The Chrysanthemums - Steinbeck

What is the setting of the story?

• Salinas Valley, California, winter, 1937

• Salinas Valley, California, summer, 1850

• Kansas prairie, fall dust storm, 1940

• The Yukon, Alaska, spring thaw, 1902.

What is the significance of the setting?

• The valley is near the highway to represent the modernization Elisa wishes for.

• The valley is near the Salinas River to represent travel.

• The valley is dark and isolated by fog to represent the isolation Elisa feels.

In paragraphs 5 & 6, select the terms that Steinbeck uses to describe Elisa.

• weak

• masculine

• handsome

• pretty

• strong

How would Elisa and Henry's marriage best be described?

• Non-traditional

• Traditional

• Abusive

• Romantic

What does Henry suggest they do after he finishes work?

• Go to the fights in town.

• Go to dinner and a movie.

• Have a picnic.

• Fix some pots and pans.

Who came by the farm after Henry left to collect the cattle?

• A tinker

• A handyman

• A thief

• A child

When he arrives, does Elisa want to hire the tinker's services?

• yes

• no

How does the tinker get Elisa to hire his services?

• He makes her feel sorry for him because he hasn't eaten.

• He bullies her and threatens her with his dog.

• He gets her talking about her flowers and offers to take some to another customer.

• He asks Henry.

How does Elisa learn that she has been manipulated?

• She sees that the tinker threw the flowers by the side of the road.

• She hears form Henry that the tinker was a fake.

• She discovers that her saucepans aren't properly fixed.

• The tinker flirts with her but then leaves her.

What is the significance of this quote? "Kneeling there, her hand went out toward his legs...Her hesitant fingers almost touched the cloth. ...She crouched low like a fawning dog"?

• It shows that she wants him to sit down with her.

• It shows that she is trying to make a connection with him.

• It shows that she doesn't trust him.