enter area because she is inside the fence. Instead of greeting him she just straightens her back, pulls her glove back on and continues back to work. I think
that she‟s trying to show that can work as diligently as a man but she is a woman. He then says to her, I wish you work out in the orchard and raise some apples. She
replies, Maybe I could do that too. I believe that she doesn‟t want to work out in his orchards. She says that line because she doesn‟t want to say no but she doesn‟t
want to work in them. She wants to work in her own area. Where her own creations are that no man has helped her with. schoolsucks.com, 2011
4. “Symbolism in John Steinbeck’s The Chrysanthemums” by Vanna Kazarian 2011.
The last related studies entitled “ Symbolism in John Steinbeck‟s The
Chrysanthe mums” written by Vanna Kazarian. In this study, she focuses on the
symbol which is described in the story. She begins her study by analyzing the meaning of the symbol, and then she relates it with the title of the story; “The
Chrysanthemum”. The next explanation of her study is about the major character;
Elisa Allen. She analyzed the relation between the title and the character. She analyzed what the symbol reflects to the major character.
“The Chrysanthemums” gives the reader acumen into the main character Elisa Allen. The story opens in
the Salinas valley, which is described as “the high grey flannel fog of winter closed off Salinas‟s valley from the rest of the world.” The valley is also described
as a “closed pot”. This description can be used to symbolize Elisa‟s lonely and
isolated feelings. She is 35, married without children and the “closed pot” can be interpreted as unhappiness.
Elisa is not given much of a chance to be taken seriously. An example of this is during a conversation she has with her husband Henry about her
flowers, where Henry tells her “I wish you would work out in the orchards and raise some apples”. Elisa perks up for a moment and makes a
suggestion that she could accomplish working out in the orchards, only to have Henry shut her
down by saying “well it sure works with the flowers”. I believe Steinbeck uses Henry‟s rejection of her work in this conversation to
illustrate the way society has rejected women as nothing more than mothers and housekeepers. Elisa‟s garden is surrounded by a wire fence, which
would suggest to the reader, Elisa‟s isolation not only from her husband, but
also from the rest of world. antiessay.com, 2011 conclusion
B. Review of Related Theories
