masculine image is also observed in her hard-swept and hard-polished home. This image is carried over into her relationship with her husband. Elisa feels that
Henry doesnt recognize or appreciate her femininity, and this feeling causes her to be antagonistic towards him.
There is an undercurrent of resentment towards her husband. Throughout the story Elisa has built up the idea that she has worth as a woman to society
because someone has taken interest in her gardening. At the end of the story, however, Elisa comes to a realization about her current life and situation. When
she sees the chrysanthemum tossed on the side of the road she has an epiphany about the events of that day and her life as a whole. Elisa comes to realize that the
fix-it man was just using her. She realizes that the man actually had no interest in her, but only for his business. Seeing the chrysanthemum on the side of the road
also brings Elisa back into reality.
B. Approach of the Study
This study is deal with symbols revealed through the major character of “The Chrysanthemum”. Symbol is one of intrinsic elements in literary work.
Since the analysis of this study is about symbol, the writer decides to use Formalistic approach.
Formalistic approach is an approach regards literature as a unique form of human knowledge that needs to be examined on its own terms.
All the elements necessary for understanding the work are contained within the
work itself. Of particular interest to the formalist critic are the elements of form —
style, structure, tone, imagery, etc. —that are found within the text. Kennedy and
Gioia, 1995: 1790-1818 A primary goal for formalist critics is to determine how such elements
work together with the texts content to shape its effects upon reader.
C. Method of the study
The writer used library research method to support this study. The primary data were taken from the short story entitled “The Chrysanthemum” by John
Steinbeck. Then the other data were taken from books and internet sources that consist of some theories to analyze the topic that will be shared by the writer from
this short story. First, the writer needed to do the close reading to the main source to get
the deepest understanding of the story, especially the parts which became the topic of the research; the major character and the symbol used in it. The writer needs to
understand deeper about the character and the symbols in analyzing the short story. Knowing and understanding the details of the story is really important.
Second, the writer read the secondary sources, to collect all of the information which was needed for the process of the research; the short story, the
references book, and internet sources. Then the writer will formulate the problem formulations according to the topic that is going to discuss in her research study.
The writer had three problem formulations to analyze. First, explaining how the
major character was described in the story, how the symbols are used in the short story, and explaining
how the symbols reflect the major character‟s life. The writer needed to understand well about the main character to get to
know the characteristic of the main character itself. Then, the writer will identify the symbols used in the story, analyzed the symbols and proved that the symbol
reflects the majo r character‟s life in the story. The last step, the writer draws a
conclusion from her study. In terms of getting the data about the theory of character and
characterization, the writer used the book A Handbook of Literary Terms. While to find theory of symbol, the writer compiles some sources from books and
internet.
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CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
