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Compare and Contrast: He and The Chrysanthemums
The main character in John Steinback’s short story: The Chrysanthemums, is a married
woman named Elisa Allen. She is a hardworking diligent young woman. In the opening chapters
of The Chrysanthemums, Elisa is seen heartily in a great degree tendering to her gentle flowers.
Powerful she is – gentle and conservative with her strength. She knows her weakness. Like the
gentle calm flow of water embedding itself into layers of strata – which forms the highest peaks
and grandest canyons.
Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were as clear as water. Her figure
looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man's black hat pulled low
down over her eyes, clod-hopper shoes, a figured print dress almost completely
covered by a big corduroy apron with four big pockets to hold the snips, the
trowel and scratcher, the seeds and the knife she worked with. She wore heavy
leather gloves to protect her hands while she worked
Her lionhearted clothes reflected her valiant and strong attitude. However – Elisa Allen
hid her true feelings. She was deceitful in interpersonal communication. Her tongue spilled
bittersweet black smut like that of industrialized coal engines. However – it was compassionate,
her concern and subtle behavior. A girl screaming to escape maiden life, but only knew it was
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disrupt order. “Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors
was over-eager, over-powerful/The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her
energy.” Verily, she had the heart of a lion and the appearance of a virgin.
During a rather bleak period of her life, Elisa was visited by a strange wanderer. Galore
o’ thoughts echoed with every single syllable she silently sought after. His sunken words breasts
against her breasts and fell deep within her heart. The man left faster than the sound of his
echoing horse hoofs reached her ears, and like that – he set forth into the dawn.
Elisa stood in front of her wire fence watching the slow progress of the caravan.
Her shoulders were straight, her head thrown back, her eyes half-closed, so that
the scene came vaguely into them. Her lips moved silently, forming the words
"Good-bye--good-bye." Then she whispered, "That's a bright direction. There's a
glowing there." The sound of her whisper startled her. She shook herself free and
looked about to see whether anyone had been listening. Only the dogs had heard.
They lifted their heads toward her from their sleeping in the dust, and then
stretched out their chins and settled asleep again. Elisa turned and ran hurriedly
into the house.
Quickly thereafter, Elisa and her husband were getting ready to loll toward the city for a
meal. She dressed in her more beautiful attire, makeup and blush properly placed to her features
looked feminine for a night out on the town. On the way to the town, Elisa asked about the fights
in town. Her husband insisted they were for men – but women went to. He questioned if she
wanted to accompany him at a fight instead of eating tonight.
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She relaxed limply in the seat. "Oh, no. No. I don't want to go. I'm sure I don't."
Her face was turned away from him. "It will be enough if we can have wine. It
will be plenty." She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was
crying weakly--like an old woman
There are many comparisons and contrasts between Elisa and Mrs. Whipple in He. Mrs.
Whipple had a hard working and diligent son. He never complained – not once! It seemed like he
had a hand for chores, an eye for seeing mistakes and fixing them. Just like Elisa and her
Planting Hands, He had a knack for farming. Two quotations explains how He handles farm
animals. He didn’t seem to hear her clamor, but kept on twirling His switch and limping on, and
the bull lumbered along behind him as gently as a calf (Katherine Anne Porter: He) She (Mrs.
Whipple) watched from the window while He led the beast in, and tied him up in the barn.
(Katherine Anne Porter: He)
Mrs. Whipple worries about what other people may think. While there may be a few
differences in Elisa’s and Mrs. Whipple’s tone, the underlying message is that they care what
people think of their image. Elisa wanted people to feel she was feminine and faithful, while
Mrs. Whipple detested people looking down on her and her family.
Mrs. Whipple was all for taking what was sent and calling it good, anyhow when
the neighbors were in earshot. “Don’t ever let a soul hear us complain,” she kept
saying to her husband. She couldn’t stand to be pitied. “No, not if it comes to it
that we have to live in a wagon and pick cotton around the country,” she said,
“nobody’s going to get a chance to look down on us.
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There is also an instance where Mrs. Whipple complained about the current state of
things. While, on the other hand, Elisa only became slightly irritated because of repetitive
questions. Their attitude and tone is something that can be contrasted in the two stories.
Mrs. Whipple felt tired too, she complained in a tired voice. “What’s done can’t
never be undone, I know that as good as anybody; but He’s my child, and I’m not
going to have people say anything. I get sick of people coming around saying
things all the time.”
In our departure and adieu, both Mrs. Whipple and Elisa cared about how the world
perceived them. They were afraid if either of them peered into a crystal creek then they might see
an unholy beast abhorred by man. While Elisa’s sympathy and compassion was pure, Mrs.
Whipple only cared about her own ego. Mrs. Whipple even smoke ill of the doctor when it meant
her ego was threatened. She didn’t want people to think her family was poor or suffering. Her
desire was personal concern, while Elisa cared about the emotions of others.