John Steinbeck: A Common Mans Man

John Steinbeck: A Common Man's Man

"I never wrote two books alike", once said John Steinbeck (Shaw, 10). That may be true, but I think that he wrote many of his novels and short stories based on many of the same views. He often focused on social problems, like the “ haves” verses the "have nots", and made the reader want to encourage the underdog. Steinbeck's back ground and concern for the common man made him one of the best writers for human rights.

John Steinbeck was born in Salians, California and spent most of his life there or around Salians, because of that he often modeled his stories and the characters around the land he loved and the experiences he encountered. He lived in Salians until 1919, when he left for Stanford University, he only enrolled in the courses that pleased him - literature, creative writing and majoring in Marine Biology. He left in 1925, without a degree. Even though he didn't graduate his books showed the results of his five years spent there. His books display a considerable reading of the Greek and Roman historians, and the medieval and Renaissance fabalists and the biological sciences (Shaw 11). He then moved to New York and tried his hand as a construction worker and as a reporter for the American. (Covici , xxxv). Steinbeck then moved back to

California and lived with his wife at Pacific Grove. In 1934, he wrote for the

San Franciso News, he was assigned to write several articles about the 3,000 migrants flooded in at Kings County. The plight of the migrant workers motivated him to help and document their struggle. The money he earned from the newspaper allowed him to travel to their home and see why their reason for leaving and traveled to California with them, sharing in with their hardships (Steinbeck,

127). Because John Steinbeck was able to travel with the Okies, he was able to accurately portray them and their struggles.

Each book that he wrote had settings in the places where he has either lived or wanted to live. He presented the land as it was. The characters in his stories experienced floods, drought, and other natural disasters, while in the

Salians Valley (Shaw, 5).

What Steinbeck wrote was very factual and in depth. He exhibited his awareness of man and his surroundings, in his early books, before people ate, a pig had to be slaughtered, and often that and before they ate, it had to be cooked. Also when a car broke down, the characters had to find parts, and fixed