... his female protagonist, Elisa, is a middle-aged woman who is beginning to question how strong she is as a female in a society where males are viewed as the stronger sex. Steinbeck portray Elisa's transition of becoming and wanting to be a sturdy independent woman to realizing that she isn't as strong as she had contemplated, by exercising her underlying feelings of vulnerability, a ... , a man's black hat pulled low down over her eyes- This manly description proves in contrast to her activity of cutting down the delicate chrysanthemum stems. Steinbeck points this out by saying " The chr...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3

... seems to be a story about a woman and her passion for gardening. After the initial reading, however, this story's plot screams feminism. In Steinbeck's portrayal of the central character Elisa Allen, Elisa's appearance, actions, and speech depict the frustration women felt in the 1930's. These actions and feelings are Steinbeck's examples of the external and internal conflicts of one woman, Elisa, trying and failing to emasculate ... shoes, a man's black hat, and a big apron that hides her print dress. Her home is described as being hard-swept and hard-polished (Steinbeck 176). These des...

• Word Count: 927
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... . He is hard working and speaks to Elisa with respect. He is however a little condescending to her as he says "'I wish you'd work out in the orchard'" (Steinbeck 582). Knowing she couldn't work the orchards with the other men, it seems a bit condescending. Henry sells some horses and wants to take Elisa out to dinner and a movie. Before she is finished getting ... realizes in this moment that she is stuck in her life wanting more out of it. "Crying weakly-like an old woman" (Steinbeck 589), she accepts that she will always be just Henry Allen's housewife. In this story the theme is broug...

• Word Count: 658
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ," centers around a woman named Elisa, an avid gardner who is strong, "blocked and heavy" (Steinbeck). When the story begins, Elisa is working in her garden when her husband approaches her and and implies that she has obviously has a gift for planting and cultivating flowers. This acknowledgement from ... her husband pleases Elisa and makes her proud. When her husband leaves to tend to his cattle, a big, "stubble-bearded" (Steinbeck) man approaches on his wagon. He never gives his name, and Steinbeck only refers to him as "the man." She becomes fascinated by his lifestyle and starts drea...

• Word Count: 821
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Feminism in 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 her strongest ... and most proud in the garden and becomes weak when placed in feminine positions such as going out to dinner with her husband. Steinbeck smartly narrates this woman's fre...

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

... with her sexuality, and she is unable to articulate the source of the dissatisfaction. The meeting with the tinker renews Elisa's feelings of femininity and sexuality as a woman. The tinker gives Elisa hope of a more fulfilling life, while providing her with a renewed sense of self. In the portion of the story where Elisa is talking to the tinker, Steinbeck shows Elisa's eagerness for attention, and how she comes ... to the realization that there is a more exciting life outside of the farm. In the tinker, Elisa finds someone who sees her as more than a housewife. He is someone who ... le...

• Word Count: 971
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... with her sexuality, and she is unable to articulate the source of the dissatisfaction. The meeting with the tinker renews Elisa's feelings of femininity and sexuality as a woman. The tinker gives Elisa hope of a more fulfilling life, while providing her with a renewed sense of self. In the portion of the story where Elisa is talking to the tinker, Steinbeck shows Elisa's eagerness for attention, and how she comes ... to the realization that there is a more exciting life outside of the farm. In the tinker, Elisa finds someone who sees her as more than a housewife. He is someone who ... le...

• Word Count: 971
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... obediently; somewhat like cadets taking orders from their commanding officers. During the 1930s, women were under physical and emotional control by their male counterparts. Steinbeck illustrates this in "The Chrysanthemums" and Elisa's desire to break free from constricting gender stereotypes. Elisa, the story's protagonist, lived on a farm, far away from the rest of civilization; the only time she was able to communicate to people, besides her ... husband, was either when others came to buy their crop or to fix broken items on the farm. This led ... world, Elisa is unable to express h...

