Mini short story response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mini short story response - Essay Example g the story together to the final line, where Elisa is â€Å"crying weakly – like an old woman.† The way that Steinbeck does this can be discovered by taking a closer look at how Steinbeck uses imagery and action to illustrate the depth of Elisa’s isolation and frustration on a physical and emotional level. Steinbeck’s description of Elisa’s garden illustrates how isolated Elisa is physically from the rest of the world. The flowers are totally fenced in a specifically defined space. Although the fence is low, it still manages to serve as a barrier between Elisa and the other characters. Her isolation is added to by the description of the location where she lives. Steinbeck tells the reader about how â€Å"the high grey-flannel fog of winter closed off the [valley] from the sky and all the rest of the world.  Ã‚  On every side it sat like a lid on the mountains and made of the great valley a closed pot† (Steinbeck). This setting illustrates how Elisa is sealed within the ‘closed pot’ of the smothering cloud cover of social rules. Reinforcing that this is a symbolic concept, Elisa stands at the beginning of the story watching her husband talk to strangers at a location not far away from where she stands. Although she is curious about what they’r e saying, custom and expectation prevent her from leaving her garden to join them. The flowers within the garden are also symbolic of Elisa’s frustration in life. Steinbeck makes this connection by pointing out how she works with the flowers, â€Å"the chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy† (Steinbeck). The force and energy that she expends while she is tending to her plants is an outlet for the frustration she feels as she realizes that she cannot just join her husband. At the same time, Elisa obviously takes a great deal of pride in the beauty of her plants. This is Steinbeck’s way of pointing out that part of Elisa’s frustration is her failed ability to fulfill the role of