'Obsessions In Susan Orlean's Orchid Fever'

In The Orchid Thief, John Laroche is known to be a strange individual who is unwilling to assimilate into society due to his inconceivable actions that are initially not understandable to the narrator. From wishing to “collect one of every single turtle species known to mankind” to suddenly becoming preoccupied with “collecting and resilvering old mirrors” to having nearly “sixty fish tanks in his house”, Laroche’s extreme peculiarity completely isolates him from everyone else who have integrated into the mainstream society. However, Laroche was more than just the epitome of eccentricity. His unfamiliar actions have also deeply affected the issues of modern society that others are wishing to resolve. For instance, Laroche decides to develop a false guide as to how to supposedly grow marijuana in order to prevent children from associating with marijuana which will cause detrimental harm to their body. Another time, in order to preserve the endangered wildlife in a nearby wild swamp, Laroche decided to collect each of the various types of plants in order to use scientific development to replicate

Close observations of O'Keeffe's flowers show that she never really pursued the realistic approach. She didn't paint every petal and detail. Instead she gave her flowers a life of their own, and expression that changed significantly

If he gave her any personal praise, as a woman of distinct qualities (one who was vital to the farm's survival), he might be empowering her. Thus, he keeps his praise for her superficial skills, growing flowers. In this way, Henry frustrates Elisa by not seeing into her true character. The flowers represent Elisa trying to find some way of escaping from her frustrated and repressed husband, not from her own sexual frustration.

“The Flowers” by Alice Walker is a very well written yet short and sweet story that paints a very vivid picture of main problem the times. It expresses the reality of the lynching of the African American community in a way that is very easy to understand. Alice Walker uses vibrant details to bring to light the severity of the problem and what people of that time period went through. The story also showcases a deeper meaning that does not necessarily revolve around lynchings but represents the loss of childhood innocence. “The Flowers” explains the reality of racism and lynchings of the time while also providing an inner lying message about one’s coming of age and loss of innocence.

Seemingly, the flowers represent Elisa. She believes she is strong and tough and able to accomplish anything thrown her way; however, taken for granted as she is only a woman allowed to look and act accordingly. Surrounding the flowers is a wire fence set up to keep out predators and to separate the flowers from the rest of the farm. The wire fence is symbolic in the fact that it is identical to the world Elisa lives in. Elisa is contained within the farm, unable to explore or leave without the help of someone else. Elisa is stuck on the farm, isolated from the rest of the world so that she can be kept safe. Naive and unaware of how the world works, her husband keeps her on the farm to protect her from harm. When Elisa gives the chrysanthemum to the travelling merchant, she gives him a small piece of herself. Later, as her and her husband are driving to town, she sees the flower tossed aside as though it was nothing; as a result, she realizes she could never go off on and live the way the merchant had. The flowers embody her character still, and how out of her home without protection, the world can be harsh and cruel. In short, Elisa’s isolation leaves her ignorant, unable to understand how callous the world is, and comes to the bleak realization that she can’t live a life anywhere outside of her fence. Because of how women were treated, constantly pushed down and unable to pursue their interests, Elisa is left unable to learn what life has to offer. Learning

John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums” features many themes: themes of gender suppression, love, passion, and betrayal. This short story revolves around the character Elisa Allen who has a strong love and a great passion for her flowers, for her beloved chrysanthemums. However, when a mysterious man arrives towards the end of the text Elisa’s love and passion for the chrysanthemums weakens and she feels betrayed by one of the things she loves most. Steinbeck uses the unlikely encounter between the Tinker and Elisa, as well as, the encounter between Elisa and her husband as a way to express the theme of love and betrayal.

Steinbeck introduces Elisa, the main character, as a masculine young woman with a “face lean and strong” (Steinbeck 209) and “her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat...clod-hopper shoes.” (Steinbeck 209) He lets the chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s true beauty. She feels that her husband does not see her as beautiful woman. All he can see is a house wife and a gardener. He shows little interest in the chrysanthemums. When Henry says, “You’ve got

In the chapter , at “The Western Place” , Brave Orchid sends for her sister Moon Orchid to come to America and to confront her husband who is living another life and is remarried. However, conflict arises as the two sisters have complete opposite thoughts and personalities. Brave Orchids whose name completely describes her - urges her sister to visit her husband. However, while Moon Orchid is completely fine without her husband, she feels pressured by her sister to do what was asked of her. While Brave Orchid is the complete package of what a chinese woman and her traditions would represent while living the American lifestyle- Moon Orchid is rather surprised by the actions of her sister and nieces and nephews. For

The Flowers By Alice Walker Written in the 1970's The Flowers is set in the deep south of America and is about Myop, a small 10-year old African American girl who explores the grounds in which she lives. Walker explores how Myop reacts in different situations. She writes from a third person perspective of Myop's exploration. In the first two paragraph Walker clearly emphasises Myop's purity and young innocence.

