In Steinbeck's Nobel Prize acceptance speech (Dec. 10,1962), Steinbeck elaborates in depth of the importance of literature to humanity. Several times he states how humanity created literature for its need and how since that moment the need for literature has increased (John Stenbeck's Nobel Prize Speech, p. 3). Moreover, Steinbeck later on describes how Faulkner had a more deep connection with the characteristics and need of humanity that Steinbeck had and therefore was considered an inspiration for his works. The audience generally realized that Steinbeck made more connections and references to Faulkner and literature being the light or a beacon of hope for humanity. However, the main topic at focus is that Steinbeck was an author who showed descriptively what and how an author should write more than simply stating that it was necessary for humanities survival.
Moreover, in The Harvest Gypsies, Steinbeck explicitly shows what and how writing from the soul sounds like by deeply giving personality to the characters who have commentary on what being a gypsy was like. Steinbeck begins the short story by stating who these "harvest gypsies" really were. He states, "These were foreigners, and as such they were ostracized and segregated and herded about" (The Harvest Gypsies, p.5). Furthermore, in that small sentence, so much detail is given. For example, Steinbeck shows that these gypsies had civilized lives and were in lack of better terminologies "picked out from the crowd" to do the dirty work that Californians did not want to do. Furthermore, what the previous sentence shows is how the power of choosing the right words can completely change the perspective and emotion captured by the audience that Steinbeck proclaims are necessary ...
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...kes on someone's memory.
In summarization, Steinbeck proves in all three works above that literature needs to come from within a person or their heart to satisfy the heart of the public. Moreover, it is clearly observed that Steinbeck did explain how an author should write but more importantly gave examples through his own works. In addition, Steinbeck proves that when a writer writes from within using emotion, the audience captures the main idea of the work more than they would without the use of emotions. Furthermore, through Steinbeck's works it is evident that emotions have more power on the reader than does intellect and literature based on logic and reasoning. To complete, Steinbeck descriptively shows his readers through his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, and other works the need for humanity to obtain literature from within the writer to survive and evolve.
On December 10, 1950, in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the greatest literary minds of the twentieth century, William Faulkner, presented his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize. If one reads in between the lines of this acceptance speech, they can detect a certain message – more of a cry or plead – aimed directly to adolescent authors and writers, and that message is to be the voice of your own generation; write about things with true importance. This also means that authors should include heart, soul, spirit, and raw, truthful emotion into their writing. “Love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice” (Faulkner) should all be frequently embraced – it is the duty of authors to do so. If these young and adolescent authors ignore this message and duty, the already endangered state of literature will continue to diminish until its unfortunate extinction.
... 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.
Literature is an outlet for imagination without restrictions, a platform for expression, and a form of art that outlives its author. Most importantly, it can be a way to help one truly discover themselves. As audiences are exposed to more literature throughout their lives, they not only learn about their true potential, but are also made aware of their flaws and faults in character. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird and Alexander Hamilton in Hamilton are both remarkable characters, but from various events that reveal their shortcomings, the audience receives the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
Noble, Donald R. ed. The Steinbeck Question: New Essays in Criticism. Troy, New York, 1993.
In this novel Steinbeck set forth with the intention of raising awareness to the general public of the difficulties and injustices these migrants faced during this period in time. It exposed the methods of the California farmer to use the migrants in order to lower their costs and make their profit margin higher. How they starved and cheated the poor, working man, in order to keep him desperate for food and too weak to protest. Above all, it showed everyone that these “damn Okies” were all simply men, women and children, no different from anyone else, just poorer. They were human beings with feelings and not the uncivilized beasts they were portrayed as at the time. Steinbeck portrays the “Okies” in a way no one before him had, and also managed to keep their story true to life. He did this by mainly using dialect, and wrote the “Okie” dialect just as it was spoken, breaking the lines of proper grammar and spelling. If he was concerned with such things it would have ruined the personality of the characters. His unique writing style to capture the atmosphere of these people and the era is evident in this excerpt from his book:
Parents are and often losing money after paying entry fees and purchasing costumes. Pageant owners seem to be receiving the real profits from all the glitz and glamour. Rose Mary Roche wrote an article on irishexaminer.com explaining this type of behavior. Some competing families go into debt because of pageant costumes, fees, and grooming over expenses such as rent: some have confessed to spending up to $30,000 on the competitions (Roche, Rose par.8). Are these pageants really worth going into debt for?
Noble, Donald R. ed. The Steinbeck Question: New Essays in Criticism. Troy, New York, 1993.
The experiences that were most influential to Steinbeck were not at school, but instead came from his home and the countryside. He read his mother’s books, which included the titles
A successful writer is he who is able to transmit ideas, emotions, and wisdom on to his readers. He is cable of stirring emotions and capturing the reader's attention with vivid descriptions and clever dialogues. The writer can even play with the meanings of words and fuse reality with fiction to achieve his goal of taking the reader on a wonderful journey. His tools are but words, yet the art of writing is found in the use of the language to create though-provoking pieces that defy the changing times. Between the lines, voices and images emerge. Not everyone can write effectively and invoke these voices. It is those few who can create certain psychological effects on the reader who can seize him (or her) with inspiring teachings, frightening thoughts, and playful games with the language. These people are true writers…
In William Faulkner’s “Speech Accepting the Nobel Prize in Literature,” he asserted, “It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past” (Faulkner). Humans, by nature, are capable of achieving the unimaginable. However, individuals often do not believe very strongly in this ability. While they possess the potential, many people do not have enough determination to reach toward their goals and “not merely endure: prevail” (Faulkner). As expressed by Faulkner, writers hold the duty to motivate their readers in an optimistic way. Although many individuals believe that the “writer’s duty” is primarily
Steinbeck, J. 1962 Nobel Prize winning acceptance speech. San Jose State University, Available: http://www.sjsu. edu/depts/steinbec/nobel.html, 1962: 1-2.
His greater understanding seemed to lead to an end to his theological approach to writing, or at least a modification of it. For with greater understanding came empathy, and with empathy came subjectivity. With the distance gone between he and his characters, it became possible to identify with the characters on a deeper level. They were more true to life than the characters of his previous novels. When Steinbeck managed to cross this line, he made a leap from the realm of the good writers into the Valhalla of great authors. This is when Steinbeck into people. Few of the masses were not familiar with the likes of a Tom Joad or Mack. (A Joseph was much harder to come by.)
Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our
Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.
Literature is rarely, if ever, merely a story that the author is trying to tell. It is imperative that the reader digs deep within the story to accurately analyze and understand the message the author is trying to portray. Authors tend to hide themselves in their stories. The reader can learn about the author through literary elements such as symbolism, diction, and structure. A good example of this is Robert Frost’s poems The Road Not Taken and Nothing Gold can Stay in which he uses ordinary language unlike many other poets that became more experimental (Frost, Robert. “1.”).