... John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums." At first glance John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" seems to be a story about a woman whose niche is in the garden. Upon deeper inspection the story has strong notes of feminism in the central character Elisa Allen. Elisa's actions and feelings reflect her struggle as a woman trying and failing to emasculate herself in a male dominated society. Elisa is at ... you to do" (paragraph 46). The drifter mentions Elisa's chrysanthemums and she immediately loosens up as "the irritation and resistance melt(ed) from her face" (paragraph 51). The drifter f...

• Word Count: 797
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... many women encounter are "Barbie Doll" by Marge Piercy, "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston and "The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window" by Joy Harjo. The reader notes that a major theme of the three works is the long-term effect of outside pressure on the subjects from birth. In these works, each character represents a woman trying to come ... bustle "to and fro apologizing," apologizing for failing to mirror the image of a Barbie-like woman that the world seems to want. Though she attempts to defy these expectations by cutting off her "great big nose" and "fat legs," i...

• Word Count: 979
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... vastly cherished because of the level of difficulty they are compared to those of the females. As stated by Omadjohwoefe "Men go for hunting, build houses and meet other survival expectations of the women. Thus, the role men play became not only valued but also prestigious ". Men are the dominant gender within a household of a family, without the roles of men a household ... asks of her, regardless of what the task is " (Cochran). If a man commands a women to do something women are to do what they are told without confronting it. As Omadjohwoefe notes, "The prevailing division of labor ...

• Word Count: 638
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School