Assignment #2--Symbolism in Steinbeck.

In the story "The Chrysanthemums" by John Steinbeck, the author uses symbolism in a very visual way to connect readers to the characters in the story. The author describes Elisa wearing a man's black hat which is a symbol of the man like qualities in her. For example she is described as having a strong, lean and handsome face as well as strong fingers. Steinbeck uses dogs as symbols in describing Elisa, Henry, and the man with the wagon. The two ranch shepherds symbolize Elisa's and Henry's characters as ranchers. The rangy dog symbolize the man with the wagon's character as a big man since the author uses the word rangy which means tall and lean. The chrysanthemums are symbolized as Elisa's children because of the way she defends the smell of them. When the man with the wagon said the chrysanthemums smelled nasty, Elisa replied angrily that it's a good bitter smell and not nasty. This is an example of how a parent would respond to someone talking against their children. The way Steinbeck describes the good care and interest Elisa has and takes when giving a flower pot of chrysanthemums to the man with the wagon is definetly how a mother or father would take care of a new born baby. The red flower pot Elisa uses to put the chrysanthemums in is another symbol of Elisa's love for the chrysanthemums because she uses the color red. Elisa also describes picking the buds of the chrysanthemums in a sexual way in which her fingers and the plant interact. The chicken wire fence symbolizes Elisa as caged in and unable to be apart and connected to the outside world. The rabbits running into the bushes and the birds flying symbolize children, in which children multiple like the rabbits and birds do. The cranes dropping symbolize Elisa's sadness and pain at the moment she saw the dark speck ahead of the road where she realized the man with the wagon had thrown the chrysanthemums she gave him over there. You can sense her sadness and pain when she starts talking about drinking a lot of wine so she'll forget the whole thing and begins to cry in the ending.