Assignment #2--Symbolism in Steinbeck

The Chrysanthemums written by John steinbeck uses symbolism in the very beginning of the story to explain to the reader what the setting is. He writes, "the high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from all the rest of the world. On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot." Here he symbolizes what the area looks like, place closed off from the rest of the world that just basically looks like a pot on top of a mountain. The main characters in the story are Elisa and Henry Allen, but Steinbeck mainly writes about Elisa Allen. Steinbeck uses symbolism again when he describes what Elisa looks like, "she was thirty-five. her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water." . Here you can just picture Elisa's eyes and how they must resemble water. There is a sort of tension between Elisa and her husband Henry. Steinbeck gives us the intention that Elisa feels that Henry doesn't care to much about her Chrysanthemums when he tells her that he would rather like to see her work in an orchid growing apples. By Henry saying that Elisa goes on the defensive and Henry tries to justify himself by telling Elisa that he'll be taking her to dinner that night. Elisa summits and they go on with their day, here Steinbeck shows the tension that this couple have and how they resolve their issue so calmly before it got out of hand.
As the story progresses Elisa meets this Big Man that is interested in her Chrysanthemums and she gets this feeling that she was yearning for the appreciation of her work and love of her Chrysanthemums. She tells the man about how to grow them and gives him a red pot for him to begin. The man thanks her and goes on his way, and Elisa sees him off. Later that evening Elisa goes to dinner with Henry and sees on the road the Chrysanthemums she shared with the man on the road. She believes that the man threw the Chrysanthemums on the road but kept the pot she had given him. She gets all tensed up and sad and asks Henry if they can have wine at dinner and then starts talking to him about something that he's interested in prized fighting. Here Steinbeck shows that Elisa is trying not to seems weak by changing the topic and getting her mind off it, but she then turned her coat collar so Henry could not see that she was crying weakly-like and old woman. Steinbeck here shows that Elisa isn't content with the life that she has has for herself and her Chrysanthemums.

About Me

Well for starters my name is Adrian Espinal, born January 28, 1990. I'm twenty years old, I'm Dominican born and raised there, I came to the United States when i was four years old. I have some artistic talent i'm not the best but i can draw and sketch pretty good, i actually have a good sack of sketch books scattered around in my room. As of right now I'm actually writing a fictional story that wad inspired by a drawing that i did back when i was like ten years old. I'm not gonna lie i have been trying to start a story from that for years but it wasn't until recently that i had a creative impulsion in my head and all these ideas starting coming out of nowhere. I like to brag about it to all my close friends because I'm putting my all into this story I've given all my characters names, and everything, gone into depth and detail about their personalities, likes, and dislikes everything. I've set a goal for myself to finish this and try to get it out there, but finishing it is the main thing. I think of myself as a humble person, I'm very quiet and tend to keep to myself until i feel comfortable enough to be myself around that person. Other than that I really have anything else to say about myself if anything you can just ask me and I'll tell you.