symbolism in the crysanthemums

A detailed Summary of symbolism in the crysanthemums


A good writer has many tools at hand that help them develop good story lines. There are literary techniques such as voice, point of view, character, theme, and symbolism. One very interesting technique is that of symbolism. With symbolism the author is able to write a story in which many of the actions around the main character seem to enhance the way the character develops. The use of symbolism to develop the characters is easy to see in the short story "the chrysanthemums" by John Steinback. In this story Steinback writes of a woman who lives on a farm; but the woman feels trapped, and wishes that she could free herself. The author uses both the time of year and the location to develop a setting that compliments the feelings of the main character.

The story starts off saying, "The high Gray-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from the rest of the world."(Steinback 267)from the first sentence the author is developing a setting that compliments the character. At this point in time of the story nothing is known about the Elisa Allen, but this quote about how the Salinas valley is closed off from the world is a symbol of the struggle that Elisa is soon to face. The second sentence of th


Elisa's bath is another good symbol that Steinback uses to develop Elisa's character. When she, "scrubbed herself with a little block of pumice. . . until her skin was scratched and red."(Steinback 273) she was scrubbing away the skin that bound her into her conventional role. After this bath she had the courage to ask henry if they could have wine at the dinner tonight, and that they may possibly go to the fights together. After her bath she realized how strong she was by saying, " [I am strong,] she boasted. [I never knew how strong.]"(Steinback 273) After this bath of hers she became more beautiful to her husband. He noted "Why - why Elisa you look so nice."(Steinback 273) the bath changed Elisa so much that she now even appears to be a different person to her husband henry.

Setback uses time in this story to compliment the location. In the second paragraph the author develops the character even more by writing, "it was a time of quiet and waiting. The air was cold and tender. A light wind blew up from the southwest so that the farmers were mildly hopeful of a good rain before long; but fog and rain do not go together."(Steinback 267) From this line much may be derived about Elisa Smith's character. The quiet waiting symbolizes how Elisa is silently wai

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 858
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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  • symbolism in the crysanthemums There are literary techniques such as voice, point of view, character, theme, and symbolism. One very interesting technique is that of symbolism. ... 857 words


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