The Amazing John Steinbeck

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John Ernest Steinbeck Jr. was born February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. (The Biography Channel) His family was never wealthy, but they were middle-class, and his father John Ernest Steinbeck had several jobs to keep food on the table, and his mother Olive Hamilton was a school teacher. He was the third child of four children, and all of his siblings were girls. His father owned a feed-and-grain store, managed a flour shop, and was Monterrey County treasurer. (The Biography Channel) His father was a mason and his mother was a member of Eastern Star. (ANB) John Steinbeck sr. and Olive Hamilton were immigrants and were very rooted into the community; they established their identities this way. His parents believed it was good to expose their children to culture when they were little. They went to the theater often in San Francisco. His parents also had a variety of literature in the house for the children to read. Steinbeck’s biggest influence in his career was when he had been given a copy of Malory’s Morte d’Arthur at the age of nine. (Stephan) His mother and John Steinbeck's family lived in the "fertile agricultural valley,” and with that he formed an appreciation early for the Salinas Valley land, which he used in most of his later novels. (Wyatt) As a kid Steinbeck was shy and quite, but very smart. At the age of fifteen Steinbeck was "encouraged by his freshman English teacher to write," (ANB) and from then he knew he wanted to become a writer. He would often lock himself away in his bedroom and write. After high school he worked as a laborer in a sugar factory in Salinas, California, a laborer in mills, and a ranch hand. (Stephan) In 1919, John Steinbeck decided to go to Stanford University, only for the sake of his pare... ... middle of paper ... ...eck - List of Works."About.com Classic Literature. Penguin 1986. Web. 9 Dec 2013. "John Steinbeck." The Biography Channel website. A & E Television Network. Web. 9 Dec 2013. "John Steinbeck - Facts." Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 9 Dec 2013. Reuben, Paul P. "John Steinbeck (1902-1968): A Brief Literary Biography." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature - A Research and Reference Guide. N.p., 11 Nov 2011. Web. 9 Dec 2013. Shillinglaw, Dr. Susan. "John Steinbeck." American National Biography Online. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 9 Dec 2013. Shillinglaw, Dr. Susan. "Why Read John Steinbeck." The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies. N.p.. Web. 9 Dec 2013. Steinbeck, John. East of Eden: With an Introduction by David Wyatt. New York: Penguin Classics, 1992. Print. Stephan, Ed. "Steinbeck." Ed Stephan. Penguin 1986. Web. 9 Dec 2013.

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