John Steinbeck was a writer who used naturalism in his works to to bring awareness about problems in society that he dealt with in his own life. He frequently dealt with the economic and social problems of migrant workers in
California and how they dealt with everyday life. He wrote through his fiction about what he knew and what affected him personally. Specifically, he wrote a novella entitled, Of Mice and Men, about two California migrant workers,
George Milton and Lennie Small, who are trying desperately to earn enough money to buy a couple of acres of their own so that they won’t have to keep running from there problems all the time. Naturalism was a literary movement throughout the U.S. and Europe in the late 19th century to the
…show more content…
At age 35, because of the success of Of
Mice and Men, it was named a Book-of-the-Month Club choice and
Steinbeck was named as one of Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Year.
Also, Steinbeck was asked to write articles about migrant workers for magazines and newspapers, bringing further awareness to the hardships of the migrant workers (LIS 7 ). In Of Mice and Men , Steinbeck wrote about two laborers, George Milton and Lennie Small. George is a small, slender and smart man; Lennie is a large, clumsy mentally challenged man who is physically strong. George had promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would take care of Lennie when she died. They have traveled from Weed,
California, to work together on a ranch in Soledad. Lennie and George have fled from Weed because Lennie was accused of trying to assault a girl. He was touching her dress and when he stroked it too hard she screamed and he hung on to her in fear. George and Lennie have a dream, to earn enough money so that they can have a place to call their own. They want to have rabbits “An’ live off the fatta the lan’” (STE 5). They arrive in Soledad and meet The Boss, and his son Curley. George and Lennie also meet Slim, the ranch hand who seems to have authority in the bunkhouse, Curley’s wife, and
Candy, the old swamper. Candy has a dog, it’s very old and dirty, and smells up the bunkhouse; so when Slim’s dog has puppies, they convince Candy to let them kill the old dog and give him one of the new puppies. The night
Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' explores the everyday lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this era, American men were forced to leave their families and become 'drifters'. These were people who didn't have a fixed job and continually moved from place to place.
The novel The Grapes of Wrath is in many ways a one-of-a-kind piece of literature. This work is set up unlike any other book, written in a series of chapters and inter-chapters, which do a remarkable job of informing the reader of the travels the characters in the book are going through. Not only does the story focus on the problems one family goes through, but explains the problem is happening to many more civilians than the story focus's on. Steinbeck does not leave out a single detail about the Joad family and their journey to California, and that in itself is what makes his writing so entertaining. Not only is this a very powerful topic to write about, but the remarkable writing style of author John Steinbeck makes this book a
There are many authors, poetry writers, and novelists around this world, but what make them into a famous author or writer? One of the famous American writer was John Steinbeck. He earned a Nobel prize of literature from his American classic novels that he had written in the past. The Nobel prize was not the only award that he had earned for his literature, he earned different awards for his writings also (John Stein..). John Steinbeck is a man who had overcome different obstacles and being successful in life.
Candy, an old swamper, has the largest amount of false hope out of any other worker on the ranch, as he has survived through
In the late 1930 unemployment rates were dropping at exponential rates, people were traveling west looking for jobs, hoping to gain even the smallest amounts of money. They were struggling to survive, fighting for jobs and living in horrible conditions. The Dust Bowl had wiped out most of their homes and many were desperate, people referred to them as migrant workers. The story Of Mice and Men revolves around the adventure of two migrant workers, George and Lennie. The book begins with a scene of nature, calm and beautiful yet cruel and complex. Much like nature, John Steinbeck's book tells the dark side of our nation and it’s people. Because of this, Steinbeck's book is still valuable to teach students. His simple yet complex story characterizes
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.
In this novella, I developed a thesis statement, which is: The pearl kept Kino moving forward because it represented hope during a period in his life. I chose this thesis statement because one of the aspects that makes this story move forward is Kino’s hope and greed; even if this greed is based on his hope. Steinbeck quotes: “Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino, so he became curiously everyman’s enemy” (Steinbeck, 27).
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
	 John Steinbeck was a famous American author who wrote from the 1920 to the 1940. Steinbeck was constantly moving across the country trying to succeed as a writer. John Steinbeck lived a life of constant up and downs, successes and failures before he landed on his feet and became a famous author.
Every great writer had their own influences, John Steinbeck was no exception. Steinbeck’s influences cam from family, friends, and his environment to write detailed descriptions to involve or influence the reader. Whenever someone reads one of John Steinbeck’s works they are in immersed in the scene he is describing, he makes you feel as if you are right there experiencing everything there first hand.
John Steinbeck was, and still is today, one of the most influential writers in American history. His works, such as The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, are influential on the image of the impoverished worker during and shortly before the era of the Great Depression. Steinbeck lived a fascinating life with a variety of influences, and a number of different, successful stylistic works.
John Steinbeck's agricultural upbringing in the California area vibrantly shines through in the settings and story lines of the majority of his works. Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, takes place in the Salinas Valley of California. The drama is centered around two itinerant farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, with a dream of someday owning a place of their own. Lennie Small is a simple-minded, slow moving, shapeless hulk with pale eyes whose enormous physical strength often causes him to get into trouble. George Milton on the other hand is small in stature, clever, dark of face and eyes, and acts as Lennie's guardian and calming force.
John Steinbeck, author of the critically acclaimed Grapes of Wrath, once said, “Maybe the hardest thing in writing is simply to tell the truth about things as we see them.”* Steinbeck has quite the history of trying to stump his audience, and it appears that he enjoys cryptic answers in this case as well. I believe Steinbeck is trying to say that writers have a tendency to not write what they truly want to, because of a multitude of reasons. Perhaps it’s the fear of an author’s idea being scoffed at, due to it being viewed as illogical or irrelevant, or maybe because of monetary reasons (i.e., an author may want to tackle a relatively controversial topic, that would ostracize a certain group of customers, leading his editor/publisher to advocate
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.
The American voice is what Americans have to say that helps contribute to worldly matters. It is unique because it changes everyday with new events happening and people adding more to the American voice. John Steinbeck was a big contributor to the American voice in the 30’s and 40’s during the Great Depression era. He grew up in a hardworking family, his mother a schoolteacher and his father moved from job to job trying to keep food on the table. He worked as a war correspondent during World War II and also worked as a caretaker for the elderly. His background helped shape who he was, and ultimately helped his work because he could relate to people.