Tristen Guzaitis
Period 3
English
May 9th, 2014
Steinbeck
The early twentieth century was a time of change for America with western expansion, discrimination, and innovation. The western United States became one of the places to live because of its sense of wild lands and industrial progress. This time of change paved way for legendary literature including great authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and even the great J. R. R. Tolkien. However, one of the best authors during this time was John Steinbeck. Born and raised in California, he wrote many novels that were influenced by his childhood backyard and experiences in the Central Valley and Monterey areas. Steinbeck’s short story collection The Long Valley shows Steinbeck’s influence from his childhood home in the settings around the Salinas and Monterey regions in many of the short stories, as well as prominent and common themes such as communion, unfulfilling marriages, and the road to manhood.
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. He grew up on ranches around the Salinas Valley, learning many skills and also witnessing the harsh lives of the ranch workers during the darkest days of the Great Depression. Steinbeck graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and attended Stanford University for five years until 1925 when he left without a degree for New York City. He survived off odd jobs and tried to write books, which never were published. He then moved back to California and lived in Tahoe City where he met his first wife Carol Henning. It was here in Lake Tahoe where he finished his first novel Cup of Gold, which followed the infamous privateer Henry Morgan and his adventures in the Caribbean. Stei...
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... influenced by Steinbeck’s upbringings and local residence of the Salinas valley to the Monterey bay.
John Steinbeck is considered one of the most influential and respected prewar and postwar authors of all time. His national and international success with novels such as Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath earned him the Nobel Peace prize for literature in 1962 which marked the end of an amazing writer. Steinbeck’s works shared common themes, but a majority of his renowned works were set right in his childhood backyard in the Salinas valley and Monterey bay area. His short story collection The Long Valley is a prime example of his childhood influence in his setting as well as the common themes used throughout his works. John Steinbeck’s success is still apparent today in modern day classrooms around the world, a famous and renowned author many years after his time.
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1974.
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: a Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri Press, 1974.
... read and his beautiful and descriptive style allow me to say with absolute certainty that Steinbeck has developed into being my favorite author over the past few months. Yet, as I bring this paper to a close, I know that I have barely skimmed the surface of who this man was and why he wrote what he did the way he did.
John Steinbeck is a brilliant storyteller capable of crafting such vibrant and captivating literary works that one can effortlessly exit their own life and enter another. John Steinbeck has a passion for divulging the flaws of human nature and he is not afraid to write about the raw and tragic misfortune that plagued the lives of people like the Okies in the Grapes of Wrath and residents of Cannery Row. He was also a brilliant commentator who contributed brilliant opinions on the political and social systems in our world. In heart wrenching words he tells us the story of peoples lives, which were full of love, corruption, faith and growth. However in the novels of Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck specifically attempts to convey the thematic elements of socialism, survival and the role of women to blatantly present the lifestyle of down trodden migrant workers and the diverse ecosystem of prostitutes, marine biologists, store owners and drunks in a way that is unapologetic and mentally stimulating.
John Steinbeck’s use of figurative language and local color in Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday and Of Mice and Men show his growth as a writer and highlight the reoccurring theme of loneliness and ostracism. The time gap in between these books show that Steinbeck grows as he experiences more throughout his life. Steinbeck’s novels are always set in California due to his extensive knowledge of the area since he has lived in the area his entire life. In all of his works the characters use parts of speech and actions that are customary to that area.
...ypical Steinbeck novel in terms of simplicity, story line, and setting. Steinbeck transplants the knowledge he gained and the images he conceived of California in his writings.
The exposition starts with a very detailed introduction of Salinas Valley. John Steinbeck writes, “It is a long narrow swale between two ranges of mountains, and the Salinas River winds and twists up the center until it falls at last into Monterey Bay.” (10) This shows that Steinbeck really
While growing up in Salinas, Steinbeck had the opportunity to spend a lot of time outdoors. His uncle used to take him on fishing trips, and combined with the times he visited his maternal grand-fathers' farm near King City, it undoubtedly gave him an appreciation for nature. Later in his life, he became a caretaker on a "large estate at Lake Tahoe," and he continued to spend time in nature throughout his life and often took his sons to go fishing or camping when they visited him during the summers (Steinbeck, E. & Wallsten, P.., 1975).
