...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...
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...As some of the paramount examples of early 20th century literature, John Steinbeck's novels not only encompass the epitomes in characteristics of the laboring class, but also demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit. Through stories of the downtrodden, Steinbeck teaches the reader a much-needed lesson about the complexity of the world in which we live and the people's response to that complexity. Of Mice and Men's protagonist, George, convincingly personifies the dispiriting mood that spanned America at the time of the Great Depression. Attempting to find work in California, George is depicted as a capable, yet underprivileged, laborer who begins to form conceptions on the dynamics of society. Through George's journey, Steinbeck paints a picture of a typical American worker in the Depression-ridden country, and in turn shows the reader the unfortunate realization that the main character comes to as he searches for a job: the world is designed for the weak to become weaker and strong to become stronger. In other words, the concept of social Darwinism prevails in this novel as, time and time again, the main characters are forced into an endless cycle of poverty (want to say something along these lines but a different word than poverty). "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing...
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...H. Tharp The Unspoken Truth about John Steinbeck’s Legacy in Monterey County John Ernst Jr. Steinbeck is one of the most respected and honored American writers among our society today. In many classrooms around the world, his books are still mandated as reading requirements and there are many museums and centers dedicated to this esteemed author. John Steinbeck has won numerous awards for his books, most notably the Pulitzer Prize for his fictional novel, The Grapes of Wrath in 1940, and the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962 based on his entire body of work. Steinbeck’s other awards, which are typically less known are included in the following chart: WORK | YEAR | AWARD | MEDIUM | “The Murder” | 1934 | O. Henry Award | Print | Tortilla Flat | 1935 | Commonwealth Club of California Gold Medal for Best Novel by a Californian | Print | In Dubious Battle | 1936 | Ibid | Print | Of Mice and Men | 1938 | N.Y Drama Critic’s Circle Award | Play | “The Promise” | 1938 | O. Henry Award | Print | Of Mice and Men | 1939 | American Bookseller’s Award | Print | LifeBoat | 1944 | Academy Award nominee for Best Story | Print | A Medal for Benny | 1945 | Ibid | Print | The Moon is Down | 1946 | King Haakon Liberty Cross | Print | Viva Zapata! | 1952 | Academy Award nominee for Best Original Screenplay | Play | N/A | 1963 | Honorary Consultant in American Literature to the Library of Congress | N/A | N/A | 1964 | U.S Medal of Freedom; Press Medal of Freedom | N/A...
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...Nikki Slomers Mrs. Moser AP English 11 28 March 2014 Steinbeck’s Philosophical Theory and Influences The Grapes of Wrath, a story of the Joads’ journey from Oklahoma to California in search of the American dream during the Great Depression era. Thousands upon thousands of people had to pack up and leave the land that they were born and raised on due to the Dust Bowl and the banks foreclosing on acres and acres of property. Having lived through this time period, John Steinbeck, the author of the novel The Grapes of Wrath is no stranger to the conditions these people lived in. Traveling with migrant farm workers for a few years in Salinas California, John adopted a very specific philosophical theory from the many influences around him. John Steinbeck’s philosophical theory, including transcendentalism and the concept of the oversoul, humanism, earthy democracy, and pragmatism, all play an important role in the development of his characters in The Grapes of Wrath. To begin, one of the most important characters in the novel, Jim Casy, “the preacher”, single-handedly interprets and embodies the philosophy of the author John Steinbeck and the novel itself. Tom Joad and Jim Casy cross paths while Tom was on his way home to find his family after just being released from prison. The two men, having been long time friends, decide to walk together and catch up. Jim vents to Tom, and tells him about not preaching anymore. “I was a preacher,” the man [Jim Casy] said seriously, “but...
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...The Grapes of Wrath is primarily a story about the Joads, an all-American farming family, and their journey westward, but through the use of inter chapters, the novel also depicts the hardships faced by the general population during the Great Depression. These chapters are added to give more detail and history about the economic and familial circumstances simple people must go through. The use of inter-chapters in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath adds to the novel stylistically, thematically, and symbolically by allowing readers to experience the struggles of average American families and relating those situations back to the Joads. Steinbeck’s use of inter-chapters add to the novel stylistically by using them as a foreshadowing technique. In chapter 7, it says “Squirt in a couple quarts of sawdust. Put some in the gears, too. We got to move that lemon for thirty-five dollars” (). Steinbeck is telling the readers about corrupt car salesmen who tamper with cars to take advantage of desperate families for profit. This chapter is foreshadowing the events in chapter 16 when the Wilson family’s car breaks down and the Joads stay back to help them. Another example is chapter 9 foreshadowing the...