• Word Count: 471
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... reaching her full potential. This story line strikes a strong comparison to John Steinbeck's, "The Chrysanthemums". Using characterization, both authors created women who have a desire to be more than what society expects or allows. The characterizations go from the women being saddened by their lives, to each one coming to a personal ... for Elisa, she'd allowed her husband to incorrectly anticipate her idea of an evening in town, is demonstrates how she has accepted living under the labeled role of women in that time period. Elisa and Louise felt as if they lived their life to please...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the story "The Chrysanthemums- by John Steinbeck, the chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa's confidence and her feminist side. In the beginning, the narrator talks about her passion for the planting of chrysanthemums which she is so good at. It is shown by her chrysanthemums, which have no aphids, "no sowbugs or snails or cutworms."" However, when she is not with the chrysanthemum or feels disconnected with the ... is with her husband, who seems not to understand her "gift- as a planter. Through the story, Elisa gains the confidence from the man who rides by but later loses it. From the beginn...

• Word Count: 625
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The tone in The Chrysanthemums, by John Steinbeck gave me a sense of envy toward men. The main reason why I get this feeling is because Elisa Allen is a hard working housewife who doesn't really have much of a life but to stay at home and tend to the garden and the house. She enjoys her garden and her husband but feels that there could be more to life. In ... the beginning of the story ... there is no hint of her being at all envious toward the men in the story. Then, when the big stubble-bearded man comes along in the wagon who fixes pots and pans, the mood changes after she starts to talk ...

• Word Count: 601
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... character, has three important men in her life. All of whom she looks at differently and has different emotions for. Throughout her life Edna feels the need for attention from all men. This explains why she marries Leonce Pontellier, her deep feelings for Robert Leburn, and her sexual affairs with Alcee Arobin. Because her husband spends ... and children. She longs to be with Robert but knows that it would be frowned upon by others who know them. Edna has a love affair with Alcee Arobin. He has the reputation of a "ladies man". Alcee enjoys flirting with women, especially married women...

• Word Count: 355
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... old. Cumberbatch's survey found that women often occupy a more decorative role than men and Mulvey suggests that women are portrayed as sex objects and as the male-defined ideal. Cumberbatch found that 89% of voice-overs for television commercials were male and that in advertising women were out-numbered by a 2:1 ... group, requiring different needs, often seeming to serve as an emotional outlet for women. It is said that female issues are marginalized by the media, such as female sport both in newspapers and on television. This extends to feminist ideas and lesbianism, which are often...

• Word Count: 371
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... has been raped. Thus, it could be argued that Hardy's portrayal is primarily a pessimistic one. However, this is not reflected throughout the novel. Hardy constantly underlines Tess' purity by relating her closely to her environment. For example, when she leaves home to go and work ... as a maid at Talbothay's, her feelings seem to be reflected in her picturesque surroundings: "the birds-eye perspective before her was not so luxuriously beautiful, perhaps, as that other one which she knew so well, yet it was more cheering"; and ... : "Tess had never visited this part of the country befo...

• Word Count: 316
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Dr. John Money's premise was that sexual identity was determined by the effects of environmental influences rather than by the genetic makeup of a person. Dr. Money felt the John/Joan case provided the perfect variables to support his hypothesis of "nature vs. nurture." By the time the Twin's mother had sent Dr. Money her letter, she was so desperate, she was willing to trust just about anyone ... who would listen to her story. Dr. Money realized how disheartened and vulnerable the mother was, and knew it would take little convincing to get her to consent to his experiment. Dr. Money basicall...

• Word Count: 252
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... , and Ulrich Zwingli have posed a certain attitude towards women. Women have been held in lesser esteem throughout the centuries because they have been expected to enhance the image of men. In the sixteenth century, John Calvin, a humanist, who wrote and believed in predestination, thought women, belonged in the kitchen and their body was for a man's pleasure only. Also, he said that women were obligated ... ", because he wanted to show that they were capable of having children. This was his main view on women. Since the sixteenth century, women have come a long way. Today, women have man...

• Word Count: 328
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... to school to become a doctor and Walter thought that she should know her place as a woman and be a nurse. Even though in that time if a woman worked in the field of medicine she was usually a nurse and not a doctor I feel that Walter was jealous that Beneatha, a woman, was going to become a better and smarter person ... then him and that scared him to think that a woman would make more money then he would and that a woman could really make a difference in the world. The role of black women seemed to contain more work then that of white women. Even though societies view of women was to st...

