Bernal 1 Stephanie Bernal Professor Rose English 1302 28 November

Bernal 1 Stephanie Bernal Professor Rose English 1302 28 November 2009 Forbidden Flowers “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck is a story of a woman named Elisa Allean, who gets carried away with flattery after a brief encounter with another man. Elisa is a thirty-five year old woman who lives on a ranch in California with her husband, Henry. She spends her days gardening and planting all types of plants flowers, but she paying pays special attention to her Chrysanthemums. One day, a traveling repairman comes by Elisa and Henry’s home; he asks Elisa for directions and inquires about any handy-work she might need done. Elisa is short with the Tinker at first, but when he takes notice of her Chrysanthemums she quickly warms up and her femininity slowly becomes more apparent. The man mentions a customer of his that has been searching for Chrysanthemums, and Elisa eagerly prepares some of the roots for him to take. She also finds a few pots for him to fix, after he continuously drops hints about needing work. The repairman leaves and Elisa experiences a brief sense of shameof guilt for fawning over him. Then she carefully prepares herself for an evening out with her husband; she craves the same attention from him that she felt from the repairman. Elisa’s husband, Henry, does not realize that she is fishing for intimacy, and he upsets her when he does not respond as she desires. On their way into town, Elisa sees the Chrysanthemum roots she had given the tTinker dumped on the side of the road. The swelling confidence she felt moments earlier shrunk into embarrassment, hurt, and confusion. Elisa was flattered by the interest the Tinker took in her flowers and was rejuvenated with excitement and femininity. Bonding with another person, on a mental or

Bernal 2 emotional level, is a feeling most people want and appreciate. Steinbeck shows the important of human interaction and bonding. Elisa is a strong-willed, hard-working, yet sensitive woman who becomes more selfaware after meeting another man that seem to takes interest in her. She is a round character because physical and behavioral details are given through direct and indirect characterization. Elisa’s is described as having a “face [that] was lean and strong [and] her figure looked blocked and heavy,” which creates a masculine image of her (Steinbeck 705). This is a use of indirect characterization. Elisa’s mother was a wonderful gardener, and she prides herself on having the same planting abilities. Through indirect characterization, Steinbeck shows her confidence in gardening. After Henry compliments Elisa’s crop, she accepts then compliment and “in her tone and on her face there was a little smugness” (Steinbeck 705). Elisa’s change in outlook changed after meeting the Tinker shows that she is a dynamic character. When the Tinker strikes up a conversation about her Chrysanthemums, she is flattered and excited. Elisa becomes even more enamored with the mysterious man after realizing his free-spirited way of living, and her love of nature is apparent. In an analysis of this story, Tim Akers writes “Elisa envies the man’s life on the road and is attracted to him because he understands her love of flowers” (Akers 61). The conflicts in the story are Person vs. Self, which is internal, and Person vs. Person, which is external. The exposition shows the tense interaction of Henry and Elisa; they aren’t hostile toward one another, but intimacy is lacking from their relationship. This why it didn’t take much for Elisa to be captivated by the tinker; he is not described as a handsome man, but she interprets their interaction as flirtation. Henry’s attempts to compliment Elisa’s chrysanthemum’s come across as criticism when he says, “I wish you’d work out in the orchard and raise some apples that big” (Steinbeck 705). The conflict becomes internal when the Elisa

Bernal 3 has an intense conversation about the tinker’s lifestyle. The thought of being out on the road seems exciting to Elisa, but after he leaves she is ashamed of herself and the feelings she has toward the man. Elisa is so caught up in the moment that she almost makes physical contact with the tinker and . She pulls her hand back ashamed and brings their conversation to a close. Sshe watches him leave and whispers to herself like a smitten teenager. She snaps back into reality once the tinker is out of sight and “[shakes] herself free and [looks] about to see whether anyone had been listening” (Steinbeck 710). Elisa’s conflict becomes external once again when Henry’s ignorance and the tinker’s blatant betrayal leave her hurt and discouraged. Elisa prepares herself slowly and carefully for an evening out with her husband, but when he compliments her by saying “you look strong enough to break a calf over your knee,” she is frustrated (Steinbeck 710). Regardless of how strong Elisa is portrayed at the beginning of the story, she is very hurt when she sees her chrysanthemums carelessly dumped on the side of the road. She discovers them on her way into town with Henry and she turns away to avoid seeing the tinker’s wagon. Akers describes Elisa’s reaction as feeling “betrayed, by the man and by her romantic ideas” (Akers 63). The point of view used in this story is limited omniscient. Only Elisa’s thoughts and feelings are detailed, but the story is not told from her point of view. The description of her innermost thoughts is lacking; most of them are implied through her actions and left up to the reader’s imagination. While she is getting ready for the date with Henry, Steinbeck describes her careful routine but does not describe her thoughts. The reader simply assumes she is hoping for a romantic response from her husband. Throughout this part of the story “the third person narrator does not reveal Elisa’s heart either,” this is a limitation for the reader (Akers 65). Steinbeck must’ve wanted the story to be left slightly mysterious.

Bernal 4 Story This story is set on Elisa and Henry’s ranch outside of Salinas, California. The tTime period is implied through description of transportation and speech. Describing the transportation of the TinkerThe tinker’s transportation, a horse drawn wagon, reveals the time period of the story. The early 1900s are also shown implied through certain phrases used by the characters, such as “picture show” (Steinbeck 705). The time of day is specified when Henry and Elisa discuss their plans for later in the evening. The setting location is significant to this story; being on a ranch in the valley helps portray Elisa’s feeling of solitude. Steinbeck’s creates the atmosphere of the story through his description of the valley: “the yellow stubble fields seemed to be bathed in pale cold sunshine, but there was no sunshine in the valley now in December. The thick willow scrub along the river flamed with sharp and positive yellow leaves” (Steinbeck 704). There are many different uses of language in this story. The symbol, dialogue and situational irony are descriptive and insightful. The Chrysanthemums are a contextual symbol of Elisa’s femininity and compassion. She cares for the flowers as if they were the only thing in the world she can call her own. The chrysanthemums’’s significance is clear when Elisa boasts about the blooms to the tinker; she says, “I had ten-inch blooms this year” (Steinbeck 707).Use of dialogue helps portray the interaction between Elisa and the other characters. Elisa’s mood changes from being short with the tinker to being delighted at the thought of sharing her chrysanthemums with him. Akers describes her change in demeanor by writing “when he asks about [the chrysanthemums,] Elisa’s annoyance vanishes, and she becomes friendly again” (Akers 60). Steinbeck also uses dialogue to build suspense and some sort of sexual tension between Elisa and the Tinker. The reader expects the Tinker to take the Chrysanthemums to his other customer and that will be the end of their interaction. However, when Elisa finds that the

Bernal 5 Tinker has dumped her flowers on the side of the road it is an example of Situational Irony. After being vigorously described as strong throughout the story, Elisa’s discovery brings her to tears “weakly—like an old woman” (Steinbeck 711). The events in this story create pity for Elisa’s character and anger toward the tinker. Henry is clearly oblivious to Elisa’s need for a deeper connection. Her life has probably always been confined to housework and gardening, and she never saw any harm in that until she met the mysterious repairman. He opened her eyes to an excitement she seems not to have experienced in a while. Elisa is brought back down to Earth after realizing the tinker’s intentions. Steinbeck demonstrates the self consciousness that can be caused by a lack of interaction and commonality.