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...The Grapes of Wrath a well-known classic by John Steinbeck was published in 1939, and before it was published, migrant workers were living in very harsh conditions in several parts of the United States. The Grapes of Wrath is about an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family, the Joads, who suffer various hardships while migrating to California. The Dust Bowl was a period of time in the 1930s where harsh droughts led to severe dust storms which ruined million acres of prairie land in America. This story tells us the plight of all those migrants during the Great Depression through the perspective of the Joad family. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses intercalary chapters to provide background for the various themes of the novel, as well as to set the tone. Steinbeck’s previous book had bought him much success and Steinbeck did not want his success to weaken his commitment to the intellectual goals of his writing. So later, he embarked upon a trip from Oklahoma to California with a group of migrant workers. He worked and lived alongside them in a work camp in California. His experience was the inspiration for this novel. The story begins just after Tom Joad is released on parole from McAlester prison for homicide. On his journey to his home in Oklahoma, he meets former preacher Jim Casy whom he remembers from his childhood and the two travel together. He finds out his family has been evacuated from their land and are leaving for California. Tom and Casy join them. Going west on Route 66...
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...06 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...
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...first years of the Great Depression, if anything he worsened everything. The first hundred days in office were the most vigorous days of his presidential career. FDR affected not only the country and the people who lived during that time; he gave authors of that time something to write about. Many literature pieces were based on the Great Depression; however, FDR was trying to change the direction of the country so everything he did was also put into perspective when authors were creating literature pieces. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck writes about a family, the Joad family, who experiences all the struggles of the Great Depression. They make their journey to California to fulfill their hope of getting a fruit-picking job there. Steinbeck writes this book as if it were a true story, which in many ways it was considering how many families experienced this hardship during the Great Depression. Ma Joad is the mother of the family who goes on this journey to reach California. Ma is the only thing that holds their family together because she gives them name 2 hope and the support they need to keep moving. In a way, she and FDR are alike by the role they play. Ma is the glue that is keeping her family from breaking, and FDR was the glue that held together the US during the Great Depression. When the family’s hope was dying, Ma brought them together: Rich fellas come up an' they die, an' their kids ain't...
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...Prior to writing the book, Steinbeck took a “four week journey from Bakersfield to Needles in which he lived and worked with Depression migrants.”(Reuben, Paul P) During World War I, wheat prices were high so most farmers plowed the grassland and planted dry land wheat as “bushel of wheat sold for $1 in 1929.”(The Farmers Plight) Because of over production, wheat dropped to “$.30 cents in 1932” and farmers were not prepared for the phenomenon of the Dust Bowl. (The Farmers Plight) Steinbeck’s novel begins by detailing the dust bowl that hit Oklahoma, "Houses were shut tight, and cloth wedged around doors and windows, but the dust came in so thinly that it could not be seen in the air, and it settled like pollen on the chairs and tables, on the dishes."(Steinbeck pg. 3) Drought and soil erosion brought on by over farming turned the agricultural land of the Great Plains into a giant dust bowl during the 1930’s. The once rich grassland turned into a giant dust bowl during the 1930’s “due to drought and soil erosion brought on by over farming” (Divine, APP). Herman Goertzen, a Midwestern farmer experienced one of the most devastating storms first hand, “It was like a black wall that went over that area, south of us, there. It went through and it was just like shutting a barn door.”(Goetzen) He states, “The iron guard bit into the house corner, crumbled the wall and wrenched the little house from its foundations so that it fell sideways, crushed like a...
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...The Truth about Migrant workers Behind the Oklahoma dialect of ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ and the telling words contained in article four of ‘The Harvest Gypsies’, it is evident Steinbeck is attesting to the deep struggles and obstacles migrant workers had experienced in the 1930s. John Steinbeck’s main point it seems, is to let the readers know and understand the extent of the migrant worker struggles and how it has taken a toll on simple things such as their dignity, self- confidence and ability to govern themselves. Steinbeck also goes on to give the readers the impression he strongly favors the construction of more Federal Government camps to assist the migrant workers during their current struggles. The struggles of migrant workers as portrayed...
