Born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California, John Ernst Steinbeck is one of the world’s most popular authors. Steinbeck’s American classics depict portraits of the conditions of human life, struggles and triumphs. He is commonly known for his novels The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and novella Of Mice and Men. “He was an intellectual, passionately interested in his odd little inventions, in jazz, in politics, in philosophy, history, and myth” (“John Steinbeck, American Writer”). John Steinbeck experienced several struggles and rejections in order to be successful and have his books published the way he wanted them to. Steinbeck experienced an interesting life full of stories, controversy, adventure, love, and loss. John Ernst Steinbeck was as the son of John Steinbeck and Olive Hamilton Steinbeck. Steinbeck lived a happy childhood with a younger sister, Mary, and two older sisters, Beth and Esther. His parents were not exceedingly successful. His mother was previously a teacher, while Steinbeck’s father held several different jobs, including: the manager of a flour plant, the owner of a feed and grain store, and the treasurer of the county. As a young boy, Steinbeck formed a great appreciation for the land in the Salinas Valley and the Pacific Coast. The Salinas Valley and his homeland came to be the setting of many of his novels and stories. (Shillinglaw). Steinbeck’s mother was a former teacher and inspired his love for literature. The book Le Morte d'Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory, was Steinbeck’s favorite book as a boy and a big influence on his writing (“John Steinbeck Biography”). John Steinbeck decided to be a writer at age fourteen and he spent his teenager years writing various poems and stories (Shil... ... middle of paper ... ...tal of more than 700,000 copies a year” (“John Ernst Steinbeck’s Biography”). Steinbeck’s novels will continue to be taught in schools and read throughout homes for years to come. Works Cited "Biography for John Steinbeck." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013. "Biography of John Steinbeck." GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "John Ernst Steinbeck's Biography" Oprah.com. Oprah, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "John Steinbeck - Biography on Bio." The Biography Channel. AETN UK, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "John Steinbeck Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Advameg, Inc., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013. "John Steinbeck Timeline." Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. Shillinglaw, Susan, Dr. "John Steinbeck, An American Writer." The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies. San Jose State University, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.
Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1974.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.
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.
I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
Hayashi, Tetsumaro. A New Study Guide to Steinbeck's Major Works, with Critical Explications. Scarecrow Press, Jan 1, 1993
Rascoe, Burton. "John Steinbeck," in Steinbeck and His Critics: A Record of Twenty-Five Years, edited by E. W. Tedlock, Jr. and C. V. Wicker, University of New Mexico Press, 1957, pp. 57-67, in Contemporary Literary Criticism Vol. 75, edited by Thomas Votteler, Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993, pp. 336-339.
Levant, Howard. "The Fully Matured Art: The Grapes of Wrath." John Steinbeck, Modern Critical Views. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. 35-62.
Steinbeck, John E. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Group, 1993. 72. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
John Steinbeck was a major literary figure in the 20th century and continues to be widely read in the twenty-first century. Steinbeck was born on February 27,1902 (About John Steinbeck) in the Salinas Valley of California. (Laskov) "His father, John Steinbeck, Sr. was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. As a youth, he worked as a ranch hand and fruit picker. (John Steinbeck [2])". "He attended the local high school and studied marine biology at Stanford University between 1920 and 1926, but did not take a degree" (John Steinbeck [1]). Steinbeck's fascination with science and biology is evident in most of his works such as in this quote from the Grapes of Wrath: "Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up in the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments." (Steinbeck 165) As Steinbeck began his writing career, he took many other jobs to support himself. For a short time, he worked at the American in New York City, and then returned to California where he worked various jobs such as a painter and fruit-picker before taking a job as a caretaker for a Lake Tahoe Estate. (John Steinbeck [1]) His job as a caretaker allowed him time to write and by the time he left the job in 1930 he had already published his first book, Cup of Gold (1929) and married his first wife Carol Henning (John Steinbeck [2]). After his marriage he moved to Pacific Grove, California where, in the early 1930s, Steinbeck met Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist, whose views on the interdependence of all life deeply influenced Steinbeck's novel To a God Unknown (1933). (John Steinbeck [2])
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.
Hughes, R. S. John Steinbeck: A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1989.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men. New York: Heinemann/Octopus, 1979. pp.475 - 896.
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.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. Between 1919 and 1925 Steinbeck was acknowledged as a special student at Stanford University. According to Peter Lisac, “Variously employed as a had-carrier, fruit-picker, apprentice printer, laboratory assistant, caretaker, surveyor, reporter, writer, and foreign correspondent let him acquire knowledge in many areas.” (1) Even in his youth, Steinbeck developed a love of the natural world and diverse cultures. Steinbeck produced two children from his second wife, Elaine Scott. The early 1930’s became a struggle for Steinbeck, both in his