http://danliterature.wordpress.com/john-steinbeck-east-of-eden/john-steinbeck-the-pearl/
John Ernst Steinbeck
And his use of setting
By: Josh Kendrick
Early Days
• When he was young, he worked on ranches to earn a little money.
• One of these ranches was Spreckels ranch.
• His experiences on ranches helped him to write Of Mice and Men,
which is one reason why he was able to describe what it was like in
reality.
Pacific Grove
• During the Great Depression, he spent some time living in a cottage
owned by his father in Pacific Grove, California.
• This is where he wrote his first novelistic success, Tortilla Flat, in
1935.
• The setting takes place in Monterey, California.
Tortilla Flat
• In this passage from the novel, Steinbeck describes Monterey:
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“Monterey sits on the slope of a hill, with a blue bay below it and with a forest of tall
dark pine trees at its back. The lower parts of the town are inhabited by Americans,
Italians, catchers and canners of fish. But on the hill where the forest and the town
intermingle, where the streets are innocent of asphalt and the corners free of street
lights, the old inhabitants of Monterey are embattled as the Ancient Britons are
embattled in Wales. These are the paisanos.”
• Steinbeck is able to describe Monterey in a way that the reader can see
the image in their minds clearly. This is crucial to the plot; it’s easier to
imagine what is happening if you can see where it’s happening.
Other Novels
• Two other of Steinbeck’s novels with great settings are Of Mice and
Men and The Grapes of Wrath.
http://drb.lifestreamcenter.net/Lessons/mice-men/index.htm
http://www.vichywater.net/blog/?p=479
Of Mice and Men
• This novel has four main places in the setting:
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The clearing by the pond
The bunkhouse
Crooks’ room
The barn
Of Mice and Men
• The clearing by the pond: This is probably the most important place in
the story. It is where George and Lennie are introduced into the story,
and also where the story ends.
• The bunkhouse: This is where most of the plot takes place. All of the
characters are involved here, and it is where the majority of the action
is.
Of Mice and Men
• Crooks’ room: Crooks’ room is where we learn more about Lennie,
Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy. It sheds light on a few questions
about these characters’ intentions and thoughts.
• The barn: Lennie gets his puppy here, and later kills it along with
Curley’s wife accidentally. Curley’s wife tells Lennie about her dreams
and goals. Lennie makes his final mistake here, and that’s when
George, Lennie, and Candy’s plan to live on land of their own ends.
The Grapes of Wrath
• The setting for this novel moves from Oklahoma to California.
• At first, the Joad family moves from their home to Uncle John’s house.
• After that, the Joads load up into their car and begin traveling to
California in search of work.
• Highway 66 is described as “The mother road, the road of flight,” and
it supposedly allows families to pursue their hopes and dreams, while
it actually leads them into despair and misery.
The Grapes of Wrath
• California is covered with rich, lush land, and there are orchards
everywhere with rich and moist soil.
• As great as California seems to the Joad family, they run into many
dangers there. Steinbeck describes California as a beautiful, but
dangerous place.
Details & How they affect the
setting
• Steinbeck uses tons of adjectives in his descriptions.
• Here is an example of the detail he includes:
– “The concrete highway was edged with a mat of tangled, broken, dry grass, and the
grass heads were heavy with oat beards to catch on a dog’s coat, and foxtails to
tangle in a horse’s fetlocks, and clover burrs to fasten in sheep’s wool; sleeping life
waiting to be spread and dispersed, every seed armed with an appliance of
dispersal, twisting darts and parachutes for the wind, little spears and balls of tiny
thorns, and all waiting for animals or the hem of a woman’s skirt, all passive but
armed with appliances of activity, still, but each possessed of the anlage of
movement.” – Excerpt from The Grapes of Wrath
Adjectives
• Adjectives are very important for the setting. They appeal to the
senses, making it possible to picture the character’s surroundings as if
you were there yourself.
• Adjectives also add a feel of realism. The more vivid your descriptions
are, the more real the story feels to the reader.
Dialect
• Adding dialect to the character’s dialogue makes them fit in to the
setting more. It also helps you understand the character’s personality
and background.
• Steinbeck includes a lot of dialect in his novels:
– "You don't look for no sense when lightnin' kills a cow, or it comes up a flood.
That's jus' the way things is. But when a bunch of men take an' lock you up four
years, it ought to have some meaning."
Conclusion: The Importance of
Setting
• In most works of literature, setting establishes a sense of place and
lifestyle. Included in this are moral codes, customs, culture,
technology, and even a sense of the level of education of the locals.
This can create a sense of whether or not the characters fit into their
surroundings.
• The setting creates the backbone of a story, and is vital to the story’s
plot and development.
Works Cited
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Information Sources:
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http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tortillaflat/facts.html
Accessed on 20 September 2011
“Tortilla Flat”
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck
last modified on 24 September 2011
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Accessed on 20 September 2011
“John Steinbeck”
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http://as.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/teaching_steinbeck/index.jsp?val=teaching_tortilla_flat_setting
Accessed on 20 September 2011
“Tortilla Flat: Setting”
The Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies
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http://www.shmoop.com/of-mice-and-men/
Accessed on 20 September 2011
© 2011 Shmoop University, Inc.
“Of Mice and Men”
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http://www.olypen.com/pnkdurr/as/unit2turtle.htm
Accessed on 20 September 2011
“The Turtle - John Steinbeck”
Works Cited
• Image Sources:
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http://www.menupix.com/california/n/550306/Salinas-restaurants
http://danliterature.wordpress.com/john-steinbeck-east-of-eden/john-steinbeck-thepearl/
http://drb.lifestreamcenter.net/Lessons/mice-men/index.htm
http://www.vichywater.net/blog/?p=479