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The Chrysanthemums Summary
John Steinbeck

Everything you need to understand or teach The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck.

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The Chrysanthemums Summary

The story opens with a panoramic view of the Salinas Valley in winter, shrouded in fog. The focus narrows and finally settles on Elisa Allen, cutting down the spent stalks of chrysanthemums in the garden on her husband's ranch. Elisa is thirty-five, lean and strong, and she approaches her gardening with great energy. Her husband Henry comes from across the yard, where he has been arranging the sale of thirty steer, and offers to take Elisa to town for dinner and movie to celebrate the sale. He praises her skill with flowers, and she congratulates him on doing well in the negotiations for the steer. They seem a well-matched couple, though their way of talking together is formal and serious. Henry heads off to finish some chores, and Elisa decides to finish her transplanting before they get ready to leave for town.

Soon Elisa hears "a squeak of wheels... View more of the The Chrysanthemums Summary

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The Chrysanthemums Study Guide

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-- Elisa Allen is the story's protagonist, a thirty-five-year-old woman who lives on a ranch in the Sal... read more
-- In this story a lonely and isolated farm wife meets a traveling tinker and realizes that, that which... read more
-- The chrysanthemums in the story, The Chrusanthemums, represent Elisa's children. The same care and c... read more
-- John Steinbeck is the author of The Chrysanthemums. read more
-- It is something that he can use during his travels to barter with.  read more
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