The Chrysanthemums

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Throughout “The Chrysanthemums,” the narrator hints that Elisa Allen, the protagonist, is dissatisfied.

• Why is Elisa dissatisfied? (topic sentence)
• Describe 2-3 situations that illustrate Elisa’s Dissatisfaction and explain why each situation frustrates her. One example must support the theme of Sexual Fulfillment in relation to Elisa. Support your response with textual evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain Elisa’s discontent in the context of women’s roles in the 1930s at large.

2. In the 1930s, women were expected to take on certain roles or behaviors deemed appropriate for their gender by society at large.

• In what ways does Elisa challenge these gendered stereotypes? (topic sentence)
• Describe two to three situations in which Elisa defies traditional roles or behaviors assigned to women. Support your response with textual evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, make an assertion regarding Steinbeck’s purpose for having Elisa confront Gender Inequality and Repression of Women in the 1930s.

3. Henry Allen and the Tinker present two different characterizations of men in 1930s America.

• How are Henry and the Tinker different? (topic sentence)
• Describe two ways in which Henry and the Tinker are different. Then describe one way in which they are similar. Support your response with text evidence.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain how despite their differences, their perception of Elisa is the same.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Point of view refers to the perspective the story is told from. Steinbeck chose to write “The Chrysanthemums” from the third person limited point of view, which means that the narrator follows one character and reveals the world from that character’s perspective, although the character does not tell the story themselves. Why did Steinbeck choose this point of view from which to narrate the story? What impact does this point of view have on the reader? Does this choice amplify or detract from the realism of the story? As you compose your essay, incorporate three quoted phrases from the story that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with paragraph numbers.

2. Setting refers to the time and place that a story takes place and often conveys a great deal about the characters within the story. “The Chrysanthemums” is set in the Salinas Valley in winter in the late 1930s. In what ways does the setting mirror the protagonist, Elisa? In what ways does it mirror the minor characters? How does the setting amplify the theme of Gender Inequality and Repression of Women? As you compose your essay, incorporate three quoted phrases from the story that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with paragraph numbers.

3. Conflict is the clash between two people or forces that creates drama in a story, and Elisa deals with both internal and external conflicts in “The Chrysanthemums.” With what internal conflict does Elisa struggle? With what external conflicts does she fight? How do these struggles connect to the themes of Dissatisfaction, Gender Inequality and Repression of Women, and/or Sexual Fulfillment? As you compose your essay, incorporate three quoted phrases from the story that strengthen your points of discussion. Cite your quotations with paragraph numbers.