...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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...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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...At the time of the Great Depression the U.S created a repatriation program that deported people of mexican descent, 400,000 were repatriated, sometimes against their will. In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men, there are many overarching themes, these themes help the author show the hard times of the Great Depression. One such theme would be the prevalence of loneliness in many of the characters. Another theme would be the discrimination against a number of characters, in the different forms such as sexism and racism. Lastly, many dreams in the novel go unfulfilled leaving many characters with the weight of failure. Throughout the Great Depression human compassion was as rare as a job, this led to widespread loneliness, that, in turn, is apparent...
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...Seventy six years ago, John Steinbeck released what The New York Times called ‘A thriller, a gripping tale that you wilnot set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick’. Of Mice and Men is a novel and film demonstrating the Heroes Journey and a tale of friendship that triumphs over incredible odds, of life in the dust bowl of the Great Depression. But what is it about Steinbeck’s novel that never ceases to appeal to all audiences? From Joseph Campbell’s novel The Hero With A Thousand Faces, a twelve step model known as ‘The Hero’s Journey’ and ‘Archetypes’ has been established. The Hero’s Journey is a narrative pattern that the leading character takes on their typical adventure, and the Archetypes are the supporting characters though out the story. The Heroes Journey and archetypes can be perceived in thousands of stories, dramas, storytelling, religious rituals and psychological development including Of Mice and Men. The narrative pattern of, Of Mice and Men starts with the first stage, what Joseph Campbell called ‘The Ordinary World’. George and Lennie’s ordinary world is going around America, from job to job and ranch to ranch to complete their ‘American Dream’, they wished to own their own property and ‘live offa the fatta the lan’. George and Lennie were forced to leave their hometown, Lennie did not realise his strength and got himself into trouble, this was common for Lennie, but George was always there to fix the problem. As discovered by the reader...
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...Of Mice and Men Essay ‘Of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in 1937, the same time as the great depression. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in a variety of different ways. In the novella Curley’s Wife is seen as a villainess. Curley’s Wife is also seen as someone who craves attention which leads to the novellas tragic ending. Steinbeck could also be showing society’s view of how women should behave. In the 1930s women were one of two roles- a ‘tart’ or a ‘mother’ in the both cases they are presented as serving a purpose for men- either to give the man sexual pleasure or to provide a family. Steinbeck presents Curley’s Wife in many ways in the novella. Firstly he presents her through the male gaze as a tart and we see this through Candy’s description of her. Steinbeck’s use of description states that she is ‘heavily’ made up and she exhibits extremely flirtatious behaviour. Although this could be because how restricted women were at the time. Curley’s Wife did not have children so she may have been automatically put into the category of a ‘tart’. Curley’s Wife also never had a positive female role model because of her bad relationship with her mother. Throughout the novella the reader’s view of Curley’s Wife changes from her being a ‘tart’ to a lonely figure that just wants attention. Steinbeck also presents her as a victim of prejudice and sexism as the reader’s perceptions change as her character develops but the male view of Curley’s Wife...
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...Celton Brito-Lobato Analyse and compare how Lady Macbeth and Curley's wife are presented Shakespeare’s ' Macbeth' and Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ In the Shakespearean play of ‘Macbeth’ we are introduced to the character of Lady Macbeth. Similarly in John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice of Men we also presented with an equally diverse character of Curley's wife. ‘Macbeth’ was written during the early 17th century, and was a play 'fit for a king'. It outlines a couple's ambition to become rulers of Scotland and sees them fulfil this ambition and in doing so, killing the king in the process. Despite being written during patriarchal Jacobean society, Lady Macbeth is a female protagonist. Throughout the play, through Lady Macbeth's actions we are forced to believe that she is evil. In contrast, in the novel John Steinbeck tells a story of dreams, hopes and loneliness. We are introduced to a majorly significant and complex character, named Curley’s wife. Steinbeck shows us that Curley’s wife is flirtatious, mischievous (despite the patriarchal society of the 1930’s) but most of all she is an isolated character. Her hasty marriage to Curley proves to be failed attempt to escape her own spiral of disappointment of not fulfilling her ambition of becoming an actress. This ironically is a main theme in both texts. This essay will analyse and compare the presentation of Lady Macbeth and Curley's wife through structure, themes, what is said about them, their actions and what they themselves...
