John Steinbeck's 'Travels With Charley'

Everyone has a life history, John Steinbeck also has a history of his own. His life story began on February 27, 1902, in the farming town known as Salinas from California (Schillinglaw). He had four siblings, but he was the only boy in the four. Olive Hamilton Steinbeck was his mother and she was a former teacher in that time period. The town where he grew up at, was a farming town and still a farming town, it has rich green fields and surrounded by landscapes of broad yellow valleys. He and his family had lived a comfortable life as a middle class family during his childhood (Shmoop). When Steinbeck was done with high school, he worked for many places and different kinds of jobs which were a laborer for a sugar factory in Salinas, a laborer in mills, and a ranch hand (Reuben) .John Steinbeck went to Stanford University and majored his English there, but he had never receive any degree (Reuben). In 1925, after he had worked hard in studying, John decided to leave

John Steinbeck’s tone throughout Travels with Charley can be described as witty or comical. Through the way that he described his dog Charley, for example, I noticed that he often times made him seem like he was a human in a humorous way. Even after a traumatic experience at Yellowstone National Park, he managed to keep it light, describing Charley as “a man coming out of a long, hard drunk- worn out, depleted, collapsed” (Steinbeck 165). It was interesting picturing a dog acting like a drunk human. How he was able to keep a comical tone throughout the novel is what drew me in and kept me interested.

More specifically he depicts “farmers who have experienced some realization of the American dream; however, as a result of external forces, they lose sight of the dream and seek to regain it (Scott, 1985, p. 58). As harsh as it may seem, these external forces of nature, society, and man annihilate both the dream and the ability to function in society. The Grapes of Wrath posses within its characters the ideal American traits to chase the American dream. Steinbeck creates characters who are very resilient under terrible conditions and a world which has only shown them hostility, a lack of forgiveness, and circumstances that perpetuate failure. “Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath allows rebellious actions, as devoted Americans, conscious of the dream of individualistic survival experience, first an economic decline, both as result of natural causes and of the technology of twentieth-century America, then regression in morale and the physical declination of the family unit”(Scott, 1985, p.

John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, takes place during the Great Depression, a time when troubled and distressed American men and women lived; a time of poverty and an economic crisis. When change is thought upon, it is to be thought of new life and new experiences. The Great Depression is the kind of change that replaces a part of American living with “ Somepin’s happening. I went up an’ I looked, an’ the houses is all empty, an’ the lan’ is empty, an’ this whole country is empty” ( Steinbeck 94). In his work, Steinbeck presents the hardships that Americans had to go through by being mindful of particular aspects which makes the reader understand the characters’ distress. For example, the landscape of the farm lands. Even though the land has its brutality, it grows to be the scenery for humans to be able to recognize and consider their troubles about work and life in general. With these concerns, there are differences between the people who are accustomed to the landscape and admire it, and those who do not agree with it. In the novel, Steinbeck uses attributes of class conflict and injustice as a way of presenting and socially commenting that the Great Depression brought attention to more problems beyond the idea of poverty.

By showing these extreme actions, Steinbeck shows how complex human emotions can be and how internal struggles can affect a person and change the way they see

In early September 1936, Steinbeck went back to Salinas to find that there was a violent clash between growers and workers over a strike that resulted in riots and killings. This turned Steinbeck upside down, because now it was not only something happening in California, but was happening in the town where he grew up.

John Steinbeck worked as an employed laborer, digging canals and working beside men similar to characters in his novels.

The unconventionally written intercalary chapters of Steinbeck's novel, “The Grapes of Wrath”, are designed to show the readers a view of economic depression and social aspects of America during this time period. Steinbeck tells the reader about the situation through a macroscopic point of view, when he writes the intercalary chapters. It is through these intercalary chapters that Steinbeck tells us about the struggle of many migrant farmers who are pushed out of their homes and start to live their lives on the road, while trying to find places for them to work. Between each of these intercalary chapters are narrative chapters where Steinbeck gives the readers a microscopic view of the situation, by giving us an example of one of the migrant

John Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas, California, a town well known for farming and being poor. Its thought that his many conversations with the migrant workers of the area inspired a lot of his work, such as “Of Mice and Men”, a

In early September 1936, Steinbeck went back to Salinas to find that there was a violent clash between growers and workers over a strike that resulted in riots and killings. This turned Steinbeck upside down, because now it was not only something happening in California, but was happening in the town where he grew up.

Steinbeck uses the world around Elisa to give the reader a comparison to her life. The story takes place in the Salinas Valley at her husband, Henry Allen’s, ranch in the foot-hills. Steinbeck opens the story up by describing to us how the fog closes off the Salinas Valley from the sky and from

     John Steinbeck wrote about what surrounded him. At the time he was writing, the nineteen-thirties, a great depression was plaguing the United States. Many people were out of work. Many farmers were losing their farms and homes. An extreme drought had also wrecked the farms of the Midwest and made them into what is now referred to as the "dust bowl". It was a terrible time to be poor, and most were. People died of malnutrition every day. In California, where Steinbeck resided, migrant workers dominated the workforce. Thousands traveled from all around to pick fruit in the farms of the Salinas Valley for minuscule wages. Thousands more could not find suitable

Charles le Chien; a bleu gentleman poodle who prefers a negotiation over any conflict. Born in Paris, France, Charley was trained and eventually brought into Steinbeck’s life. These companions later travel around America while trying to answer the question “What are Americans like today?” With only his necessities and Charley, Steinbeck began his long, overwhelming journey across America. In Travels with Charley, Steinbeck is greatly influenced by Charley and his actions.

John Steinbeck wrote ‘Of Mice and Men’ to show how hard life was for migrant ranch workers during the time of the Great Depression and how they were often exploited by their employers. In showing how George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own piece of land did not come true, Steinbeck explores a wider theme, criticising the idea of the American Dream. The American Dream tells people that there is ‘opportunity for each... regardless of the fortuitous circumstance of birth and position. Steinbeck criticises this as these ranch workers were given few opportunities. Settings play a very important part in the novel as they pinpoint clear times and places giving a sense of realism to the story, but they are also used to create atmosphere.

Throughout the duration of this class, I had the opportunity to encounter a great deal of fantastic examples of literature. The stories were as similar as they were different, each one with a unique premise but somehow also reflective of one another. Perhaps it is be accident, or more likely it is because the stories are a part of the fabric of our nation and the American condition. The stories are of their respective times while also being able to fairly and accurately critique American society, culture, and values. From capitalism to America’s changing thoughts on morality throughout the decades, the writings were introspective to the story of our nation.