Personal Reality in Selected Works of John Steinbeck - Essay Example

? Personal Reality in Selected Works of John Steinbeck Introduction John Steinbeck committed a great deal of his literary genius to turning experience into art. As Demott (2008) informs, much of Steinbeck’s work was based on biographical experience, his own personal consciousness and experiences (p. 86). Much of these experiences and observations depicted a great degree of hopelessness, want and suffering which quite often came across as controversial sex and racial issues (Bigsby 2006, p. 443). Steinbeck, in an editorial published in the Saturday Review in August 1955 said that a man’s writing reflects who he is (Schultz and Li 2005, p. 54). An analysis of John Steinbeck’s experiences and biographical factors and his works, Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men and In Dubious Battle reflects the extent to which Steinbeck converts his own personal experiences, observations and consciousness in his work. I. Tortilla Flat Steinbeck wrote the short novel Tortilla Flat in the summer and fall of 1933 and it was published in 1935 (Railsback and Meyer 2006, p. 215). Steinbeck was described as non-teleological, influenced largely by his “orientation in cosmology” (Ariki, Li and Pugh 2008, p. 173). Steinbeck was influenced by biology, zoology, physics, philosophy and mythical studies and after writing and publishing Tortilla Flat, became a close friend of Ed Ricketts an animal ecologist engaged at Chicago University. Influenced by these disciplines, Steinbeck’s non-teleological thinking was geared toward conceptualizing what “is” rather than what should be (Arike, Li and Pugh 2008, p. 173). Benson (1990) informs that Steinbeck consistently reflected his non-teleological thinking throughout the 1930s-1950s and was particularly suing this thinking through his Mexican-American characterizations (p. 31). In this regard, Tortilla Flat is an exercise in “what is, rather than what should be” (Benson 1990, p. 32). The novel introduces the reader to this teleological thinking through Danny, a Mexican American recently returned from military services to the news that he had inherited wealth. Weighted by the responsibility of new found wealth, Danny drinks and goes on a drunken rampage which ends with a one month sentence in jail. Rather than pondering his plight he adjusts to his situation and becomes one with it. Steinbeck’s (1986) Danny does not pause to agonize over his incarceration. Nor he is preoccupied with cause and effect. Instead he passes his time by “sometimes” drawing “obscene pictures on the walls” (Steinbeck 1986, p. 6). Steinbeck (1986) informs that: Time hung heavy on Danny’s hands there in his cell in the city jail. Now and then a drunk was put in for the night, but for the most part crime in Monterey was stagnant, and Danny was lonely. The bedbugs bothered him a little at first, but as they got used to the taste of him and he grew accustomed to their bites, they got along peacefully (p. 6). This is characteristic of Tortilla Flat in its manifestation of Steinbeck’s non-teleological thinking and influences. Danny is not only Mexican-American, he is a pasiano, whom Steinbeck (1986) describes as an individual with Spanish, Indian, Mexican and Caucasian. Through Danny’s experience in jail we learn that accepting events as they happen is conducive to the pasiano’s nature. Danny’s acceptance of the bedbugs is also reflective of Steinbeck’s non-teleological thinking in terms of becoming one with nature. Benson (1990) goes further to suggest that the oneness with nature extends to attach to the pasiano’s close contacts, because: For the “is” thinker accepts not only life and nature but also the others with whom he comes into contact (p. 32). The penchant for accepting things as they are is rooted in teleological conceptualization that simplicity and consistency breeds freedom and thus happiness. It also dictates that man’s struggles are implicit in man “as an entity and man as a member of a group” (Benson 1990, p. 32). In this regard, Tortilla Flat follows the paisanos who are pastoral and poor and prioritize “freedom, acceptance, living for the moment, nonmaterialism, oneness with nature and natural friendship” (Benson 1990, p. 32). These priorities direct a refusal to accept responsibilities as responsibilities constrains freedom and the ability to live for the moment. These non-teleological ideals contribute to Danny’s disdain over inheriting wealth. As Steinbeck (1986) writes of the pasianos, they: Are clean of commercialism, free of the complicated systems of American business, and, having nothing that can be stolen, exploited, or mortgaged, that system has not attacked them very vigorously (p. 2). Thus, Danny is free from the monetary constraints of Steinbeck’s 1930s. He is free to live in the moment, and he does so while sitting in the city jail. The loss of freedom associated with the inheritance is not lost on Danny’s friends. Pilon for example, predicts that “the great times are done” (Steinbeck 1986, p. 11). Pilon goes a bit further to suggest that money not only takes away freedom but also corrupts. He states that the poor always imagine that if they did come into wealth they would share it with their friends: But let that money come and charity flies away. So it is with thee, my once-friend. Thou art lifted above they friends. Thou are a man of property. Thou wilt forget they friends who shared everything with thee, even their brandy (Steinbeck 1986, p. 11). John Steinbeck’s reality is not only scientifically based, but also reflective of a moral philosophy. This moral philosophy as expressed through Pilon is an expression of Steinbeck’s own dissatisfaction with materialism and commercialism in 1930s America. Steinbeck is also reflecting his “sympathy for