The Chrysanthemums

I thought that John Steinbeck wrote a very interesting story when he made “The Chrysanthemums.” My first impression of the story was that it took place during the very early 1900’s when only very wealthy farmers had good technology. “The three of them stood by the tractor shed, each man with one foot on the side of the little Fordson.” (632). Elisa Allen’s passion for gardening was another thing that I noticed early in the story. “Elisa watched them for a moment and then went back to her work. She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume,” (632). In a way Mrs. Allen reminded me of my mother and her love for gardening. My mom works in her garden as if she was getting paid. As I read on in this story I got the impression that Mrs. Allen was quick to judge people. When the man in the wagon came, Elisa was laughing. However, “The laughter had disappeared from his face and eyes the moment his laughing voice ceased. His eyes were dark and they were full of the brooding that gets in the eyes of teamsters and of sailors.” (634). It seemed in a way that the meeting between the two was a bit awkward. Mrs. Allen was a high class woman where the man in the wagon lived on the road. Despite this, it seemed that the chrysanthemums were a sort of bridge between the two. As soon as the man in the wagon mentioned the chrysanthemums, Mrs. Allen changed her tune. “Elisa’s eyes grew alert and eager.” (635). She was suddenly very willing to talk to the man in the wagon and even gave him some to take along on his journey. I was a little confused, however, at the end how Mrs. Allen was, “crying weakly – like an old woman.” (639). It seems as though Mrs. Allen wasn’t satisfied with her lifestyle and wished that she could live a bit more like the man in the wagon.