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Journey as a motif and metaphor in American literature
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John Steinbeck Patriotism, is shown all around the world but in America it is something the people hold dear to their hearts; tags with “made in the USA” are more valued than “made in china”, a local business is more valued than an import. American literature should be also, John Steinbeck is one of the many American writers in the process of his lifetime, he wrote many works and had many wives. Steinbeck was not always liked but he was respected for his art with a pencil. John Steinbeck was born in 1902, the 22nd of February, and he was the third child. His Father was John Ernst Steinbeck and his mother Olive Hamilton. In his young years his family lived in Salinas California. His family struggled a good amount with his father being unemployed …show more content…
In the original review of Mice and Men Brooks Atkinson praised the work with complements on casting. (”National Steinbeck Center”). His topic of choice was one of the attractions in the eyes of Brooks. Brooks admired the fact the topic was dark and not many writers could pull it off. (Brooks Atkinson). The play focused on two men that had one another’s backs until the end and sometimes choices are hard. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place....With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us." (Of Mice and Men p. …show more content…
This book had major setbacks for Steinbeck. Never the less Steinbeck did what he had to do and pushed through it as he was hired to write and travel leaving his new wife behind and working with the war effort. After the war Steinbeck returned home and wrote Cannery Row. (“National Steinbeck Center”). Steinbeck in 1948 learned his dear friend Ed had been hit by a train, Steinbeck arrived at his friend’s side a little too late as Ed had passed away. Steinbeck felt that he had lost a dear friend because even with the distance the two friends had shared their lives through letters when their geography hindered face to face contact. Ed and Steinbeck has a second trip planned that the two never got to share which added to Steinbeck’s grief. After attendance at the funeral Gwyn asked for a divorce which depressed Steinbeck as he worked to distract himself. (“National Steinbeck
town they were heading to, he must come back to the pond and hide in
As John Steinbeck publishes “Cannery Row” in 1945, the same year when World War II ends, some scholars claim that his book somehow relates to the war. The novel is one of the most admirable modern-American narratives of the 20th and 21st century. It is set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California. The entire story is attached to a sensitively complex ecosystem that creates different approaches for the reader. The system is so fragile that one’s mistake can be the town’s last. Steinbeck depicts unique characters like Mack and the boys (who will stand as one character and/or group), Doc, and Lee Chong. Although there are many themes that can be extracted from these characters, the theme that arises the most is the isolation of the individual as it can be split into two different categories, the psychological and the physical.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in California's Salinas Valley, a region that would eventually serve as the setting for Of Mice and Men, as well as many of his other works. He studied literature and writing at Stanford University. He then moved to New York City and worked as a laborer and journalist for five years, until he completed his first novel in 1929, Cup of Gold. With the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck achieved fame and became a popular author. He wrote many novels about the California laboring class. Two of his more famous novels included Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck got the title for Of Mice and Men from a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes the theme of loyalty and sacrifice between friends. Steinbeck illustrates the loyalty and sacrifice between friends through the friendship of Lennie and George.
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.
Steinbeck’s personal life affects the themes of his writing significantly. In 1934 and 1935 Steinbeck lost both his mother and father, which made him view the world in a much darker outlook. Then in 1937, Of Mice and Men was published which revealed his negative outlook by ultimately having George kill Lennie in the end, proving that the loneliness would overwhelm George much like the loneliness that Steinbeck was dealing with in his personal life. In 1945 an unhappy Steinbeck, who supposedly had everything he could have ever wanted, moved out of his dream house in Monterey and never returned there again. That same year Cannery Row was published which also portrays a feeling of loneliness through Doc. Steinbeck’s writing suffered after the lose of his close friend Ed Ricketts in 1948, which effected his writing of Sweet Thursday because Ricketts was the model for the main character Doc. Steinbeck’s theme of loneliness continued in this novel. In the beginning of Sweet Thursday Mack is lonely because everyone has went off to war except for himself. Then Suzy shows up in town with not a single family member or friend. Also Joe Elegant is isolated because he is “different” from Mack and the bo...
Steinbeck went through many trials throughout his lifetime (French). He went through a lot of phases in his life that were not easy to deal with (French). Although not all of his life experiences were good, they all helped him to improve his writing. This is comparable to the saying "Whatever does not kill you, makes you stronger." This is the case with Steinbeck, because all of his experiences made him stronger, not only in his life, but in his writing. Several things that improved his writing through life experiences were, when he was a ranch hand, when he was a marine biologist, and when he wrote war transcripts during World War Two. These examples were all used in Steinbeck's writing, thus proving that Steinbeck used his life experiences in his works.
Thomas Hobbes in his Leviathan states that, "in the state of nature mans life is nasty, brutish and short". In depression era America, no greater truth could be said. There were millions unemployed, largely unskilled and living on the margins of society. The lowest of the low were the migrant labourers travelling from place to place trying to scratch a living. They often had to travel illegally by freight car with all its consequent dangers. Their life expectancy was low, crime was rampant and despair was a fellow traveller. This is the setting of John Steinbeck's, 'Of Mice and Men'.
John Steinbeck was inspired by the line "The best schemes o' mice an' men [often go awry]" by Robert Burns in one of his poems. This line refers to ambitions that went off track during the process. There are multiple examples in the novel that refers to the line in the poem, that inspired John Steinbeck. Those examples are Curley's boxing career coming to an end, Curley's wife not becoming a actress, and Lennie's plans of tending the rabbits, but messed everything up.
Conflict, by definition, is a back and forth struggle between two opposing forces. In the literary work, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear, the protagonist, George Milton, undergoes many conflicts that lead to the novel’s overall purpose. Steinbeck weaves together George’s conflicts with others, himself, and with society to illustrate what the true meaning of friendship is.
Whatever Steinbeck’s intent for writing such a jarring ending, he leaves the reader with a
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
...elist John Steinbeck Has Sometimes Been Criticised as a Sentimentalist. Duncan Reith Uncovers the Bleak Political Pessimism Behind His Novel of Ranch Life During the Great Depression, Of Mice and Men." The English Review Nov. 2004: 6+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 11 Jan. 2012.
In "The Grapes of Wrath", Steinbeck takes a great leap forward in his storytelling. His characters are better developed and more human. Steinbeck's development as a writer was linked to his growth as a person and his furthered capacity for understanding in others, particularly the disenfranchised. The process and struggle that ensued during the early years of his career were instrumental in his growth and are demonstrated in the development of his views on industrialization and it's effects on the working class.
In essence, American literature refers to literature that was written as well as produced, in the United States of America and any other preceding colonies. In the early history of the United States, the country was a series of the many British colonies. In this case, early literary tradition begins with the broader tradition of English literature. However, there have been unique American characteristics as well as the breadth of the production, which has usually made it essential to consider it separately. In essence, New England colonies were involved in early American Literature. In particular, the revolutionary period was characterized by political writings by politicians like Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams. In the era after the War