the downtrodden” (Magill and Keleher 1980, p. xviii). Pilon’s observation and prediction of what wealth will do to his good friend Danny speaks to Steinbeck’s view of the baser societal values and the ills of capitalism. Those ills are greed and envy and each are present in Pilon’s observation. Schultz and Li (2005) bring Tortilla Flat closer to Steinbeck’s own experiences and observations. According to Schultz and Li (2005) Steinbeck lived very near to the area he refers to as Tortilla Flat in the 1933 novella. Steinbeck lived in the vicinity during the early part of the 1930s with this then wife Carol and spent a great deal of time exploring “the area thoroughly, often drinking and carousing with the inhabitants” (p. 222). Steinbeck also met Sue Gregory, a teacher and poet who lived in the area. From Gregory, Steinbeck heard a number of tales of the pasiano lifestyle (Schultz and Li 2005, p. 222). No doubt, these experiences and observations combined with Steinbeck’s teleological thinking to produce the anti-capitalism and anti-materialistic tale conveyed in Tortilla Flat. II. In Dubious Battle Three months before the publication of Tortilla Flat, Steinbeck wrote In Dubious Battle which was published in 1936. Like Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle is a also a reflection of Steinbeck’s own personal experiences and observations and how those experiences and observations “stimulated his imagination” (Lojek 1993, p. 115). In 1934, the period leading up to the writing of In Dubious Battle Steinbeck had a meeting with two union workers who had participated in the organization of farm workers in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Steinbeck had previously wanted to produce a memoir from the perspective of a “communist labor organizer” (Lojek 1993, p. 115). Pursuant to this intention, Steinbeck went to the camps of migrant workers in the summer of 1934 so that he could observe the facts and circumstances for himself. From these observations, Steinbeck sorted out the material that he would use in a short essay called Breakfast. The material also came from Steinbeck’s knowledge of labor strikes occurring in Monteray during 1934. Steinbeck’s literary agent suggested that the writer transform his observations of strikes and labor organization to a work of fiction. Thus, Steinbeck wrote In Dubious Battle (Lojek 1993, pp. 115-116). Therefore the parallels in In Dubious Battle with Steinbeck’s own research, observations and experiences are unmistakable. For instance, Torgas Valley although fictional has a striking resemblance to Tagus Ranch. A footnote in Steinbeck’s (1992) In Dubious Battle explains that while Torgas Valley is fictional: The area Steinbeck depicts resembles the Tagus Ranch in Tulare County, site of a peach strike in August 1933 that resembles in a few aspects the strike depicted in the novel (Ch. 3, Footnote 1). Steinbeck’s own personal observations and anti-materialism conscience unfolds in the plot in that greed emerges as the root cause of the worker’s plights. The Growers’ Association reduces salaries only after a majority of the laborers report for work. Burdened with having to discharge the bulk of their salaries on transportation to the ranch, the laborers are left with little resources to seek employment somewhere else. Further tying the workers to the Growers’ Association, the workers are forced to open a line of credit with the firm’s stores where they charge goods at excessive prices (Steinbeck 1992). The situation is explained to Jim by Mac as follows: Now these few guys that own most of the Torgas Valley wainted until most of the crop tramps were already there. They spent most of their money getting there, of course. They always do. And then the owners announced their price cut (Steinbeck 1992, p. 26). Thus Steinbeck’s dissatisfaction with capitalism and his sympathy for the downtrodden is manifested in the plot as much as it is present in Tortilla Flat. What emerges in In Dubious Battle is a typical capitalist structure in which power and wealth resides in the hands of a few powerful and manipulative men, driven by greed and deception. The minimal financial gains of the Growers Association pales in comparison with the loss accrued to the struggling and suffering worker. The extent of the powerful few is exemplified by the fact that they are able to curtail the strike efforts by influencing the strike supplies by virtually cutting them off. The power of the few is such that it permits a degree of control over political institutions and law enforcement. They also have a strangle hold on the media and therefore influence public conceptions. In this regard, the rich and powerful few have taken control to such an extent that they are able to blunt the size and intensity of the strike (Steinbeck 1992). Steinbeck (1992) presents a paradoxical situation in which the Growers Association is flawlessly organized under the pretext of safeguarding the welfare of the public and their own interest. Meanwhile they are using their own influences to suppress the wishes of the workers, an ostensibly neglected and exploited group. The workers who are organizing protests and strikes against working conditions and salaries are immediately labelled communist and anything that will present them as against the moral fiber of America (Steinbeck 1992). The irony is, the wealthy and powerful are persuaded that their greed is far more important than the fundamental rights of the downtrodden workers. Steinbecks (1992) In Dubious Battle reflects his observation of the weakness surrounding individualism and how strength can be obtained by the coming together of men. Individualism was particularly poignant during the depression era of the 1930s where the ordinary man was burdened by want and a feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness. Even