Symbolism is John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” “The Chrysanthemums”, one of John Steinbeck’s masterpieces, describes a lonely farmer’s wife, Elisa Allen. Elisa Allen’s physical appearance is very mannish yet still allows a hint of a feminine side to peek through. John Steinbeck brings symbolism into play to represent Elisa Allen’s frustrations and hidden passions. Isolation is another representation through symbolism found in “The Chrysanthemums.” Elisa’s failing detached marriage is represented …showed first 75 words of 1896 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1896 total…wwwnhc.nhmccd.cc.tx.us/public/clh/eng/ composit/critanal/c953.html Lee, Debbie. Literary Analysis Sample Essay. 18 August 2000. Online. Internet. 29 November 2000. Available http://open.dtcc/cc/nc/us/eng135/sample.html Pittman, Wendy. Elisa’s Unfulfilled Desire. 9 July 1998. Online. Internet. 29 November 2000. Available http://spectrum.troyst.edu/~rqray/english/wendy.htm Steinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Ed. R.V Cassill and Richard Bausch. New York: W.W. Norton andCompany, 2000. 1462-1470.