Week 4: Idea of my Character Analysis

Character Analysis

Last week which was week 4, Professor Sweeney assigned for his students to write a character analysis. The purpose was to compare any character out of any stories that were read so far, to ourselves. I decided to write my paper on the story, "The Chrysanthemums." I felt like both characters, Elisa and Henry's relationship with each other had some relations to my past relationship. Elisa's behavior may have determined why her behavior changed constantly. She felt like her husband wasn't giving her the proper attention like he should have. Her husband was applauding her for certain things, but then turns around and says something to make her angry. The only thing that Elisa knew that she had a strong talent for was growing the chrysanthemums. The question that makes us readers wonder was what did the chrysanthemums symbolize? Why was the title called, "The Chrysanthemums?" It's likely they made Elisa feel sad, furious, or unloved. She compares herself to the chrysanthemums, saying that she becomes one with the plants when she tends to them. Maybe her side of emotions explains why the relationship doesn't seem to be working well like she hoped it would of been.

A Good Man Is Hard to Find Week 3

"A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor was kind of weird story to me. An old saying once said, don't judge a book by its cover or title. The reason why I mentioned this saying is because when you first look at the title, you'll think that this story is about some relationship that isn't going right, or someone looking for a male partner. When really it's the complete opposite of what you think. This story is actually about a family going on a road trip. The grandmother and the children's mother had an argument about where they should go to vacation; the grandmother thought visiting Tennessee was better than going to a place they have already been. As I was reading, the grandmother seemed like a real stubborn and bad-tempered person that just complains about everything. The children are smart-mouthed and their mother doesn't pay much attention to her children. Reaching Tennessee, the family stops at this restaurant called The Tower, where fear is upon many of the people there; a criminal named "The Misfit." Being the way she is, the grandmother always has some sort of story to tell from her younger years. Surprisingly the grandmother recognizes the Misfit when she sees him, and claims that his a good man.  

The Chrysanthemums

I know that many readers would ask what does the title mean when they first look at the word. By the context throughout the story, this sentence gives you some sort of clue as to what the word chrysanthemum means: "The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy." (34) Chrysanthemums, or mums for short is actually a flower. For the first part of this story the author, John Steinbeck describes in great detail the setting, the Salinas California. The characters are Elisa, her husband Henry and a caravan(stranger to Elisa). Elisa, an underappreciated women that has a talent for using tools such as scissors and growing things especially flowers. She also had what was called 'planters' hands that knew how to grow things well. She just knew that her usage of tools were great and wasn't necessary to be fixed; she refused the stranger's assistance. I guess the guy thought since she was a woman, she knows less than what he knows. This leads to the main point of the story. How the wife gets judged of what she can and cannot do. They also are underestimated for what they really can do. Years and years ago, women usually stayed home and did house chores while the men would work. At this point, the husband thought that's what his wife was good for.