"My country is different from the rest of the world. It seems to be one of those pregnant places from which come wonders...I was born to it and my father was. Our bodies come from this soil-our bones come…from the limestone of our mountains and our blood is distilled from the juices of this Earth. I tell you now that my country is hundred miles long and about fifty wide; is unique in the world" (Steinbeck 1933: 17). He spent his early childhood in California and truly, he never left his place as he wrote about it in most of his work. He was a keen observer but often mischievous. In Salinas Valley, he had the most blissful growing up years with his two elder sisters, Beth and Esther. His younger sister, Mary loved him to the extent of adoration. His family was never wealthy but they were reputed citizens of the small town with a population of 3,000 people. His parents often engaged themselves in the community activities. When his father was a treasurer and then his mother, Mrs. Olive Steinbeck was a member of 'the Order of the Eastern Star' club and founder of 'The Wanderers', women's club. Mrs. Olive had to travel vicariously for her social works. In this way, the elder Steinbecks established their identities by spreading roots deep in the
Following Stanford, Steinbeck tried to go for it as a self-employed writer. He moved to New York City for a short time where he found a job as a construction worker and a newspaper reporter, but then went back to California where he took a job as a custodian in Lake Tahoe. It was during this time that Steinbeck wrote his first book, Cup of Gold and met and married his first wife Carol Henning. In the next 10 years, with Carol's support and money he continued to put a lot of work into his writing. Other books and stories that Steinbeck later wrote such as; The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown, received negative reviews. It wasn't until Tortilla Flat a fun...
A famous writer by the name of John Steinbeck, who was also born in California, is the
“Writing was indeed his passion, not only during the Stanford years but throughout his life” (Shillinglaw 1). Steinbeck’s one and only passion was writing, even at a young age. When he was a young boy his moth...
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27th, 1902. His mother, Olive Steinbeck, was a teacher and also was a major influence on John's writing. His father, John Steinbeck Sr., was a county treasurer. When Steinbeck was a child, during his summers off from school, he worked on a farm, which was a good experience for later writing. In the beginning of 1919, Steinbeck was accepted to the University of Stanford. Later, in 1925, he left without a degree. He wrote lots of short stories and articles for the College's newspaper. Steinbeck moved to New York to write, but had to support himself by being a construction worker. He started writing for the New York American, but didn't make enough, so had to keep his construction job. In 1929, Steinbeck returned to Salinas to write Cup of Gold. He had to work as a caretaker for a summer home in Lake Tahoe. In 1930, he meets Edward Ricketts, who gets him interested in marine biology. Steinbeck also married his first wife, Carol Henning. He publishes more novels such as the Pastures of Heaven, and To a God Unknown; but of all those, Tortilla Flat was his first selling novel. This was published in 1935. In 1936, he also published In Dubious Battle and in 1937, Of Mice and Men. Then, possibly one of Steinbeck's best selling/ greatest works, the Grapes of Wrath, was published. This publication won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book award in 1939. He told stories of families that were poor during the depression and of their powerless efforts against the government and society that has put them down. Steinbeck then traveled to Mexico to shoot the film Forgotten Village (documentary). When he returned to the United States, he became a war correspondent and wrote about the Second World War. He moved back to New York City and married Gywn Conger, in 1943. Then they had two sons, Tom, in 1944 and another son in 1946, named John IV. By 1948, Steinbeck divorced his wife, went to Russia three times, and lost his good friend, Edward Ricketts in a car crash. Then he quickly married Elaine Anderson Scott in 1950. By 1959, Steinbeck published several screenplays and served as a correspondent for the Vietnam War. In 1960, he toured the US with his poodle and recorded his travels and titling it Travels With Charlie.
John Steinbeck was perhaps the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and among other accomplishments, Steinbeck published nineteen novels and made many movies during his lifetime. All of his experience and knowledge are shown through his novels. A reader can tell, just in reading a novel by Steinbeck, that he had been through a lot throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked very hard to accomplish everything that he did during his lifetime. Nothing came very easily to him, and he had to earn everything he owned. This helped him in his writing, because he was able to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from life experiences, people he knew, and places he had gone.
Some of the most aspiring and influential authors show to be American novelists. American novelists brought about a new style of writing, which became very popular. John Steinbeck shows this style of writing in his novel, East of Eden. This makes Steinbeck one of the most significant American novelists in the twentieth century. East of Eden contains many parts, which add detail and interest to the novel. Many of Steinbeck’s novels and other works remain and continue to be nationally acclaimed. Many elements exist in East of Eden that bring about the meaning and concept of the novel. The study of John Steinbeck and his book, East of Eden, will help the reader better understand the element of fiction and interpret the meaning of the work.