The Chrysanthemums

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“The Chrysanthemums 2.0”

In this activity, students will create a modernization of Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” to make it more relevant for a modern audience.

John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums,” poignantly illustrates the repression women faced in 1930s America. Despite the gains in women’s equality in the nearly 100 years since “The Chrysanthemums” was published, women are, in many ways, still as repressed as the protagonist, Elisa.

Your task is to rewrite Steinbeck’s short story to make it more relevant to a modern audience. Instead of being kept out of the orchards, where might a modern Elisa face opposition? Instead of longing for the open road, what kinds of freedoms might a modern Elisa dream about? Be creative in your exploration and creation of this modern retelling, but be sure to address the following situations in your rewrite:

• Setting: Ensure that the setting itself is in some ways responsible for Elisa’s oppression.
• Relationships: Ensure that Elisa is in some way dependent on someone else for safety and security, which leads, in some part, to her resentment.