...November 2012 John Steinbeck: A Champion for the Common Man Born with the hand of a writer, John Steinbeck’s career sparked great political controversy, and greatly influenced the writings of his time. Widely considered one of America’s greatest novelists, his books are still frequently studied in school. Among his many accomplishments is the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Nobel Prize in Literature. With notable works such as The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, he expressed his dissatisfaction with capitalism and his sympathy for the struggle of the common worker in a way that captured the world’s attention – which resulted in some of his work even being banned. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explores the pervasive theme of loneliness and illustrates the fallacy of the American Dream. Widely considered his masterpiece, however, is The Grapes of Wrath which depicts the struggle of a family of Oklahoman farmers who are forced into a migratory existence due to the drought and dust storms following the Great Depression. When considering both The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, it is clear Steinbeck drew from his own personal experiences as a laborer when writing each of these novels. On February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California, John and Olive Steinbeck welcomed their third child and only son, John Ernst Steinbeck. John Ernst Steinbeck, Sr. was a county treasurer and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck was a schoolteacher. By all accounts, Steinbeck enjoyed a happy...
Words: 2324 - Pages: 10
...John Steinbeck was a famous man whom made great additions to literature. Writing classics such as “Of Mice and Men,” “Once There Was a War,” and others. All of his stories were quick to talk about human nature of some sort. Then in 1962 when he received the Nobel Prize, he openly expressed his opinion on what a writer should be making its readers feel. Mankind can either win or lose the battle internally as well as externally. Humans can conquer anything when we rule out fear, even though from time to time many all get lonely needing something to remind us of our homes. Steinbeck’s ideas were that a writer should be able to show the reality of life; to show that life is a war for every single person. In every single story mentioned from Steinbeck, he has shown that the real war is internal. Internal of course being inside of us, he showed that fear and any sort of emotion can make something so much harder to decide the next step. In that book the only person who seemed to understand the internal stirring was Slim. Who clearly said “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.” Also, the understanding was very clear in the movie as well. As the men rode to look for Lennie, Slim looked at George and they both nodded at each other in a very knowing manner. George was trying to figure out how to protect Lennie while retaining the safety of the others around him. In Of Mice and Men at the very end of the book George had to make a serious decision that would affect him for the rest of...
Words: 807 - Pages: 4
...“The Red Pony” by John Steinbeck – Critical Analysis John Steinbeck an American writer was born in the year 1902 and died in the year 1968.During his time, Steinbeck was one of the most accomplished writers and his literary works received massive popularity. Most of his novels and short stories were performed as plays on stage and that is one reason why he was among the best sellers during his era. One of his great accomplishments for his involvement in literature was the Literature Nobel Prize he won in 1962. Steinbeck wrote a total of twenty seven books and some of his most common books include; “The grapes of Wrath” written in 1939, the 1952 “East of Eden, The 1937 short novel “Mice and men” (John, pg 23). John Steinbeck spent much of his early life in a rural part of America and worked on various ranches with migrants ‘on spreckler ranch and other nearby ranches during his summers. He attended Salinas high school and later joined Stanford University, although he never graduated. He did various odd jobs before beginning his career as a writer. Steinbeck wrote his first novel Cup of Gold which was published in 1929.Other books he wrote were; the pastures of heaven (1932), The Red Pony (1933), Tortilla Flat (1935), The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and many others. During his career, Stein beck was involved in various issues and correspondence. Most of his literary works revolved around his life as well as the issues that affected people then (John, pg 56). One of the issues he wrote...
Words: 2030 - Pages: 9
...John Steinbeck John Steinbeck’s career as a writer led, led him to becoming a great American Novelist. When Steinbeck started his literary after dropping out of college, he was going nowhere. His work showed his inexperience, and it would be years before his writing would mature. Once he gained the experience he needed, his books were becoming top sellers and he became a distinguished author. The focus of his works was to reveal conditions in American work life. He particularly helped express what the conditions for farm hands were like. What made John Steinbeck a great American author is how he tried to help improve American’s life with his writing throughout his life. It is this focus is what makes him a true American author. “John Steinbeck was born February 17, 1902 in Salinas, California” (Gale). He was raised in a large family, “He was the only son and the third of four children of Olive (Hamilton) Steinbeck, a school teacher and John Ernst Steinbeck, manager and eventually owner of the Sperry Flour Mill, later treasurer of Monterey County” (Bernhard). His family was wealthy and down to earth allowing young Steinbeck an easy childhood, leaving a lasting impression in his literature. “The Salinas Valley, the rugged hills surrounding it, and the coastal flats bordering Monterey Bay … later became the backdrop for much of his fiction” (Bernhard). Both of Steinbeck’s parents actively stimulated his literature, but “Olive (Hamilton) Steinbeck … fostered Steinbeck’s love of...
