The ChrysanthemumsSummerThis short story was published in the aftermath of the women's rights movement and during World War II. John Steinbeck cared about political and societal bad practices and expressed his opinions in his writings. This short story belongs to a collection entitled The Long Valley. Elisa Allen is working in her garden and she sees her husband, Henry, talking with two men about selling his oxen. The garden bed and the house are attracted attention and it is emphasized that they are very clean and organized. After the strangers leave, Henry approaches her and politely compliments her on the beauty of the garden, then wishes that she would tend the orchards in the same way. She first wants to help him but realizes he was joking. Henry says they should celebrate by going into town and jokingly suggests watching a fight, to which Elisa declines. Henry leaves and a cart arrives with a charming but uneducated handyman. They joke about the ferocity of dogs. He asks for work to pay for food and Elisa denies that there is work for him to do. He notices the chrysanthemums and tells her he has a customer who wants to grow them. She suddenly gets excited and begins to prepare some plants for him to take with him, and she explains to him how to take care of them. She expresses her passion and connection with flowers in a seductive way, even to the point of wanting to have physical contact with the handyman. She refrains from touching. The handyman points out that it's difficult to feel this way when you're hungry. Elisa gives in and finds something to work on. While the handyman works, Elisa expresses his opinion that women can do the same kind of work as him, which he says would be too... middle of paper... cold or icy. This description of the weather in the valley applies to Elisa. This lyrical description of the valley is a symbol of Elisa's oppressive and unhappy inner life. The author wanted to provide a realistic view of life at that time and also wanted to bring to life what ordinary women of the time were feeling. The subject matter and writing style could be considered simple, but it is to allow you (the reader) to feel yourself in the time and place and thus feel the emotional context of the events happening to the characters.BibliographyBarnet , Sylvan, William Burto and William E. Cain. Literature for composition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2014. Publishers, SparkNotes. SparkNote on chrysanthemums. April 9, 2007. SparkNotes LLC. April 25, 2014. McMahan, Elizabeth. Chrysanthemums: a study on women's sexuality. Modern Fiction Studies, 1964.