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...Throughout society women were considered to be second class citizens who were expected to obey their husbands, stereotypically they were seen as the weaker sex and insecure. Women were also socially neglected, as they were expected to remain at home whilst their respective husbands ensured the upkeep of the family by managing the family finances. The male population at this point in time ignorantly viewed women as, innocent people, seemingly unaware that women had the same feelings and emotions as themselves. In the literature studied women are portrayed in a more dominant and powerful people. For instance Lady Macbeth would not be your typical Elizabethan woman. Steinbeck`s Of Mice And Men was influenced by its social, historical and cultural context. `all the main characters in Of Mice And Men and men acknowledge, at one point or another, to envisaging a different and better life. Before her death, Curley`s wife confesses her desire to be in the movies. However, Steinbeck`s view of the harsh reality of 1930s America is alluded to before the story begins: circumstances have robbed most of the characters of these dreams before they could become reality. Curley`s wife for instance, has resigned to being married to someone she doesn’t love. What makes all of these dreams typically American is that the dreamers wish for perfect happiness. Steinbeck presents Curley`s wife in many different ways throughout the text. Overall, we should consider how Steinbeck wants us to perceive her...
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...John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice and Men” was written the 1930s, during the great American Depression. He used the ranch as a microcosm to show society’s desensitisation to violence, the inhumane ways in which the marginalised were treated and the prevalent misogynistic attitudes. Steinbeck focused on lives of itinerant farmworkers who constantly searched for work. The economic crisis led to high unemployment rates and fierce competition for jobs. Many people were poverty stricken, violence became their ultimate source of escapism and a cheap source of entertainment thus creating a hostile environment. Steinbeck resigned from the prestigious Stanford University in order to gain insight of the hardships faced by peripatetic workers. His strong socialist views and empathy towards the marginalised inspired him to write this story. During his time on the farm, he witnessed a lot of violence. He based most of his characters on people he met; Lennie’s character was based on a man who killed a ranch foreman and stabbed his boss in the stomach with a pitchfork. One way Steinbeck portrays the importance of violence in the novel is through the way in which characters treat each other to determine status. When Curley is introduced in chapter two, he “glanced coldly” at George, his arms “gradually bent at the elbows” and his hands “closed into fists”. Curley “stiffened” and “went into a slight crouch” making Lennie “squirm” and “shift his feet nervously”. His actions...
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...presents the relationship between George and Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” Of Mice and Men was written in the 1937 by John Steinbeck, he other well know books as the Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden, h also received a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. This book is set in the 1930s and set in California, his home region. During this time, the USA was suffering from a great depression, this meant that it was hard to find job because the economy was very weak, so to find job the men were disposed to go anywhere and the bosses would exploit their workers. The itinerant ranch workers where very lonely people because they had to move from place to place and tis meant that they could set up a stable life with a wife and children. Another reason that suggests to us that they are lonely is that at the end of each month they take their money and they go to “cat house”. The character of George and Lennie are very unusual and contrasting, this is because they have a strong relationship between them and they also have a dream, a dream of buying a house and some land to become independent and to life together for the rest of their lives. But the reader knows from the beginning that this will not happen and it will have a tragic end, and this is suggested in the title “Of Mice and Men” that comes from a from Robert Burns poem “The best laid schemes o’mice an’ men/ Gang aft agley” and it means: the best laid schemes of mice and men/ often go awry. As soon as the reader starts reading Chapter...