Words: 809 - Pages: 4
...The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a great book that depicts how greed can corrupt a man. The Pearl is best known for its surplus of imagery and symbolism. One example of symbolism Steinbeck incorporated in the book is Kino’s boat. Kino’s boat can be seen as a symbol for family. His family was all pearl divers and the boat had been passed down from generation to generation. The songs that Kino hears are also symbols. They symbolize what is going around him. For example, when Kino first sees the pearl in its shell, he hears the Song of the Pearl That Might Be, also, when the doctor enters Kino’s home, he hears the Song of Evil. Another example of symbolism Steinbeck included is the pearl itself. When Kino first finds the pearl, it is seen as...
Words: 274 - Pages: 2
...Author John Steinbeck, who is considered one of the greatest American Authors of his time, wrote during the Modernism period. Particularly, in his work titled The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939. We can see evidence of the characteristics, themes and style identified with the Modernist movement which was extant in American letters between the late nineteenth century and the mid twentieth century. As a representative of such a movement, John Steinbeck then remains one of the most identifiable and iconic writers of his era. Born in California, John Steinbeck came from a family of moderate means. He worked his way through college at Stanford University but never graduated. In 1925 he went to New York, where he tried for a few years to establish himself as a freelance writer, but he failed to do so and returned to California. After publishing some novels and short stories, Steinbeck first became widely known with Tortilla Flat (1935), a series of humorous stories about Monterey's paisanos. Steinbeck’s novels can all be categorized as social novels, dealing with the economic difficulties of rural labor, though there is a streak of worship of the genuinity in his books, which does not always agree with his approach. After the rough and...
Words: 430 - Pages: 2
...The Pearl Literary Analysis In 1947 John Steinbeck wrote a novel, “The Pearl”, about exposing social injustices practiced on a poor indigenous community of pearl divers in La paz Mexico. John used the pearl as multiple motifs to make the theme during the book. The indigenous pearl divers of La Paz would never break out of poverty, even when they find a big beautiful pearl.The reason is that the people who live in the town would never allow it by stealing, tracking, and even killing. This book is exposing it secretly with the pearl representing something different throughout the book. In the beginning of the book the pearl represents hope and opportunity. The quote is “On the surface of the great pearl he could see dreams from” (19). The quote means that with the pearl they could do things that they only thought of in their dreams. The pearl represents something else, which is evil. Everything that the family thought would be so good went downhill very fast. “He felt cloth, struck at it with his knife and missed, and struck again and felt his knife go through cloth” (37). Kino, the main character, is attacking someone trying to steal the pearl in the middle of the night....
Words: 477 - Pages: 2
...achieve the great American dream. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck shows loneliness and the need for companionship through characters, conflict, and setting. Steinbeck depicts the effects of loneliness through characters in Of Mice and Men. Curley’s wife is possibly the loneliest character demonstrated in the book Of Mice and Men. She says, “I never get to talk to nobody.” (Steinbeck 86) This quote suggests it isn’t just Lennie and George who distance themselves from Curley’s wife; it is...
Words: 664 - Pages: 3
...Salinas, California, John Steinbeck was born. The setting of most of his fiction work was from his life in Monterey County. Between 1920 and 1926, he attended Stanford University. He ended up not graduating from Stanford. He instead chose to take up manual labor, later on creating the real life experiences for the main characters in some of his most famous novels. The first novel Steinbeck published was Cup of Gold in 1929. He then released The Pastures of Heaven and then To a God Unknown, which was in 1933. These three works of Steinbeck were considered unsuccessful. In 1935, Steinbeck finally had his first hit, called Tortilla Flat. In 1936 he released the novel In Dubious Battle. This was his first novel to enclose the impactful social commentary that defines his best work. He received more praise for writing the novella Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck won a Pulitzer Prize for writing The Grapes of Wrath. This is considered one of his greatest works, and maybe even one of the greatest works of all time. It also won him a National Book Award. There was later on a movie made for it. Later on he went and collected marine life in Mexico with an independent biologist named Edward Ricketts. The two worked together to write Sea of Cortez in 1941. During World War II, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent. When World War II ended, he published Cannery Row, The Pearl, and The Bus. These works were more sentimental and softened than his previous works. In 1930, Steinbeck married a woman named...
