53 pages 1 hour read

John Steinbeck

The Chrysanthemums

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1937

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

“The Chrysanthemums”

  • Genre: Fiction; short story
  • Originally Published: 1937
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
  • Structure/Length: Approx. 33 pages
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Thirty-five-year-old Elisa Allen tends to her chrysanthemums when a man shows up looking for work. Though she does not have work for him, they bond over her flowers, thus exposing her unhappy marriage.

John Steinbeck, Author

  • Bio: Born in 1902 in California; raised near the Pacific Coast; attended Stanford University to study literature but left before earning a degree; worked as a manual laborer and New York City reporter; met success with writing in 1935 with Tortilla Flat; traveled throughout the Western US during the Great Depression, which influenced his writing; known for his treatment of social and economic issues through the plights of his characters; earned the Nobel Prize for Literature (1962) for his body of work
  • Other Works: Of Mice and Men (1937); The Grapes of Wrath (1939); East of Eden (1952) 

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Dissatisfaction
  • Gender Inequality and Repression of Women
  • Sexual Fulfillment

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

  • Develop an understanding of the social and historical context regarding the role of women like Elisa.
  • Study paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Dissatisfaction and Gender Inequality and Repression of Women.

Related Titles

By John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Cannery Row

John Steinbeck

Cannery Row

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

In Dubious Battle

John Steinbeck

In Dubious Battle

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

Sweet Thursday

John Steinbeck

Sweet Thursday

John Steinbeck

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

John Steinbeck

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Harvest Gypsies

John Steinbeck

The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

The Log From The Sea of Cortez

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

The Long Valley

John Steinbeck

The Long Valley

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck

The Moon Is Down

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

The Red Pony

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Wayward Bus

John Steinbeck

The Wayward Bus

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

The Winter Of Our Discontent

John Steinbeck

The Winter Of Our Discontent

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

To a God Unknown

John Steinbeck

To a God Unknown

John Steinbeck

Plot Summary

logo

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck

Tortilla Flat

John Steinbeck

Study Guide

logo

Travels With Charley

John Steinbeck

Travels With Charley

John Steinbeck