surrounds her garden. She finally learns but not acknowledges that she possesses a fragile feminine power, not the masculine one she had attempted to attain.
B. The Symbols Used in
“The Chrysanthemums”
As the writer mentioned before, there are two main symbols in this short story that reflected the major character‟s life. In this part, the writer is
going to identifies what the symbols are used by the author as a reflection of the major character‟s life. By seeing and analyzing the descripstion about the major
character, the setting and some other parts in the short story, the writer finds that there are two symbols that used by the author in describing major character‟s
life. This story, “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck depicts multiple ideas that embodies the reader with symbols or ideas that could be identified in
multiple aspects. There are the two significant symbols in this short story, they are the
title itself, “The Chrysanthemums” and the setting that the author used, Salinas Valley. As the writer mentioned before in previous chapter, there are several
ways to recognize symbolism in literary works. The first characteristic is that an object or character is mentioned often, because it is probably important. The
other way to find a symbol is to look at how much detail is used in describing an object. These two methods give clues that the writer wants the readers notice
something about a particular object, which are the symbols. A symbol is an objectpersonidea that represents another idea through association or
resemblance. When reading, the reader should pay attention to any items,
locations, or people that are described with extended details. The author is using these descriptions as a sign. If the author repeats the object or idea, then there is
significance to it. In S
teinbeck‟s The Chrysanthemums, it is found that Elisa Allen of the Salinas Valley was quite an interesting character. The story starts with Elisa,
a thirty- five year old woman, in her garden cutting down the old year‟s
chrysanthemum stalks with a short pair of scissors. Steinbeck described her as a seemingly strong woman. “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even
her work with the scissors was over-eager, over- powerful.” p.6. After a brief
encounter with her husband, Elisa‟s character seemed to be underrated or disrespected by her husband. In a way she seemed lonely and starving for
attention but she didn‟t show it. The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck is a story that is set in the
Salinas Valley. Most of the setting is described on the first page of the story. It is winter in the Salinas Valley, which is described as being all black grey and
cracked; it is also mid-December. The surrounding areas are mostly pastoral. Later in the story though, signs of the time period, the great depression, John
Steinbeck‟s use of these settings are a part of the overall plot and circumstances his characters are in. They are meant to show desperation and to add emphasis to
the hard times that were felt around them. With the introduction of the story the narrator paints a picture of the landscape.
“The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from the rest of the world” p.1, though this may only have
been used to set the atmosphere, it shows the reader to see how trapped Elisa is without her own knowledge. As Henry, Elisa‟s husband, talks about her
chrysanthemums she suggests working in the orchard, her request is immediately ignored as if the idea of a woman in the orchard were completely out of the
question. The way of she cares about her flower shows her escapement from her
unhappy marital life with her husband, her childlessness, her unfulfilled desires, and her role as a woman. The most intense would be the appreciation or lack of
for females as well as the dominance of females in this time period and region. Though as a woman she is expected to have feminine qualities, Elisa is separate
from that stereotype.
C. The Symbols As the Reflection Of the Major Character’s Life