Words: 321 - Pages: 2
...What delusions, disguised as opportunities, ruin the lives of decent men? The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, explores in simple language the At first, the pearl symbolizes a way out of Kino’s poverty status, but by the end of the novel, the pearl embodies Kino’s soul. As a poor pearl fisher, Kino belongs to the bottom of society, dwelling in a “brush house in the tuna clump”, but this changes when he produces a lucky find (1). “...of the great pearl he could see dream forms. He picked the pearl from the dying flesh and... saw that its curve was perfect” (19). Kino’s gift stems from the death of the oyster, and since he expects the full benefits of a gift forcefully taken from life, he obtains Steinbeck’s mockery- ‘dream forms’, wishes beyond...
Words: 490 - Pages: 2
...The destruction of society Steinbeck explores the cause of greed in the society of La Paz as the result of colonial capitalism , thus through the destruction of society Steinbeck is cautioning the consequences of societal structures fundamentally based around the procurement of personal desires and therefore greed. In The Pearl, Steinbeck creates a microcosm of human interactions; these interactions form the basis of society in both the native and Spanish community, thus Steinbeck’s dysfunctional portrayal of the relationships within society is ultimately a reflection of the problematic nature of capitalism. Moreover, Steinbeck’s view of capitalism is also highlighted by how easily the society of La Paz deteriorates when the character’s...
Words: 751 - Pages: 4
...kuroi.zetsubo Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the shocking story of two friends, George and Lennie, who have nothing but each other and a dream that one day they will have some land of their own and no longer have to wander round the country in search of work. The direction in which the story is heading becomes clear as it draws to a close. When George kills Lennie because he believes he must take responsibility for him. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied, he pulled the trigger.” George realizes that he must be the one that kills Lennie and not the other ranch men. In the same way that Candy should have taken the responsibility for his dog, George believes that he must take responsibility for Lennie. He must have realized that even if they were to run away again, Lennie would get into trouble and they would have to run away again. It really must have killed George inside when he saw Lennie lying dead at his feet. He and Lennie were portrayed as having been together a long time. Now George is on his own and no different from any of the other ranch men , he no longer dreamed of having a house of his own, that dream died when Curley’s wife was found lying in the hay. George tells Lennie how different they are compared to the other ranchers. “Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world....
Words: 771 - Pages: 4
...John Steinbeck Research Paper: Final Draft John Steinbeck is regarded as the “quintessential American writer.” He created many works of literature that “evoke life in the 20th century with compassion and lyrical precision” (Li). John Steinbeck’s most popular works such as Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Grapes of Wrath (1939) explore the darker side of life in America for farm laborers. Though these works were considered highly controversial, they gained him major recognition. Of Mice and Men was adapted as a play in 1938 and was declared the best play by New York Drama Critics’ Circle. He went on to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1940 for The Grapes of Wrath. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature (Schultz & Li). As a child and youth, Steinbeck spent a lot of time working on farms and interacting with other migrant workers. His experiences with migrant farm workers created the foundation for Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27th 1902 in Salinas California to John Ernst Steinbeck Sr. and Olivia Hamilton Steinbeck. Steinbeck Sr. managed a flour mill, and his mother Olivia was a teacher in a school, thus securing the family a middle class income (Bender). His mother Olivia looked to “mold him into a man of broad intellectual capacity” (Kiernan). She read him several books as a child and, by the age of five, he could read. In school he was teased for “his large ears…so he withdrew into books.” His...
Words: 1697 - Pages: 7
...“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.”There is good in every man and I think this shows that there is good in Kino unless he does not show it.In the book The pearl by John.Steinback,their is a fisherman who is named Kino.He has a wife named Juana,and a baby boy named Coyotito.They are poor,and Kino fishes for pearls to support him and his family.Some key points that are in the book have to do with selfishness,greed,and loyalty. I think kino gets caught up with greed in the story and has trouble thinking of his family.He puts more thought into the pearl rather than the people closest to him.”How can we know what is a fair price if we do not know what the pearl buyer get for the pearl in another place?”pg.43-Kino is trying to get a good price,but he is risking what he can already get for it by wanting to go to another place than just selling it for...
Words: 683 - Pages: 3
...writing make this such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel? Steinbeck makes this passage such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel as it highlights main of the themes throughout the book, the main theme being friendship. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways. Steinbeck makes this such a powerful and revealing moment in the novel as it is the first time Curley is introduced and meets Lennie. Curley's character is described in a very wealthy style, convincing the reader that he does not live the life of a ranch hand. This is presented in the first line when Steinbeck presents Curley as a “young man”. On its own, this connotes naivety, as though he is fresh to the job, lacking experience and altogether slightly out of place compared to the other ranch workers. The extract continues, to portray him differently as “like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots”. At this moment Steinbeck makes the reader feel as if Curley is trying to ‘follow in the footsteps’...
Words: 1052 - Pages: 5
