Formalism: Steinbeck and Lawrence

The thematic pattern of Lawrence's story could be described as magical realism. The narrative combines vivid imagination, an environment of intense psychological dysfunction, and features of sorcery and demonology. The reader either will or won't give himself over to the conceit, but the element of dark and effective magic can be set beside the intense and deep emotional emptiness that engulfs the boy's life and makes all the more shocking the effect of his death. In Steinbeck's story, there is a more subtle but no less intense undercurrent of effect. In "The Chrysanthemums," the thematic pattern of an ambiguous flirtation is established through highly suggestive description of physical surroundings and of behavior.

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ich explains why the point he makes (13), that Paul is better off dead if a rocking-horse and not mother is the center of life, closes the story. The intensity of feeling evoked by "The Chrysanthemums" comes about, not because the story describes what is going on inside the mind of the central character, as in "Rocking Horse," but because Steinbeck encodes the psychological content of the character by telling how Elisa behaves and what she says. Elisa's untapped strength is indicated by how she cuts the flower stalks: "over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy" (78-9). Competent as Elisa is, her sense of oppression is obvious. Her eyes flash at her husband's offhand comment that she could raise orchard apples as big as the mums (she could). She must ask about "his" business with the livestock because he plainly does not consult her on such matters. This is not an overtly unhappy domestic scene, unlike that of "Rocking-Horse," which so denies true feelings that they are bound to burst forth violently. Elisa's husband is not unkind, but life holds few surprises for her. Then the peddler shows up. Only after the brief encounter has run its course does the import of Elisa's initial obs
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1640
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)