Character Change and Symbolism
The use of symbols in fiction is to give the events of the story and stronger presence and to help explain better the intent of the story. Just as dialogue, characterization, and plot work on the surface to move a story along, symbolism works under the surface to connect the story's outside action to the theme. John Steinbeck used a lot of symbolism in, "The Chrysanthemums". This short fiction is about a woman named Elisa Allen, who is brave and fiery, but is disheartened at the way her life is going. The cause for her frustration is derived from not having any children and from her husband's inability to view her in a romantic light as a woman. She has only one outlet for this pain of unhappiness and that is her flower garden where she grows beautiful chrysanthemums. Steinbeck uses these chrysanthemums as the symbol of Elisa's' true essence.The first and most obvious symbol is that of the Chrysanthemums themselves as Elisa's children. The way she takes care of her garden, handling them with love and care, just as she would do if she had real children of her own. She is very protective of her flowers, she places a wire fence around them and she makes sure, "no aphids were there, no sow bugs, or snails or cutworms. H
" (260) Elisa sheds her old self by scrubbing and brings new life and change. She puts on sheer stockings and a beautiful dress and leisurely applies her make-up. With a few well-placed words from the tinker, her masculine image has been replaced with a feminine one. He, like her husband, has failed to appreciate the qualities that make her unique as a woman. Later in the story the chrysanthemums come to symbolize Elisa's femininity and sexuality. As Elisa and Henry leave she is crushed at the sight of her flowers that she had given the tinker laying on the road. Her femininity and sexuality are never going to be fully appreciated nor understood by Henry. The idea of Elisa caring for her flowers is certainly one of a feminine view, but there is a masculine image that comes across in the way she dresses while working and the way her home is kept. First they symbolize her children; later they represent her femininity and sexuality. " Her figure looked blocked and heavy. However, this hope is quickly lost when his best compliment on her appearance is; "You look strong enough to break a calf over your knee" (261).
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Acceptance Essays
