life. ...more

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Apr 09, 2015 Erick Adrian Lopez rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. What a great story!
The author really gets you in to the story; everything is so well described that you can even smell the ambient. We are left with little information about the character at first but later on, we learn so much about them. The way they behave, act and dress give us and idea of how they truly are. Also the way the story is set, makes you feel in touch with the characters. Take as an example Elisa, her character is able to transmit her emotions to the reader. It makes you feel th What a great story!
The author really gets you in to the story; everything is so well described that you can even smell the ambient. We are left with little information about the character at first but later on, we learn so much about them. The way they behave, act and dress give us and idea of how they truly are. Also the way the story is set, makes you feel in touch with the characters. Take as an example Elisa, her character is able to transmit her emotions to the reader. It makes you feel that same passion that Elisa has for “The Chrysanthemums” and kind of makes you want to actually help her in her duty. We can also perceive her emotions through the story. Me as a reader experienced her sadness at the end of the story and kind of make me want to relief/ take away her pain. At some point the story is to rude to me, when “Her breast swelled passionately”. It kind of went in to the wrong course to me. Instead of her being an innocent, hard worker woman, she is being presented as a sex interest? It was somehow unexpected to me. Now, I am not saying that a hard worker woman does not look sexy but to me this was not the point of the story. The story is centered in to the feeling of Elisa and her passion for her garden, specially “The Chrysanthemums”. The fact that she takes care of flowers demonstrates that she is a very emotional person, since flowers are commonly related to feelings. She may look strong from outside but she is very weak from inside. We well know that she does not like violence at all and that makes me believe that she is a very reserved woman and perhaps unique. The way she treats her flowers and protects (with a wire fence) her flowers could symbolize the way she hides and protects the real Elisa form other people. As the story goes a mysterious man appears and offers her his services. Elisa first reaction to “The man” was ager, he was so persistent.
Suddenly the man takes a look around her and notices The Chrysanthemums and begging to somehow make her vulnerable. He begging to talk to her (I thing is a lie) about her the way those flower look and smell. Elisa attitude change, now she starts feeling comfortable with the stranger and eventually believes that he could be “The man” she ways wanted to have. It seems that he is “The man” that shares her passion about The Chrysanthemums. As the story goes Elisa ended up giving something to “The man” to fix with a share of her lovely flowers. After that “The man” eventually start to forget about his passion about The Chrysanthemums, when she remind him to have the flowers seeds damp so they can gown. As the man leave, she wishes to him to come back and whispers him “good bye “. It seems that she is happy to have met such a man that shares her passion for “The Chrysanthemums”. The sad part is that she later finds out that “The man” was never interested on “The Chrysanthemums” when Elisa finds her lovely Chrysanthemums seed on the road. “The man” had no interest on her flowers/feeling; he just wanted to get some money out of her.
At the end, this story reflects how far men can go to get what we need. We as men can cause so much paint to a woman, even for the smallest nonsense whim or desire. This story kind of makes you don’t want to be that guy in real life. It somehow shows us the reader how much pain can be cause with so little. Does a single woman tear worth 50 cents?
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Apr 09, 2015 Ricardo Mendez rated it liked it

“The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck is a poem about a woman named Elisa who is taken advantage by a swindling owner of a caravan. It’s a poem with a sad ending but is a good read that I really enjoyed.
Elisa while planting her chrysanthemums, notices a caravan heading down her street and thought it was just passing through, until it turned into the farm road to her house. Once the stranger reached the house he got off and approached Elisa asking for directions. She gave him directions and aft “The Chrysanthemums”, by John Steinbeck is a poem about a woman named Elisa who is taken advantage by a swindling owner of a caravan. It’s a poem with a sad ending but is a good read that I really enjoyed.
Elisa while planting her chrysanthemums, notices a caravan heading down her street and thought it was just passing through, until it turned into the farm road to her house. Once the stranger reached the house he got off and approached Elisa asking for directions. She gave him directions and after that he persistently offered his services of mending bent pots or pans. Elisa started to grow irritable and refused him each time, and the man could see this in her face. He noticed she had been gardening so he brought it up in the conversation to calm Elisa down and get into her good spirits. She grew ecstatic and her face brightened as she began to talk about her chrysanthemums. She humbly boasted that they were the biggest ones she planted this year and the man said he knew a woman who would love some for her garden. Elisa was more than happy to offer some to him; she ran to her house to grab a pot for a fellow chrysanthemum lover. He could see that Elisa was now vulnerable and he manipulated her by saying he did not have any money to buy supper due to him not having any jobs while traveling. Elisa grew guilty and offered him to fix two pots. He fixed them and she paid him for his good work, and the man left right after that. She started getting ready for a night out in town with her husband and as they were making their way into the city, she noticed that the man had thrown out her flowers but kept the pot. When she saw this she felt cheated and sad and pulled her coat over her eyes so her husband wouldn’t see her cry.
Elisa was a woman who let her guard down to a stranger and he took advantage of that but it shows the strength in her character because she really is a strong woman who is intelligent, caring and honest. Although in the end of the story, she is sad because she was deceived what makes it enjoyable is her charity and strength.

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