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How Did The Working Class Influence John Steinbeck's Writing

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Writing for the Working Class: John Steinbeck and His Mark on Literature Writing has left influence on millions. Books have transformed lives, given purpose and happiness to those who have read them: literature is one of the most important things to a society, as it not only allows its readers to grow intellectually, but also creatively. John Steinbeck was once just a nine year old with Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Malory, who then went on to be someone considered one of the best writers of his time. Steinbeck has been held up next to authors like Edgar Allen Poe, and his writing is taught in most, if not every, high schools in America. Very few people are born famous and even less are born skilled in their field. Steinbeck was born in Salinas, …show more content…
Steinbeck received Le Morte d’Arthur for his ninth birthday, which later inspired him both to write and to incorporate many elements of King Arthur’s tales in Tortilla Flats. Steinbeck and his sister, Mary, “would imagine the turrets of Camelot in the sandstone erosions in the Pastures of Heaven, where his aunt lived”(National Steinbeck Center).Steinbeck also had a pony, Jill, which went onto inspire The Red Pony. As a teenager, Steinbeck, nervous and terrified, would send in works to literary magazines “under a false name and never put a return address on them[…]I was scared to death to get a rejection slip, but more, to get an acceptance”(Valjean …show more content…
Henning and Steinbeck lived in poverty in Pacific Grove, in a home Steinbeck’s father owned. Steinbeck later published The Pastures of Heaven in 1932, after it was picked up by publishers Cape & Smith, and The Red Pony stories in 1933 and 1934. He spent four years writing, editing, and revising To a God Unknown, which was picked up by literary agents McIntosh & Otis and published in 1933. However, he did not have any big successes until Tortilla Flat was published in 1935 by Covici-Friede, whom he stays with for the rest of his writing career. Tortilla Flat won the Commonwealth Club of California Gold

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