When was chrysanthemums written

We can't really blame Steinbeck, then, for saying that he "can't take seriously" the "curious hocus-pocus of criticism" source. If critics rained on the Steinbeck parade, why is "The Chrysanthemums" so popular? After all, it is a pretty simple story. A woman, spending the afternoon in her garden, is visited by a stranger and finds herself both awakened and disheartened by what happens. There are no guns, no bombs, no fisticuffs.

No fireworks whatsoever. Maybe that's what makes "The Chrysanthemums" so spectacular. Steinbeck is a pretty stingy writer: he does a lot with just a little. His simple sentences and understated vocabulary are packed with meaning, but they refuse to whack you over the head with it.

For more on this, see the " Writing Style " section. Basically, "The Chrysanthemums" is a reader's dream. Steinbeck's ability to say so much with so little means we're challenged to jump in and get our hands dirty. We get to decide what the story and all of its many details mean. We get to come up with our own explanations. This story helps us hone our reading skills and become better detectives of literature.

It's almost like a choose-your-own-adventure book: we readers get to imagine a future for our protagonist. When you consider "The Chrysanthemums" among John Steinbeck 's other famous works, like The Grapes of Wrath or Of Mice and Men , it's clear that this guy writes with a social conscience.

He said himself of his writing philosophy, "I don't like people to be hurt or hungry or unnecessarily sad. It's just about as simple as that" source.

Our Elisa is hurt, she's hungry, and she is definitely unnecessarily sad. Who can't relate to Elisa and how trapped and misunderstood she feels? We've all been there. We all know what it's like to want something different for ourselves, even if we're not exactly sure what that is. Okay, then what makes Elisa's story so unique? Free Chrysanthemums Essays and Papers.

Satisfactory Essays. Page 1 of 30 - About essays. The Chrysanthemums Words 2 Pages. The Chrysanthemums. Better Essays. Chrysanthemums Words 3 Pages 1 Works Cited. Good Essays. The Chrysanthemums Words 3 Pages. Analysis Of The Chrysanthemums. Elisa of The Chrysanthemums. Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums Words 3 Pages. Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums. John Steinbeck's The Chrysanthemums. Powerful Essays. The Chrysanthemums Critical Analysis. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck.

Remember me. Forgot your password? Buy Study Guide. Elisa's terrier fingers: "Her terrier fingers destroyed such pests before they could get started" Here, a metaphor is being used to compare Elisa's fingers to terriers.

Are you lising these locations? Study Guide for The Chrysanthemums The Chrysanthemums study guide contains a biography of John Steinbeck, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Essays for The Chrysanthemums The Chrysanthemums essays are academic essays for citation.