Page Number______
Section _______: _________________
Name_________________________________
Mrs. Kearney
AP English Language and Composition
Date ________________________________
John Steinbeck Essay
Using annotation notes and film response journals from summer reading, class discussions, additional
reading of Steinbeck's works, students will write a 3-5 page out-of-class essay in MLA format. Your essay
should only quote the primary source, no secondary sources, unless you are using a quotation from
prompts #6 or #7 or writing about biblical allusions for prompt #1. The essay should be on one of the
following topics:
1. The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible,
or other works of literature. Write a well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that
predominates in The Grapes of Wrath or the allusion that is emphasized in the title of East of
Eden and analyze how it enhances the work's meaning. Avoid plot summary.
2. Steinbeck used unusual structures for both of the novels. Consider the alternating intercalary
chapters in The Grapes of Wrath or the interweaving of the true story of the Steinbeck's
Hamilton ancestors and the fictional Trask family. Write an analysis of the novel's structure and
how it contributes to the meaning of the novel as a whole. Avoid plot summary.
3. Often writers use a country setting to establish values in a work of literature. For example, the
country setting may be a place of virtue and peace or primitivism and ignorance. Steinbeck's
novels often include extended description of natural settings. Consider how the country setting
functions in the work as a whole in the novel you read. Then write an essay in which you
analyze the role the setting plays in the novel as a whole. Avoid plot summary.
4. Consider the gender of the characters in your novel. How are male and female characters
portrayed? How does the work portray their roles in society? How does gender influence the
choices that are available to the characters and the decisions that they make? Write an
essay that explores how gender affects the plot and character development in the novel.
5. Take a look at the characters in the novel that you've read. Each of the main characters in the
novel is introduced to you with certain dreams, plans, and expectations. In the course of the
novel, these main characters must come to terms with the difference between their dreams and
the reality of the world around them. Write a paper on your novel that examines how the main
characters navigate the journey from dreams to reality — What kind of course do they follow,
and how are they changed for their journey?
6. An article published in 1968 was entitled "The Radical Humanism of John Steinbeck." In a welldeveloped composition, analyze the degree to which The Grapes of Wrath or East of Eden fulfills
the parameters of the two key terms in the article's title: Radical and Humanism. (Both are
defined below.) What was radical about Steinbeck's philosophy as he developed it in
your novel, and to what degree does he meet the outlined criteria of a humanist? Is he a
purveyor of Radical Humanism? Avoid plot summary.
Page Number______
Section _______: _________________
Name_________________________________
Mrs. Kearney
AP English Language and Composition
Date ________________________________
7. In The Tale of the Genji, Murasaki Shikibu said that the novel "happens because the storyteller's
own experience of men and things, whether for good or ill—not only what he has passed
through himself, but even events which he has only witnessed or been told of—has moved him
to an emotion so passionate that he can no longer keep it shut up in his heart." What is the
passionate emotion that is communicated in your novel? Why was Steinbeck moved to write?
What is the thing that the novelist had to communicate? In your paper, explain the author's
motivating emotion and how it is explored in the novel.
8. Think about the role that social class plays in the novel that you've read. What social classes are
represented in the novel? To what extent is each class depicted? Are all the classes given equal
representation? How do the classes shown in the novel relate to the classes that realistically
existed in the time and place where the novel takes place? As you go through your novel,
consider two important questions: how does Steinbeck feel about the different social classes,
and how can you tell his opinion? Write an essay that analyzes the way that social class and class
issues affect the characters and plot of your novel.
9. Find a single significant detail in your novel. Look for a specific passage, a pivotal event, or an
important symbol, even a single word. Find something that grabs your interest and that you
want to examine carefully. For your paper, investigate your detail completely — Make it your
own. Learn everything you can about it without consulting outside sources. Why is it there in the
story? How does it relate to the particular scene in the novel? How is it important to the overall
theme or plot? Write a paper that explains your personal search to understand the detail,
beginning from the moment that the detail grabbed you and working toward your analysis of
details and its relationship to the novel.
10. Writers can't help but be influenced by the events and people that they see around them. The
question is to what extent does the influence become part of the works that they write and how
do they communicate their feelings and beliefs about the world around them. For your essay,
think about how the characters, setting, and themes in your novel relate to the period in which
it was written or set. How is the novel an analysis of the period? How is it a reflection, and how
is it a criticism? And how does Steinbeck make opinions about that world clear to the reader?
HUMANISM: a concern with human thought and action, a devotion to
the humanities, especially literary culture and learning, and the dissemination of
information concerning various cultures.
RADICAL: as an adj.--going to the root; fundamental; or extreme, especially in the
way of reform; or favoring drastic reforms. --as a noun--one who holds extreme
principles; an extremist; or one who advocates drastic political reforms by direct
and uncompromising methods.