Comparing the Use of Symbols in Steinbecks The...

John Steinbeck wrote â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† where the protagonist, Elisa maintains her flower garden with a flower called Chrysanthemums. In a daily routine, Elisa’s husband Henry is a typical farmer who was busy with his orchard and steers, while Elisa, a housewife tends to her garden as the chrysanthemums were shown as Elisa’s children. Written by Susan Glaspell, â€Å"Trifle† was a play about Mrs. Wright who was put through an investigation where she was the main suspect in the case of her husband‘s death. In the play â€Å"Trifles†, the canary symbolizes a child for Mrs. Wright who’s also a house wife and she took care of that bird like it was her child. The bird (canary) in â€Å"Trifles† is symbolically similar to the flowers in the Steinbeck story†¦show more content†¦Wright’s trapped and when Mr. Wright wrung it’s neck, Mrs. Wright felt as her husband took her child’s (canary) life. While Mrs. Wright is investigated, Elisa tended herself to the chrysanthemums, like they were all she had. Elisa, also a housewife, usually had activities involved in routine housework and maintaining her flower garden, that was filled with chrysanthemums. She took care of the chrysanthemums as if they were her children, and being a farmers’ wife, she had more free time than her husband, Henry. When the tinker, also known as the tin man, came up to Elisa for work he tried to manipulate her into giving him some work to do. When the tinker saw there was no way Elisa would give him work, he tried to work her. â€Å"What’s them plants, ma’am?† (Steinbeck, 208). Tinker asked Elisa about the plants probably so he could influence her about chrysanthemums- that way they bond on the subject of the flowers and from there Elisa started to explain the importance of these flowers. Elisa doesn’t realize she’s being played with until near the end when tinker fi nally leaves she waves goodbye to him but her voice drops as she says the word â€Å"Goodbye to goodbye†, finding that the tinker threw Elisa’s chrysanthemums away (Steinbeck, 210). This quote showed the attachment for the chrysanthemums Elisa had, and the minute the tinker threw away those flowers, it broke Elisa’s heart. This makes Elisa thinks about how a man can get what he wants while Elisa