Chrysanthemums

John Steinbeck's famed short story, "The Chrysanthemums," was published in Harper's Magazine in 1937. This story is quite vigorously argued to be Steinbeck's best short story, as well as a piece that outshines and does not belong to his remaining body of work. "The Chrysanthemums has been called John Steinbeck's best short fiction, and some rank it with the world's greatest short stories." (Haggstrom, Page 1) He wrote the story just a few years before the United States entered World War II. During this period in America, a great deal of the male population was occupied, mostly abroad, with military activities. Stateside, women picked up a great deal of the industrial and domestic slack while the men fought the second great war. Prior to this period, women lived the traditional experience of confinement, restriction, and social internment.

The Allen ranch in his short story is set Salinas Valley, California,...
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