Susan Orleans novel “Orchid Fever” adapted into the movie “Adaptation” can be viewed and analyzed as an example of Hollywood’s approach of turning a novel into a film using cinematic devices to create a visual depiction of what was read. In the film “Adaptation” most of what is read in the novel “Orchid Fever” are told in a similar way, however, the film uses additional cinematic tools to recreate events and moments found in the novel. It can be noted that the film “Adaptation” uses content from the novel and employs further elements such as character behaviour, emotions, and motives, along with the use of the environment and camera techniques to integrate the written text into film. Events such as the day John Laroche was charged for trespassing

"The Chrysanthemums" introduces us to Elisa Allen, a woman who knows she has a gift for growing things, but it seems to be limited to her garden. Diligently working in her garden, Elisa watches as men come and go, living their lives unconfined, wondering what it must feel like to have that freedom. That emotion is revealed as Elisa gases at her husband and acquaintances talking, "she looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then." As she tills the soil for her chrysanthemums Elisa tills the thoughts in her head. The garden she so desperately maintained represents her world. A world that will only flourish if nourished. Emotional nourishment and stimulation is what Elisa lacked and longed for. The garden is limited in space to grow and so is her marriage. The garden is safe, non-threatening and so is her world. The garden contains many different elements that make it what it is, although unseen, and if the proper nourishment is not given it will die, as with Elisa.

Elisa, the main character in “The Chrysanthemums,” appears to be bored with her current lifestyle, which becomes apparent when she constantly inquirers about “the fights” that not many women attend (Steinbeck). Additionally, her boredom becomes even clearer when “the very big man” confronts Elisa for directions. At first, Elisa shows the man her usual tired, not-very-interested personality. However, once the man asks about her chrysanthemums, something that she adores, she immediately becomes alert and interested in the conversation. It appears that Elisa wasn’t used to feeling this “happiness” when she “shook herself free and looked about to see whether anyone had been listening (Steinbeck).” Furthermore, it becomes obvious that she is generally unhappy with her life when she and her husband are driving to the movies. After again asking her husband about the fights and hearing his response, she breaks down into tears

Steinbeck uses chrysanthemum’s to symbolize Elisa’s strength and power in order to show how societal standards cause women to miss out on opportunities and become frustrated with the confinement of their expression. “[Elisa] was cutting down the old year's chrysanthemum stalks with a pair of short and powerful scissors. She looked down toward the men by the tractor shed now and then. Her face was eager and mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful.” Chrysanthemum stalks require a great deal of force to be cut down, which is highlighted through Elisa’s use of “powerful scissors.” Ordinarily, flowers are portrayed as beautiful and delicate; however, chrysanthemums are sturdy and tough. Steinbeck chose specifically to use chrysanthemums because they symbolize the strength Elisa has; she is confident, empowered, and masculine, but all of her strength is confined within the standards of society just as the chrysanthemums are confined within the walls of her garden. Elisa, as a woman, is unable to express herself as strong, masculine, and proud because that was not the standard that women were held to during that time; her expression is confined to her work in the garden with her chrysanthemums, and it is frustrating for her to miss out on the opportunities that would showcase her strength and let it be appreciated by her husband and the mender because of the standard of delicacy and beauty that women are held to.

To help communicate her thoughts to Brave Orchid, the narrator decides to create a list of the thoughts and complaints she keeps internally. Kingston sets on telling her mother one thing from the list at a time to prevent the author from feeling uncomfortable because of her difficulty talking. However, after the first few confessions, Kingston’s mother grows impatient of her and tells her to stop because she does not “feel like hearing [her daughter’s] craziness”, resulting in Kingston feeling even more compelled to voice the thoughts kept internally that “[tear] at her throat” (Kingston 200). Eventually, the narrator feels that she cannot be silent any longer and unleashes a tirade upon her mother. She “stood up, taking and burbling” and accused Brave Orchid of being untruthful in her “talk-stories” and pushing to make her daughter a wife and a slave (Kingston 201). In her vocal outburst, it is evident that Kingston is angry because of her mother’s attempt to silence her. It is revealed that the author’s pent up rage can be accredited to her mother who, from the beginning, was always focused on keeping her daughter from communicating her thoughts. Kingston’s experience of being silenced has a negative impact on her morality which results in a violent outburst towards her

Steinbeck who masterfully uses the chrysanthemums as a direct correlation to Elisa, sweet, soft, and attractive. Elisa is sexual besides having above average smarts. Yet, she doesn’t give the impression that she would get involved in extra marital activity that makes her faithful and more captivating to the readers. The similarities to her flowers who often get attention for their size and boldness is a stark contrast to what we see from Elisa as she seems more reserved and off to the side. Elisa becomes very trusting of the tinkerer as she starts asking questions and wondering if she can do this type of work. To be outgoing and spontaneous is what she dreams of being in her rather mundane life.