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The Chrysanthemums by: John Steinbeck

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 8mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the name of the valley where the story is set?

a)

Santa Lucia

b)

Orange

c)

Green

d)

Salinas

2.

Where is Elisa when she watches her husband speak with two cigarette-smoking strangers?

a)

The bedroom

b)

The garden

c)

The porch

d)

The kitchen

3.

What did the two cigarette-smoking strangers buy?

a)

Thirty cattle

b)

A tractor

c)

40 Acres

d)

12 bushels of oats

4.

Elisa asks her husband if they can order ___ at dinner.

a)

Lobster

b)

Dessert

c)

Steak

d)

Wine

5.

At the end of the novel, Elisa pulls up her coat collar to hide the fact that she is ___.

a)

Drunk

b)

Grinning

c)

Crying

d)

Laughing

6.

What does the tinker repair?

a)

Shoes and belts

b)

Pots and pans

c)

Machines and engines

d)

Roofs and windows

7.

Why is it significant that the Allen's have no children? Check all that apply.

a)

Elisa is an expert at gardening and fertility.

b)

Henry Allen doesn't want children.

c)

Elisa's job is supposed to be motherhood, and she is bored without children.

d)

Henry doesn't have time for a family.

8.

How does Henry seem to react to his wife she shows interest in men's jobs, like business?

a)

Indifferent

b)

Cruel

c)

Nurturing

d)

Mystified

9.

Elisa's husband represents the ____ American husband of the time period.

a)

progressive

b)

negligent

c)

ideal

d)

undesirable

10.

Elisa's husband is an example of ___ in the story.

a)

a patriarchal society

b)

rural poverty

c)

capitalist ideals

d)

middle class ennui

11.

How is Elisa's offer to help with the ranch work received?

a)

with excitement

b)

with condescension

c)

with anger

d)

with skepticism

12.

Elisa is so frustrated with life that she looks to the tinker for stimulating conversation and even ___.

a)

gardening advice

b)

help with her work

c)

sex

d)

love

13.

Elisa is stimulated by the Tinker and his lifestyle. What modernist themes does this reflect? Check all that apply.

a)

Oppression of marriage

b)

Gender roles

c)

Sex and Sexuality

d)

Freedom

14.

Which statement BEST describes why the chrysanthemums are an excellent symbol for Elisa?

a)

The chrysanthemums are covered with bugs, dirt, need TLC and someone who understands their needs.

b)

The chrysanthemums are used to get what the male wants, lied to, undervalued, and discarded as worthless.

c)

Henry would rather her cultivate an apple orchard.

d)

Henry doesn't see value in them.

15.

What is the metaphor used to describe the valley in which the story takes place?

a)

A sleeping calf

b)

A coiled snake

c)

An open book

d)

A closed pot