• Word Count: 485
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... made tremendous lead way in embracing our differences and learning from them, there are still kinks in the rope that need to be undone. For example, take a look at some of the major fortune 500 companies. Look at the CEO's and Presidents. Not many females hold those positions. Matter of fact, almost 90% are ... those couple of naive people that still think white is better than black. Instead of seeing color they need to look beyond and see the intelligence and determination. Some of the smartest people in history were black. One that comes to mind is George Washington Carver. Growing u...

• Word Count: 475
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... such as Vogue and Bazarre. There were many pages of advertisements by Prada, Gucci, Banana Republic, and numerous others. There were many ads on alcohol, cigarettes, cars, shoes, and clothing. The magazine contained very little content than a women's magazine. It had few contents on music by Mary J. Blige and some unknown band from Kentucky. There were few articles on sex, but ... lipstick and foundation. In a men's bag, there would be deodorant, shaving cream, razor, and maybe a bottle of cologne. There's a lot of new technology in men's magazines such as a picture of the new fold-up k...

• Word Count: 409
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

This film was very interesting. It covered a wide variety of topics, introducing many concepts of human sexuality. One of these that I found particularly interesting was the art of attraction. It showed several aspects of what men and women find attractive. In general, women are sought out to have slender waists, perky breasts, and a youthful glow. Men ... stereotypically are found more attractive with wide shoulders and masculine features. I thought it was interesting that symmetry was also stressed. Members of the community that were more symmetrical, especially in the face, were considered...

• Word Count: 342
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... appropriate and expected behavior, abilities, career directions, and personal goals, which are based on sex rather than interest and ability (Hall & Sandler, 1982). Teachers may not do this deliberately, but the student's ability to learn is affected and because of this, sexual discrimination is a problem that must be faced. If you encounter sexual discrimination, you must speak up and make your ... issue to be dealt with. Some teachers treat students differently based on their sex, and to have equal opportunities for every student, this is something that must be eliminated. In the past...

• Word Count: 843
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... that arises from each sex's differences has caused disputes and quarrels that stem from the inability to understand the characteristics of men and women. In Houston's story, the differences in genders are depicted in a scenario that gives rise to clashes between the male and female sex. Men and women both have their differences in viewpoints and tendencies, but it is through those discrepancies and ... experiences when dealing with the differences that perspective is gained. Houston's story, "How to Talk to a Hunter", gives many examples of the differences between men and women, and sho...

• Word Count: 271
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that gender's meaning is controversial pertaining to gender roles, gender gap, and gender stereotypes. For instance, gender roles can be used to describe the typical tasks that are associated with being either male or female. As time progresses the gender gap will continue to merge and gender will no longer have a negative connotation. Saying that women and men are traditionally supposed to ... be a woman or a man. It would be stereotypical to believe that a woman's place is in the kitchen, and at the same time to assume that a man's job is to financially support the family. Most women ...

• Word Count: 260
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... and stereotyping have always been a problem. Men are to act a certain way and women are to act a certain way. Even though some stereotypes have been destroyed, the contradictory gender roles of men and woman in the twenty-first century are still present. Just fifty years ago, a woman with a successful job, or any job for that matter, was rare. Women were to star ... home, raising children and keeping the house. Overtime feminists came to be and rebelled against their current status. Today it's almost rare to find a housewife. Women are becoming doctors, lawyers - anything they want to b...

• Word Count: 550
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... gender, as gender is socially constructed, and therefore, there are basic natural constancy's regarding ones sex which would contribute towards determining childhood. Carol Gilligan and Nancy Chodorow identified that the possession of certain genitals does support a common enough meaning across a range of cultures to make possible a fundamentally homogenous set of generalizations regarding a child's development. There have been ... were hidden from them. Children had their own culture and became idealized, as a magical time of innocence and fun. Gender refers to the expectations society p...

• Word Count: 590
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate