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Foreshadowing
Genre
Explanation and Analysis:
The Chrysanthemums is a short story in the genre of literary realism, meaning its goal is to depict real life as accurately as possible. Steinbeck was also a prominent figure in the modernism literary movement of the early 20th century, in the company of writers like James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Marcel Proust. Modernist works challenged literary conventions and typical modes of storytelling, often to get to the heart of conventions that writers viewed as needing to be challenged in society while bridging the gap between literature and human consciousness.
A desire to depict the harsh reality of rural life in the early 20th-century American West is the force that drives Steinbeck's "Dust Bowl fiction," including The Chrysanthemums. Presented as a snapshot in time, this story strays from conventions of plot and character development that still, to an extent, govern literary interpretation today. The story does not make traditional use of plot devices, instead unfolding slowly and without real direction, in the same way an afternoon might in real life. But it is precisely this meandering, true-to-life quality that allows Steinbeck to "write between the lines" to make a statement about the gender politics of the early 20th century American West. Steinbeck's literary experimentation goes hand-in-hand with his desire to challenge gender roles through Elisa's character and interrogate rural suffering as a whole.
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