John Steinbeck
1902-1968
“I learned long ago that you
cannot tell how you will end
by how you stat”
EARLY LIFE
● Steinbeck was born in Salinas California on February
27th 1902. He spent most of his life in Monterey
County, the setting for some of his fiction.
● Steinbeck decided to be a writer at 14. He enrolled at
Stanford University majoring in English in 1919.
● Steinbeck drifted in and out of school until he dropped
out in 1925 without a degree.
● Steinbeck briefly moved to New York seeking a career
in writing, however he was unsuccessful and moved
back to California.
CAREER
● Steinbeck's first novel was Cup of Gold,
published in 1929. He then wrote Pastures
of Heaven in 1932 followed by To a God
Unknown in 1933.
● He was unsuccessful until Tortilla flat in
1935, which won him the California
Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal.
● Steinbeck wrote various novels but
eventually achieved great success with Of
Mice and Men in 1937. It was produced on
broadway and made into a movie.
Grapes of Wrath
● The grapes of wrath depicts life during the Great Depression and in the
dust bowl.
● During the 1930s when drought and the Great Depression hit the 15000
square mile space including Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New
Mexico, it caused agricultural devastation.
● Years of plowing and planting for wheat caused dry soil resulting in dust
blowing into dense clouds.
● This was referred to as the Dust Bowl.
● Many people identified with his novel because of the honesty and the
public attention it brought to the plight of farmers.
● This book sold 10,000 copies per week at its peak and earned a Pulitzer
prize in 1940.
● The American Booksellers Association named it their favorite fiction book
of 1939.
Controversies
● Growers and their partners in politics stigmatized Steinbeck and called
him a liar and worse, threatened him with physical harm.
● The Grapes of Wrath was banned and burned in many farm countries due
to politicians and law enforcements animosity towards the book.
● A wealthy grower in charge of a book burning in Bakersfield said “The
Communist Party wrote the outline, and Steinbeck filled in the rest of
the crap.”
● A congressman called it “the most damnable book that was ever
permitted to be written.”
● The books challengers were afraid the book would gather support for the
unionization of farmers. This would allow them to better their working
conditions and make a reasonable pay.
● Farmers at that time could make as little as 1 dollar for a 10 hour day.
Steinbeck's Life&Legacy
● John Steinbeck worked as a war correspondent in world war II in 1943,
and in 1944 left after being wounded.
● Steinbeck and a photographer Robert Capa were the first two Americans
in the USSR after the Communist Revolution.
● Steinbeck had several books made into films including The Pearl, The
Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men.
● Steinbeck wrote 27 books total.
● In 1962 Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
● Steinbeck is remembered as one of the best and most widely read
American authors of the 20th century.
● The Steinbeck center, a library and research center, opened in 1998, it
was a place to store and display Steinbeck memorabilia. It gets about
30000 visits each year.
● John Steinbeck died of heart disease December 20th 1968 at his home in
New York.
“To finnish is sadness
to a writer- a little
death. He puts the
last words down and
it is done. But it isn't
really done. The story
goes on and leaves
the writer behind, for
no story is ever
done.” - John
Steinbeck