Exploring John Steinbecks Short Story, The...

John Steinbeck used his short story, The Chrysanthemums, as a visual illustration to answer the adage, â€Å"Is the grass â€Å"really† greener on the other side?â€Å" During The Great Depression, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair. The American people were questioning all the maxims on which they had based their lives - democracy, capitalism, individualism. By the beginning of the next decade the United States had gone from a laissez-faire economy that oversaw its own conduct to an economy regulated by the federal government. John Steinbeck, who witnessed all these drastic and dramatic changes,†¦show more content†¦Elisa’s garden is her private escape, where she is free to daydream, yearn, and wonder about life outside of her valley. Her little fenced in garden not only keeps the dogs and cattle out, bu t her husband does not trespass in it either. It is hers and hers alone. Elisa shows signs that she is miserable in her marriage and her life, by being curt and dismissive to her husband, uninterested in his buyers, and equally rude and dismissive towards the panhandler that rides up in an ancient, rickety, covered wagon. being pulled by an old horse and a mule. He informs Elisa that he travels up and down the west coast year round looking for work to be able to make a living. He mends pots and pans, as well as sharpens knives and scissors for customers. He is a very big man who has learned to read people well. He is engaging, slippery, and a con-artist, who is a master of manipulation. When his salesman â€Å"spiel† does not work on Elisa, and she brushes him off, he changes tactics, and gains her absolute attention and favor, when he pretends an interest in her chrysanthemums. He goes so far as to mention or create on the spot, another female customer of his who would l ove to have a pot of them for herself. The truth was the panhandler was not interested in her chrysanthemums. He looked around her farm and envied her life. He naively saw only that she had a beautiful, thriving