Offbeat Themes and Literary Devices in 'The Chrysanthemums'

“The Chrysanthemums” essay was written by John Steinbeck and here I will give a respond to it. I thought that this story was a very rich piece of writing. It was filled with figurative language and other literary elements. I think that the character development was very strong, as readers are able to witness a very direct transformation of the main character, Elisa. In my opinion, what also made the story considerably effective was its focal point: chrysanthemums. Throughout the story, chrysanthemums symbolize many things; Elisa’s children, her femininity/sexuality, and heartiness. Not only does Elisa grow and change, but the representation of the chrysanthemum does too. This makes the story strong by developing deeper meanings and themes.

There are few different themes up for interpretation in the story. One possible theme is gender roles and women's oppression. Throughout the story Elisa is shown as the “wife”, “gardener”, and “housekeeper”. She spends her time doing her “womanly duties”, wishing she could have more agency, while her husband does business deals. In contrast to this, another theme is strength, both inner and physical. Many references to being strong come up throughout the story. She says how she feels strong and how she is visualized as strong. She battles between being content with being strong, and wishing she was more. She struggles with femininity and sexual fulfillment. The chrysanthemums represent her sexual frustration as she is constantly tending to them as they fluctuate. The tinker caused such a reaction to occur within Elisa which showed how sexually frustrated she was. Overall there are many themes present within the story, with a lot of room for interpretation.

There are many literary devices used in this story. Figurative language played a very large role. Imagery is used right from the start to give the setting. Through the use of imagery, foreshadowing is done to allude to what may occur. The first paragraph is filled with description that is somewhat grim and secluded which adds to the effect of isolation that Elisa feels. The use of imagery is used to show character description. This emphasizes the important change that Elisa goes through during the story. By deeply describing her clothes before and after her encounter with the tinker, it shows how her physical character has changed which relates to her internal self. There is also a strong use of imagery when Elisa showers. It allows the reader to understand how aggressive her actions are which reiterates how strong her emotions are. There are also many metaphors such as the flowers, “terrier fingers”, “drew a finger down the chicken wire and made it sing,' which symbolize her feelings and mindset. Tone is another literary device that is used. The narration has a tone that is somewhat detached which adds to the possible theme of isolation and detachment.

Although this short story is very different from some of the other ones we have read, it reminds me of Separating by John Updike. Both of these stories have a narrator that is not identified, but adds to the theme and effect of the story. Having a narrator like this helps to build the story as it is not a biased character. Both stories have great character development and imagery. Both stories also have a lot of figurative language. The narration resembles one another because of the strong use of tone.