The Life of John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck (1902-1968) was an award winning American author who published novels, short stories, screenplays, and travel narratives. Steinbeck’s highly detailed and in-depth writing style contributed to him producing emotionally moving works of literature. Focusing on the cruelty and hopelessness of the world, Steinbeck can be accredited as a naturalistic writer as he exemplified these ideas in many of his works. Growing up in a fertile valley, Steinbeck “developed a deep appreciation for the environment” (Shillinglaw); fueling his desire to accurately portray the struggles of everyday life. John Steinbeck’s Tortilla Flat uses naturalistic literary philosophy to examine how heredity, environment, and circumstance influence the lives of human beings.
John Steinbeck often portrayed the character-shaping harsh reality of everyday life; this catagorizes his writings (deleted/rearranged stuff here) as naturalistic. Beginning in Europe towards the end of the nineteenth century, naturalism attempted to “portray life precisely” (Walcutt 43). In addition, “[Naturalism] attempts to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings” (Campbell). Although similar to realism, naturalism expands on realism as the author of a naturalistic work will attempt to convey a thought or idea. Naturalistic literature often depicts violence, feelings of hopelessness, a controlling force, and characters of low socioeconomic status. Two French authors, Emile Zola and Gustave Flaubert, “believed that the author should entirely efface himself from his material and simply report without sentiment or moralizing” (Walcutt 43). They became the driving force for naturalism, writing about the ugly side of life on topics suc...

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...s spawned relatively few imitators” and “enhances its isolated position while highlighting the fact that the novel contains characters varying little from the most negative Mexican stereotypes” (Tortilla Flat: Critical Review and Critical Reception). Thomas Fensch, in an introduction to the novel, noted that readers of Tortilla Flat “didn’t fully appreciate [the paisanos’] convoluted logic and morality. They were judged by many to be bums . . . and that stung Steinbeck” (Fensch x).
Through his novel Tortilla Flat, Steinbeck conveys the naturalistic philosophy. Naturalistic writers often attempt to describe the uncontrollable forces that govern an individual’s life, and provide the reader with a scientific approach to explaining human behavior. Tortilla Flat will remain a classic in English literature written by one of the twentieth century’s most important authors.