the violence depicted is meant to exemplify the strength in numbers, particularly when men unite for a mutual purpose. As Wyatt notes, In Dubious Battle the “focus” is: Not only on industrial and working conditions but also on a process of initiation by which a veteran radical passes his savvy onto a young initiate, who comes to learn the value of struggle and to learn how the system works (p. 148). Jim’s powerlessness and hopelessness are highlighted when he is introduced packing up his worldly possessions in a single bag. Jim has tenuous ties to life and others with only one surviving relative, an uncle with whom he has loose ties. Jim’s life prior to meeting the Harry, the Party recruiter is demonstratively meaningless and aimless. Having finally decided to become a member of the Party, Jim’s life gains some purpose and direction. The decision was made during a brief foray in jail. When asked by Harry why he wants to join the Party, Jim states: In jail there were some Party Men. They talked to me. Everything’s been a mess, all my life. Their lives weren’t messes. They were working toward something. I want to work toward something. I feel dead. I thought I might get alive again (Steinbeck 1992, p. 8). The power in numbers is immediately evident in Jim’s transformation after joining the Party. As he predicted, his life gains purpose and meaning. He becomes animated and has a desire for action and is all too willing to make sacrifices for the advancement of the Party. From Jim’s perspective, he has “nothing to lose” (Steinbeck 1992, p. 10). But he does lose the ability to hate. Harry previously warned Jim that: You’re going to be surprised when you see that you stop hating people. I don’t know why it is, but that’s usually what happens (Steinbeck 1992, p. 10). The implication here is that individualism is absorbed by group mentality and with it the ill will harbored by the individual is absolved into a greater system of men. Again traces of Steinbeck’s non-teleological thinking appear in the dynamics of community and oneness, although the main message remains the concept of power in numbers. There is a slight departure from non-teleological thinking in that Jim feels attached to a cause. He has a commitment and responsibilities, something he did not have before. Prior to joining the Party, Jim lived for the moment, although purely by accident rather than by design. After joining the Party, he has gained a sense of responsibility. Jim demonstrates the quality of leadership and it becomes obvious that he has the potential to become a Party leader. III. Of Mice and Men Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men was published in 1937 (Lojek 1993, p. 115). Shamblin and Scalia (1995) inform that Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, an area near to the setting depicted in Of Mice and Men (p. 1). Williams (2007) notes that Steinbeck starts Of Mice and Men by describing “a landscape” he loved: “the Salinas River” (p. 5). Steinbeck (1993) describes the rives as “deep and green” with “warm” water that has “slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool” (p. 1). Like In Dubious Battle, Steinbeck’s Of mice and Men features the plight of the marginalized worker. Schultz and Li (2005) explain that Of mice and Men reflects Steinbeck’s own experiences and observations relative to migrant workers which occurred when he took a leave of absence from Stanford University. Although it can be assumed that much the observations and experiences were derived from Steinbeck’s preparations for In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men is far less serious in that it avoids the philosophical undertones. Moreover, as Schultz and Li (2005) explain, Of Mice and Men specifically targeted the working classes. Since many of the working classes did not read, Steinbeck deliberately kept the context and text simple and originally planned for the novella to be produced as a play for the benefit of his target audience (p. 146). Like his other works, Steinbeck underscores this non-teleological thinking. His central characters, Lennie and George are aimless ranch hands whose mundane existence revolves around making a living and avoiding conflict. When they do etch a plan to accomplish something different, the acquisition of funds to purchase property the plan sets the stage for conflict. Lennie and George focus on this plan and are disappointed by own dream (Steinbeck 1993). Lennie who has a mental disability is nonetheless used by Steinbeck to demonstrate the non-teleological trait of living for the moment. He exhibits an excessive desire for contact in both the physical and mental sense with any living creature that is weaker or soft. Lennie does not have the ability to stifle this inclination. He functions by the sheer force of nature and as Schultz and Li (2005) observe: Lennie does not have the intellectual capacity to erect emotional barriers, or to acquire the niceties of polite intercourse. He operates as a natural force with the most primitive of human inclinations. Because of his mental limitations, Lennie reacts instinctively, not nobly, though his instincts are decent and loving (p. 146). While Lennie epitomises Steinbeck’s non-teleological concept of oneness with nature, George comes across as the non-teleological representation of the oneness with friends. George has accepted the role of guardian over his friend although in childhood, George had played a number of pranks on the vulnerable Lennie (Steinbeck 1993). Perhaps it was a natural growth toward maturity that endeared Lennie to him, or perhaps it was the mutual isolation that is associated with ranch workers. Lennie therefore represents a cure for George’s own isolation and is perhaps family to George since he has no family left (Schultz and Li 2005, p. 146). Isolation is a common theme throughout Of Mice and Men and in this regard, reflects the suffering and struggles of the working classes from Steinbeck’s perspective of the commercial world. Candy, who lost one of his hands on the ranch and is virtually intolerable uses his dog to restore order among the ranch workers, but coming to the realization that the offer is futile, he offers his savings to Lennie and George for the purchase of their property. Curly, in response to the ideas of masculinity perpetuated on the ranch marries a woman of immoral character to improve his own masculinity. Crooks, a black stable worker is alienated from the white ranch workers on account of his race. The isolation and loneliness is perhaps best captured by Crooks’ lamentation to Lennie: You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him... A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he with you...I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick (Steinbeck 1993, p. 24). Indeed Curly’s wife is impacted by her own isolation from a marriage that only had short-lived bliss. She is also disappointed that she cannot realize her dreams of becoming a big movie star. As a result of the ensuing isolation and loneliness, Curly’s wife is desperate for attention and companionship. Slim’s isolation however, appears to be different from the others. He is together in the sense that he is able to get along in the non-teleological sense of living with what is. However, Schultz and Li (2005) suggest that Slim is modelled after Steinbeck’s friend Ed Ricketts and as such he is the “distant and impartial observer of human behavior” (p. 157). Although Of Mice and Men ends tragically, Steinbeck manages to interject the tenets of his non-teleological thinking. Lennie’s unbridled oneness with nature and his instinctive drives gets him into serious trouble. He kills a puppy and Curly’s wife in quick succession. George kills his friend with a single bullet. By doing so, George frees his friend from the consequences of murder and likewise frees himself of the unattainable dream of acquiring property with Lennie (Steinbeck 1993). Therefore, despite the tragic ending, Of Mice and Men remains committed to reflecting Steinbeck’s own non-teleological concept of the significance of freedom, and more especially, freedom from responsibility. Lennie’s death freed him from the responsibility associated with criminal consequences and simultaneously freed George of the responsibility of protecting and guiding Lennie. Conclusion Steinbeck’s art in many respects imitated his life. He brought the familiar landscapes and lifestyles of his own experiences and observations to his work. These trends are demonstrated in the Flat Tortilla, In Dubious Battle and Of Mice and Men. Steinbecks non-teleological concepts however, featured more prominently in his works. His central characters were fixated on freedom although, In Dubious Battle, there is a slight departure when Jim finds satisfaction in taking on responsibility and thereby abandoning the non-teleological inclination toward freedom from responsibility. Even so, consistent with Steinbeck’s non-teleological thinking, his characters found oneness with nature and with friends. Steinbeck’s dissatisfaction with American materialism and capitalism are also recurring themes in his fiction as demonstrated by Flat Tortilla, In Dubious Battle and Of Mice and Men. His sympathy for the downtrodden is manifested by his focus on the purposeless and hopeless lives of his central characters. A key trait manifested in the three novels discussed above, is Steinbeck’s attention to disappointment and destruction. While disappointment and destruction are necessarily non-teleological concepts as lessons to be learned from corrupt commercialism and capitalism, they also engender sympathy for the core characters. The inescapable conclusion was Steinbeck’s indictment of commercialism and capitalism. Bibliography Ariki, K.; Li, L. and Pugh, S. John Steinbeck’s Global Dimensions. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2008. Benson, J. J. The Short Novels of John Steinbeck. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1990. Bigsby, C.W.E. The Cambridge Companion to Modern American Culture. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Lojek, H. “Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle (1936)”. Cited in Hayashi, T. (Ed.). A New Study Guide to Steinbeck’s Major Works, With Critical Explications. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1993. DeMott, R. “Working at the Impossible: The presence of Moby-Dick in East of Eden.” Cited in Bloom, H. (Ed.) John Steinbeck. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Magill, F. N. and Keleher, E. P. Great Events From History- Worldwide Twentieth Century Series: 1900-1945. Detroit, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1980. Railsback, B. E. and Meyer, M. J. A John Steinbeck Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. Schultz, J.D. and Li, L. Critical Companion to John Steinbeck: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc., 2005. Shamblin, L. T. and Scalia, J. E. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Piscataway, NJ: Research and Education Association, 1995. Steinbeck, J. Tortilla Flat. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1986. Steinbeck, J. In Dubious Battle. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1992. Steinbeck, J. Of Mice and Men. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1993. Williams, B. The Story Behind John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Chicago, Illinois: Heinemann Library, 2007. Wyatt, D. “Steinbeck’s Light.” Cited in Bloom, H. (Ed.) John Steinbeck. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing, 2008. Read More