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...Ma Joad emerges as the "mainstay" of the Joad family throughout John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Throughout the journey, Ma's motherly instincts and kind nature allow her to provide the best environment for her family. Ma insists on keeping the family together mentally and physically despite all aspects of life appearing grim. She will do anything for her family’s success, as well as other’s, as she becomes the authoritative figure within the family. To begin, she wishes to keep her family together mentally and physically. To do so, she had to think and act positively, so her family would also possess hope, even in their circumstances. For instance, before the family left their home in Oklahoma, Tom discusses how a man who lived in California said that “...too many folks lookin’ for work right there now...live in dirty ol’ camps an’ don’t hardly get...
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...When I first began reading the Grapes of Wrath, I did not understand why the chapters would tell the story of the Joad’s journey then go back and describe something that did not relate to the Joad’s journey. I was confused why John Steinbeck chose to describe inanimate objects, people, places etc. in a detailed way. I realized that once the Joad’s journey began an intercalary chapter followed. The chapter had a lot of impact because sometimes it would relate to the Joad’s journey. For example, when the Joad’s bought a truck, the intercalary chapter explained a used cars salesmen trying to take advantage of farmers need for cars by selling a car that was in bad shape for high prices. As a reader, the intercalary chapters were interesting chapters within the book, it broke up the Joad’s journey and allowed it to be a sneak peek to what might happen in the following chapters....
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...invest one’s self into the belief of God and to truly call themselves a believer of God, a person must trust, or have faith, in God’s will, power, and plan. It is this faith that God will provide and protect that proves time and again to be an essential part of being a true believer. Authors like John Steinbeck and Robert Bolt have used this faith as essential themes in their greatest works The Grapes of Wrath and A Man for all Seasons. Steinbeck and Bolt both portray what it means to be a believer in God through their main character’s actions and beliefs. John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath, portrays life of migrants during the time of the dust bowl and specifically focuses on the migrant family, the Joads. These migrants and their families are traveling westward to California, looking for new opportunities to improve their lives and to provide for their families. On their journey the Joad family encounters death, homelessness, starvation, and extreme poverty that they never expected when starting out on their trip. Every member of the family is extremely affected by these images but none more than Jim Casey, a preacher and friend of the family. At the beginning of the journey Casey considers himself to be a man of God, however after seeing the images of suffering in the American people, loses his faith in God. He can not believe that any God would subject his people to such cruelty and pain as he has seen. For a long time Casey is disillusioned with the idea of God and...
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...In chapter twelve of Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, tenant farmers filled up cars on the migrant road, Highway 66, to reach California. Due to the fact that many were evicted off their land back home, many began to believe that California was the new site to achieve goals such as, maintaining a steady job, and earning wages for the family. Steinbeck utilizes repetition,asyndeton, and negative diction to establish the recognition of the hardships faced. Therefore, Steinbeck enforces these techniques in order to evoke sympathy upon the families, such as the Joads, because of the number of issues that occur during this journey and for the future. The daily life in areas such as Oklahoma, have been completely destroyed...
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...with the Three Stooges, gangsters, private eyes, dashing white-coated sophisticates, dancing girls and musicals. Moreover, while this diversion was taking place, a part of the Hollywood elite were using their power to shape and influence the collective mind of America by producing movies depicting the struggle of man against hardship, our early heritage, the dignity of man, and the reconnecting of the people into a powerful nation. The Good Earth (1937), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Meet John Doe (1939), and Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939), are examples. The heroes of these movies were the average everyday man or woman, thrown in to circumstances beyond their control. They were the reluctant heroes of their time, yet they were able to show that anyone could be a hero if they needed to. Rich, poor, short, or tall the audience could emphasize with these types of movies, and heroes as many of the audience were against political corruption, and pro-labor. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) by John Steinbeck, is the best example of a film depicting the plight of the average poor share croppers forced from their homes by the depression and dust storms that plagued the Great Plains through the thirties. The hero of this film is Tom Joad (played by Henry Fonda), and follows him and his...
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