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...Quotes in chronological order 1. Dearest partner in greatness 2. Human kindness 3. Unsex me here 4. Make thick my blood 5. To beguile the time 6. Face my thane is a book 7. Night’s great business into my dispatch 8. Out damned spot! William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ written in the 17th and 20th century, separated by hundreds of years of development and change within the world, both reflect the ideologies, treatment and representations of women in their respective eras. The principal feminine representatives are Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife who throughout both texts demonstrate similarities and differences in their portrayal of their relationships with their male counterpart, the description of their tragic deaths and the conventional role of men and women and how they fit or break the stereotype. In this essay, I will refer to the aforementioned depictions, analysing the techniques the writers use to create their characters, and how a Jacobean audience, one during the Great Depression of the 1930s and a modern audience would react. Rather than supporting her husband in a subservient manner, Shakespeare makes Lady Macbeth the ruthless mastermind of a fiendish, venal and daring enterprise aimed to ensure her husband would ‘catch the nearest way’. In Act 1 Scene 5, when attempting to convince Macbeth to commit this necessary deed, she utters the heartless words ‘you shall put this night's great business...
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...NORTH AMERICAN FICTION BRIEF INTRODUCTION: Before starting our study of American Fiction we must understand what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know...
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...Andrzej Faron Patricia Lambert DATE \@ "MMMM d, y" November 20, 2015 History 106 The Great Depression The Great Depression was a world wide economic depression that occurred amid the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression was different throughout other countries,yet in many nations it began in 1929 and endured until the late 1930s. It was the longest, most profound, and one of the worst economic depression of the twentieth century. Overall GDP fell by 15% from 1929 to 1932. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is usually seen as an illustration of how far the world's economy can decay. The depression started in the United States, after a fall in stock costs that started around September 4, 1929, and got to be overall news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929 . The Great Depression had bad impacts in nations both rich and poor. Individual pay, taxes, benefits and costs dropped, while foreign exchange dove by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 25% and in few nations ascended as high as 33%. Urban areas all around the globe were hit hard, particularly those subject to heavy industry. Development was for all intents and purposes stopped in numerous nations. Urban groups and country zones struggled as yield costs fell by around 60%. As jobs became hard to find, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. The start of The Great Depression. Historians more often than not say that...
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...theme is the central topic a text treats. Themes can be divided into two categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject". The most common contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or concept that is central to a story, which can often be summed in a single word (e.g. love, death, betrayal). Typical examples of themes of this type are conflict between the individual and society; coming of age; humans in conflict with technology; nostalgia; and the dangers of unchecked ambition. A theme may be exemplified by the actions, utterances, or thoughts of a character in a novel. An example of this would be the theme loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, wherein many of the characters seem to be lonely. It may differ from the thesis—the text's or author's implied worldview. A story may have several themes. Themes often explore historically common or cross-culturally recognizable ideas, such as ethical questions, and are usually implied rather than stated explicitly. An example of this would be whether one should live a seemingly better life, at the price of giving up parts of ones humanity, which is a theme in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Along with plot, character, setting, and style, theme is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction. Mostly people regards themes as thesis or thesis as themes but there is a clear distinction between them which is given...
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...as crop prices fell by approximately 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as cash cropping, mining and logging suffered the most. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. In many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until after the end of World War II. Start Economic historians usually attribute the start of the Great Depression to the sudden devastating collapse of US stock market prices on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday; some dispute this conclusion, and see the stock crash as a symptom, rather than a cause, of the Great Depression. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, optimism persisted for some time; John D. Rockefeller said that "These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come and gone. Prosperity has always returned and will again." The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April. This was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the corresponding period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered severe losses...
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...author had quietly disappeared. His book stayed on the bestseller list for thirty weeks, though never above fourth place.' Costing 75?, the Bantam paperback edition appeared in 1964. By 1981, when the same edition went for $2.50, sales still held steady, between twenty and thirty thousand copies per month, about a quarter of a million copies annually. In paperback the novel sold over three million copies between 1953 and 1964, climbed even higher by the 1980s, and continues to attract about as many buyers as it did in 1951. The durabilityof The author appreciates the invitationof Professors Marc Lee Raphaeland Robert A. Gross to present an early version of this essay at the College of William & Mary, and also thanks ProfessorsPaul Boyer and John D. Ibson for their assistance. 1AdamMoss, "Catcher Comes of Age," Esquire, December 1981, p. 57; Jack Salzman, ed., intro. to New Essays on "The Catcher in the Rye" (New York:Cambridge UniversityPress, 1991), pp. 6, 7. 567 568 THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY its appeal is astonishing. The...
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