write a body paragraph that fits in between them. Introduction: What we learn about our friends on a road trip may be very different from what we learn about them in their homes or at school. Characters in a story can also change when they move from one place to another. Authors use setting — the time and place of a story — as a device to reveal particular aspects of a character. In John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums," the shift of the setting from the ranch to the road plays a crucial role in the development of the main character, Elisa. Conclusion: In conclusion, Steinbeck uses the different settings in "The Chrysanthemums" to help us understand the main character, Elisa, more fully. We first learn about Elisa by observing her connection to the chrysanthemum garden and her interactions there. Later, different aspects of Elisa's character — including her complex feelings — are revealed while she is traveling in a car. We might think that setting is just the backdrop of a story and not important, but when we pay attention to the clues an author gives us about a character, we see just how important the setting is.