Little Woman, Small World Essay - 1978 Words

In a small world, there is not much choice for a simple woman. Throughout history, women often are portrayed as the weaker sex. As a result of this assumption, women try to disassociate themselves from this custom and be more independent with their lives. One of John Steinbeck’s most accomplished short stories, â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† a story which concerns a married couple and examines Elisa’s dissatisfaction with her life. The story takes place in the Salinas Valley of California in December at Henry Allen’s ranch in the foothills. Elisa is a woman whose life is narrow, unexciting and limited in what she can become by geography and opportunity. She is feeling trapped in a life of servitude and is suppressing a yearning for more. Therefore,†¦show more content†¦Her work is her source of strength suggesting masculinity and more energy within her than the tasks at hand require. Her description usually describes the traditional male, but John Tim merman, author of the book, The Dramatic Landscape of Steinbeck’s Short Stories, points out of all Elisa’s energy, â€Å"her life is much like the valley itself†¦ a closed pot† (174). Throughout the beginning of the story, Steinbeck describes the setting as where â€Å"the high grey-flannel fog ... sat like a lid... and made the great valley a closed pot (459). Immediately, it is placed in a rural setting, where women are isolated and men are manly. Her masculine traits do not improve her way of living in an isolated place which also causes her dissatisfactions. Elisa also cleans the house: â€Å"It was a hard-swept house with hard-polished windows, and a clean mud mat on the front steps† (460). Elisa clearly does complete her feminine duties, but she does so in an unfeminine manner. Gregory Palmerino, one of the critics in Steinbeck’s works, points out that Elisa is not nurturing and gentle as society should like, but strong and harsh (Palme rino). She is restless with her excessive energy in caring for her chrysanthemums, while her husband Henry only talks to the two businessmen. In addition, Elisa’s masculinity is apparent when she shows a momentary interest in the details of boxing match. When Elisa sees her flower from the road, she asks â€Å"Henry, at those prize fights, do the menShow MoreRelatedSimilarities Between Imperialism And Post Colonialism1606 Words   |  7 Pageswritings for the topic of the essay. The three writings that will be discussed are Clarice Lispectors The Smallest Woman In The World, Jamaica Kincaids On Seeing England For The First Time, and Civil Peace by Chinua Achebe. Each of these writings give great examples of imperialism, colonialism, and post colonialism through different perspectives and from different parts of the world. The effects are shown throughout the writings and show the before and after effects of each term. Throughout theRead MoreA Dreary Melbourne Day Of Fo recasted Downpours Essay1101 Words   |  5 Pagesstops. Eager for my little Coco to meet some other little Chi s!† Sure enough, at exactly two o’clock I observe a couple toddling along a little dog in the distance, and I walk closer for further observation from a park bench. Minutes later, the dog owners are approached by another woman with a Chihuahua. Appearing to have never met before, they become acquainted through the totems of the two small, beady eyed dogs. The dogs growl at each other while the owners conduct pleasant small talk. This strikesRead MoreWhat Makes A Woman Feel Beautiful?956 Words   |  4 Pagesmedia uses. A Lancome advertisement asks, â€Å"what makes a woman feel beautiful?† with the response â€Å"a youthful radiance that shines from within.† In just seven days a woman can feel much more beautiful by using Lancomes new serum that will make her look younger. Underneath these words in small print Lancome also states, â€Å"beauty has no age, #loveyourage. (Vogue)† The media is constantly contradicting themselves with what they advertise. A woman is supposed to buy this new serum so she will be more attractiveRead MoreCandide, a Novel by Voltaire760 Words   |  3 Pagesspirit. Voltaire satirizes the optimism espoused by the philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment. This was a story of a young man’s adventure throughout the world and had seen many evil and disasters. Throughout his journey, he sticks to the teachings that Pangloss taught him, believing that, All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.† Though Voltaire was no pessimist, he refused to believe that what happens is always for the best. Throughout Candide’s adventure, Candide was got trickedRead MorePregnancy : The Best And Worst Experience Essay1392 Words   |  6 PagesShowing Trimester One Who is Boss Being a parent is both a blessing and a curse, the best and yet most hardest thing in the world to do. Even when a baby is not planned, and in a lot of cases they are never planned they are still a blessing. Many women have said that even though their little one was not planned, their baby has changed their world in many ways. Some women even said that having that unexpected baby saved their lives. Being pregnant is also the best and worst experience. Some womenRead MorePablo Neruda and Love962 Words   |  4 Pagesmakes his love, a woman, seem better than the rest of the women in the world with how he portrays her. But Neruda does have a reoccurring theme of using love to give women the supernatural abilities to control nature or have them on a pedestal of royalty almost. In Neruda’s poetry, he makes a point to put women on a high pedestal. Now Neruda puts the woman he is writing about on a high pedestal to show how amazing she is and how perfect she is compared to the other women in the world. He is in a senseRead MoreThe Theme Of Love In The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst1123 Words   |  5 Pagesdisability that sets him apart from other children his age. Brother cannot accept the fact that his little brother is different, causing him to feel that he needs to make his brother ‘normal’. Brother’s actions are driven by pride, ultimately allowing cruelty to stand in the place of love. In his effort to change Doodle, Brother forgets the true meaning and importance of love. The symbols of Old Woman Swamp and the broken vase of red flowers are used by Hurst to display the passionate yet bitter relationshipRead More The Role of Mama in A Raisin in the Sun Essay1008 Words   |  5 PagesWomen fought for their rights and fought for the self-respect that they thought they deserved. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the character Mama, expresses her feelings of pushing or extracting a new side for a woman. Her role explains that woman can be independent and can live for themselves. Through her behavior in this play she demonstrates that women can support and guide a family. Mama is in charge of the family, which is unusual, since men are traditionally the â€Å"head ofRead MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1323 Words   |  6 Pagesequitable sociopolitical and domestic standing. Socially, marriage and motherhood where no longer just emotional fulfillment for a woman; they had now become a responsibility and a full-time job that hardly allowed for leisure or external work. Since a woman’s life was centered on domesticity she had even fewer political rights outside the house than she did inside. A woman was not to vote, she could not form contracts without consent from a man, she was not deemed as a person under the law and she hadRead MoreAnalysis Of Maxine Clark s The Great Gatsby 1158 Words   |  5 Pageslove for a small stuffed bear, she knew children did. She had felt that passion since she was a small girl, all the way back in 1949. Small animal friends were what inspired children, what aided their social growth throughout childhood and became their best friend. Bored of her old life, and with the support of her loving husband Bob Fox, she withdrew nearly all of her retirement funds and started a business. In 2008, she’d be named one of the 25 most influential retailers in the world by Chain Store