The Private Life of John Steinbeck Uncovered

1780 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay about the life of john steinbeck

All authors have a story behind them and something that makes their writing unique. John Steinbeck was one of those authors. With a rocky start to Steinbeck’s life, her used his experiences and travels to develop works of literature that would be highly regarded and distinguished him as a premier American writer. Born in Salinas, California; John Steinbeck was a quiet, very private man from the time he was born, and even with all the fame of his books (Swisher 15). From the start of his life, tragedy struck; beginning with the witnessing of an earthquake. Steinbeck witnessed an earthquake , which frightened him immensely (Swisher 13). After Steinbeck’s turbulent start to life, he continued to struggle when he started school. Because of his socially awkward nature, children at school began to tease him (Swisher 13). Since life was not getting any easier for young Steinbeck, his father decided to change they boy’s home environment by exposing him to the realistic lifestyle of farming. To help Steinbeck gain responsibility, his father bought him a pony, Jill, and let Steinbeck raise the pony as if it were the boy’s child (Swisher 14). His father’s techniques were successful because he began to excel in school so much that he was able to skip the fifth grade. Each summer, Steinbeck would go to visit his Aunt Molly, so he could experience literature and music that his parents could not give him (Swisher 14). One summer, Steinbeck’s aunt bought him a book as a gift, and Steinbeck hated the book (Swisher 14). “I stared at the black print with hatred, and then gradually the pages opened and let me in. The magic happened. The bible and Shakespeare and Pilgrim’s Progress belonged to everyone. But this was mine---Secretly mine,” wrote Ste... ... middle of paper ... ...ke all authors, Steinbeck had many critics who picked at many aspects of his literature. After his first two book going totally unnoticed, Steinbeck went on to publish his first publicly acclaimed book, Tortilla Flat (Simkins). His books were criticized for political content, especially communism (Simkins). Steinbeck was never concerned with the money, but only the approval from critics. His goal was to be critically established, so he took negative publicity the worst (Simkins). John Steinbeck started with some struggles and grew up in a rough time period, but he proved that nothing would stop him and he went on to win multiple Pulitzer Prizes and won the crowd with his publication of The Grapes of Wrath. While he started out as a private boy who was made fun of as a young boy, Steinbeck took every opportunity to advance himself as a great American writer.

Show More
Related

  • What Caused The Dust Bowl Dbq

    588 Words  | 2 Pages

    9. John Steinbeck was a wither since he was in high school, he wrote stories for magazines using a false name. At school he wrote for the newspaper. John Steinbeck, as a child, was hired to work at ranches in the Salinas Valley. He writes about his home in the Valley and about the migrant workers which was in his

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck's East of Eden - Biblical Symbols and Symbolism

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Levant, Howard. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A Critical Study. Columbia: U of Missouri P, 1974.

    Read More

  • Cannery Row And Grapes Of Wrath

    1764 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Good vs. Evil in Steinbeck's "East of Eden"

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steinbeck: Revisionist Views of His Art, Politics, and Intellect. Ed. Cliff Lewis and Carroll Britch. Edwin Mellen Press, 1989. 60-76. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 124. Detroit: Gale Group, 2000. Literature Resource Center. Web. 1 May. 2011.

    Read More

  • The Grapes of Wrath: No One Man, But One Common Soul

    2393 Words  | 5 Pages

    first significant author to build his own set of beliefs, which some would. refer to as a “religion,” upon a naturalistic basis.  Because of his “ religious” style on a naturalistic basis, he is able to relate to a man with a natural soul that they own, and combine them into a larger grouping. more important to the soul (220). & nbsp; America and American literature was founded on the spirit of necessity of the individual.  But Steinbeck disagrees with this idea of individualism.&nbsp ; He feels that the individual by himself is not going to succeed through the efforts of his own soul.  It is through the combined effort of everyone's souls  that a common goal is able to be reached. (Critical 5).  The Grapes of Wrath uses the naturalistic movement of literature to prove this as well.  Forces like economic, social, etc. environmental, and genetic forces fight against the Joads (the main family).

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck Outline

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath.

    Read More

  • Parrallels in the Life of John Steinbeck and the Characters in his Works

    2511 Words  | 6 Pages

    John Steinbeck was perhaps the best author of all time. He was the winner of a Nobel Prize, and among other accomplishments, Steinbeck published nineteen novels and made many movies during his lifetime. All of his experience and knowledge are shown through his novels. A reader can tell, just in reading a novel by Steinbeck, that he had been through a lot throughout his life. Also, Steinbeck worked very hard to accomplish everything that he did during his lifetime. Nothing came very easily to him, and he had to earn everything he owned. This helped him in his writing, because he was able to write about real people and real experiences. John Steinbeck got his inspiration from life experiences, people he knew, and places he had gone.

