Discussing the Chrysanthemums Essay example -- English Literature

Discussing the ChrysanthemumsIn studying the various schools of criticism and using them todecipher the inner whole works of novels, short stories, and poems, itbecomes apparent that they all share a common factor a theme. Thetheme of a story is the general idea or insight, which is revealed bythe entire story (Kennedy, 195). Although there are many themes thatseem to be similar, it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to find tostories with identical themes. Two stories with similar themes,however, are The Chrysanthemums, by joke Steinbeck, and The YellowWallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These two stories show thedamage caused by male domination in the past.The short story The Chrysanthemums gives insight into the life ofits author put-on Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas,California. The locale of the story is of key resemblance to theSalinas in which Steinbeck was born and bread. Salinas was a typicalAmerican small town, differing only in location and a fewd istinctive features (McCarthy 3). The story begins by displaying thesetting The high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the SalinasValley from the sky and the inhabit of the world.Though this does not directly illustrate the theme, the setting playsa role in building Elisa Allens prison. The main protagonist inThe Chrysanthemums, Elisa Allen, is a mid-aged housewife who alsohas a passion for growing chrysanthemums. This passion expressed inthe planting of these flowers brings out the suppressed romance in herlife. The fact that she is childless seems to have sublimated hermotherly instincts to produce extraordinary flowers. Nevertheless,the plants and flowers cannot compensate for t... ...nius soon tells Ophelia that she must seek outHamlet. Much to her dismay, Hamlet rejects her, and this begins adownward spiral for Ophelia. She begins acting in a depressed fashion,and everyone begins to think she has gone mad. Unfortunately, all thenegative light placed upon Ophelia leads to her death. It is notcertain whether she was murdered or whether she in fact committedsuicide, but she came to a tragic end by drowning.The events in Hamlet and The Chrysanthemums, though different inappearance show a very similar topic. The problem of male dominance isshown in both situations to devastate the emotions of the women. Inshowing respect and obedience for the male characters, the females arein fact hurting themselves. This theme of male dominance destroyingthe psyche of women has been, and will continue to be a major theme inliterature.