How Did The Great Depression Influence John Steinbeck

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Everyone has personal experiences that influence their lives, but how did the Great Depression shape the writings of an author? John Steinbeck underwent several years of hardships and suffering that greatly influenced his novels and helped create his naturalist view. Whether it was working or traveling, Steinbeck was able to directly incorporate his experience throughout the Great Depression to provide a basis for his work and inspired stories such as ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. Being born so early in the 20th century, Steinbeck experienced plenty of hardships that helped influence his writings and perspective on life. Having a combination of inspirational parents, life-changing events, as well as researching and being near …show more content…

After experiencing the earthquake, Steinbeck’s mother was very protective of him, shielding him from the world. However, his father continued to expose him to nature and living on a farm, giving him the idea that the environment is a major part of life. “Steinbeck then worked at a ranch, as a foreman of Mexican and Filipino workers who hauled heavy bags of beets into trucks” (Newman 10). In addition to seeing his father struggle on the farm, he was acquainted with migrant workers and experienced the struggling of conducting manual labor in order to get pay. These experiences would eventually lead to the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, where two migrant workers are attempting to earn a large sum of money by working on a ranch. “On one occasion, Steinbeck offered a group of men money for any stories they could tell him about themselves. A youngman named Frank Kilkenny told him about a kind farmwife who nursed him with her breast-milk when he was on the brink of starvation. Steinbeck was so moved by the story” (Newman 10). Steinbeck showed great interest in other’s life experiences by paying for stories. With another tale about survival and

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