    Read More

  • Grapes of Wrath Essay: Steinbeck's Powerful Style

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, our country was just starting to recover from The Great Depression.  The novel he wrote, though fiction, was not an uncommon tale in many lives.  When this book was first published, the majority of those reading it understood where it was coming from-they had lived it.  But now very few people understand the horrors of what went on in that time.  The style in which Steinbeck chose to write The Grapes of Wrath helps get across the book's message.

    Read More

  • Skill and Craftsmanship in the Works of Steinbeck

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout Cannery Row, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck professes his admiration for the man who displays skill and craftsmanship in his work. A man who does his job exceedingly well is, by extension in Steinbeck's works, a hero who is satisfied in doing his best in affection for his craft - a direct contrast to the multitude of humans who are merely unsuccessful and unhappy dreamers.

    Read More

  • The Work of John Steinbeck

    947 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck was a major literary figure in the 20th century and continues to be widely read in the twenty-first century. Steinbeck was born on February 27,1902 (About John Steinbeck) in the Salinas Valley of California. (Laskov) "His father, John Steinbeck, Sr. was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. As a youth, he worked as a ranch hand and fruit picker. (John Steinbeck [2])". "He attended the local high school and studied marine biology at Stanford University between 1920 and 1926, but did not take a degree" (John Steinbeck [1]). Steinbeck's fascination with science and biology is evident in most of his works such as in this quote from the Grapes of Wrath: "Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up in the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments."  (Steinbeck 165) As Steinbeck began his writing career, he took many other jobs to support himself. For a short time, he worked at the American in New York City, and then returned to California where he worked various jobs such as a painter and fruit-picker before taking a job as a caretaker for a Lake Tahoe Estate. (John Steinbeck [1]) His job as a caretaker allowed him time to write and by the time he left the job in 1930 he had already published his first book, Cup of Gold (1929) and married his first wife Carol Henning (John Steinbeck [2]). After his marriage he moved to Pacific Grove, California where, in the early 1930s, Steinbeck met Edward Ricketts, a marine biologist, whose views on the interdependence of all life deeply influenced Steinbeck's novel To a God Unknown (1933). (John Steinbeck [2])

    Read More

  • AP Essay

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck and Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK Jr.) have both gone down in American literature as some of the most influential authors, but why? Steinbeck was an influential author throughout the 20th century with pieces in many genres. On the flip side is Martin Luther King, Jr., a civil rights leader in the fight against racial discrimination. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the style of these two authors, it is necessary to compare them on the bases of repetition, tone, and purpose.

    Read More

  • East Of Eden

    1559 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Steinbeck Figurative Language

    964 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck’s use of figurative language and local color in Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday and Of Mice and Men show his growth as a writer and highlight the reoccurring theme of loneliness and ostracism. The time gap in between these books show that Steinbeck grows as he experiences more throughout his life. Steinbeck’s novels are always set in California due to his extensive knowledge of the area since he has lived in the area his entire life. In all of his works the characters use parts of speech and actions that are customary to that area.

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting the Novel and Movie Version of The Grapes of Wrath

    956 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Steinbeck wrote the The Grapes of Wrath in 1939 to rouse its readers against those who were responsible for keeping the American people in poverty. The Grapes of Wrath tells the story of the Joad family, migrant farmers from Oklahoma traveling to California in search of an illusion of prosperity. The novel's strong stance stirred up much controversy, as it was often called Communist propaganda, and banned from schools due to its vulgar language. However, Steinbeck's novel is considered to be his greatest work. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and later became an Academy Award winning movie in 1940. The novel and the movie are both considered to be wonderful masterpieces, epitomizing the art of filmmaking and novel-writing.

    Read More

  • Parallels Between The Grapes of Wrath and the Life of John Steinbeck

    2935 Words  | 6 Pages

    John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. He had a pretty average childhood with a supportive family and a decent education. While growing up his mother, Olive Hamilton, was a major factor in his education, since she was a schoolteacher and made it her duty to educate him. His mother most likely was the reason he developed a love of reading and literature and ended up going to Stanford. In his child there were only two major events that affected his writing. These were when he worked on a ranch with migrant workers, and when his father’s business failed and the family was temporarily thrust into poverty. These two events most likely sparked his interest in the poor lives of the migrant workers. His experiences on the ranch taught him about the harsh and impoverished lives of the migrant workers and his experience of being in poverty enabled him to understand what life is like when one is poor, as the migrant workers were. This understanding inspired some of his most famous writings such as: Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. These experiences also allowed him to add a sense of realism to the stories. After graduating from his public high school in 1919 Steinbeck went to Stanford. He went there for 5 years before dropping out without a degree and moving to New York. The following years were highly tumultuous for Steinbeck and he held many odd jobs while trying to get his writing published. In 1935 he finally got his first big break when his critically acclaimed novel, Tortilla Flats, was published. After this he became quite successful and well known although the skill in his writing seems to fall after WWII. After researching his life I decided to focus on using his most famous n...

    Read More

More about The Private Life of John Steinbeck Uncovered

Open Document