John Steinbeck and the Critics - Research Paper Example

Number] John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck was American nonfiction, short stories and novel well known for his Pulitzer Prize winning novels. He has penned twenty-seven books including different sort stories and novels. He was awarded with the noble prize for literature in 1962. He is also regarded as the major and influential spokesman of the Great Depression era because in his writings he has focused upon the problems of people during that era in very delicate and detailed manner (Benson, p65). The essay presents the biographical account of information about John Steinbeck and discusses his life, writing career, awards and major contributions. He enjoys prominent and respectable position in the American literary world for his valuable popular and influential pieces of writings divulged from time to time throughout his writing careers. His novels and stories were also selected for plays and movies that also prove the influence and effectiveness of his words and expressions (Ditsky, p143). Important Biographical Events John Steinbeck was born in February, 1902 in California. His ancestors belong to Germany and Ireland. His father was Monetary County treasurer whereas his mother was a school teacher. In 1919, he completed high school education from the Salinas High School and went to the Stanford University to pursue further education. However, eventually he left the university in 1925 without getting the degree. He moved to the New York City and did some odd jobs to manage his livelihood. Besides, he continued his struggled to pursue his dream to become a writer (DeMott et al, p82). In the beginning he faced many disappointments in getting his work published after which he decided to return California. He worked as tour guide in 1928 in the Tahoe City where he met a tourist Carol Henning, whom he fall in love and got married in January, 1930. In 1935, his novel Tortilla Flat was published and appraised in the literary sphere. The successful publication and reception of the novel allowed him improving his livelihood and he managed to move in a summer ranch-home in Los Gatos. He went to the voyage around the Gulf of California in which his wife also accompanied him but the mutual differences considerably raised during the visit and eventually their marriage ended in 1942. He remarried with Gwyndolyn "Gwyn" Conger with whom he has his two children born in 1944 and 1946 (Benson, p65). He also served as WWII correspondent and then visited Soviet Union in 1947. He compiled his observations in bookish form entitled A Russian Journal that was published in 1948. In the same year his second marriage was also ended and one of his close friends was also dead in an accident due to which he spent the entire year in deep depression. In 1950, he married for the third time with a stage manager Elaine Scott that lasted till his death in 1968. John Steinbeck suffered from heart disease and congestive heart failure that resulted in his death in December, 1968 at the age of 66 years. His body was cremated upon his wish and the ashes were interred. Role and Literary Contributions Being son of a former school teacher he got great inspiration and motivation for reading and writing. The early days of his childhood were spent in small rural town. Ever since he was a young boy he used to work on the rancher in summer. During the work he interacted with several workers migrated on the Spreckles ranch. This interaction allowed him having deep insight to the problems and miseries of the migrants and the harsh side of the human nature. This observation motivated him to write about the issues related with the problems and harshness of life. In many of his writing pieces he reflected these observations like in Of Mice and Man etc. He also expressed his love for nature in his writing by depicting the natural scenes, surroundings, forests and farms. His literary career began with the publication of Cup of Gold in 1929. This was his first novel that was based upon the life and death of Privateer Henry Morgan. After the publication of his first novel Steinbeck started working on three shorter works. He wrote twelve interconnected stories about a valley discovered by a Spanish corporal (Benson, p65). The collection of these stories was published in 1932 entitled The Pastures of Heaven. Next year he published his 100 page story The Red Pony consisting of four chapters that describe the memories of the childhood of Steinbeck. In the same year To a God Unknown was published that emphasizes upon the life of a homestead and his pagan worship for his land (DeMott et al, p82). His novel Tortilla Flat published in 1935 gained him first critical success. The novel won the California Commonwealth Club’s gold medal. In the novel he portrayed the adventures of a group of people comprising of homeless and classless young men in Monterey and their lives after the WWI. The book was also selected for film making with the same name. After the success of this novel, Steinbeck decided to write the series of California novels and Dust Bowl fiction in which he depicted the lives and problems of the people during the Great Depression (Benson, p65). In this era he wrote the novels including In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. He also talk about the problems, miseries and dreams of the migrant labour in these novels and expose their deep feelings, emotions and perception towards the life (Shillinglaw, p77). After the success adaptation of his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck wrote two more stage plays including The Moon is down and Burning Bright. His novel The Grapes of Wrath written in 1939 also proved to be his successful piece of writing that won him Pulitzer Prize on 1940. Along with the subjects of migrants’ problems, land, nature and Great Depression he also focused upon the issues of politics in his writing that also evolved controversies around his works. He basically threw light upon the negative side of capitalism and talks about the plight of the workers. Due to his controversial political views his book New Deal was banned from the county’s publicly funded schools and library for over four years (Benson, p65). Critical Treatment in Academic Scholarly Press Steinbeck most of the time through his career enjoyed favourable response from the people and the critics of the literary world for his nicely woven stories and novels. He remained popular in the literary sphere for several years both in United States and Europe. He was widely appraised by the critics for his consciousness and concerns for the little and big problems and issues surrounding the human lives. The critics also like the narrative attributes of his writing especially those displayed in his early pieces. The academic and scholarly press give importance to his writing and his work also became part of some academic journals. The overall response of the critics towards his writing was favourable and positive and his deep observations and their delicate expression are widely appraised by the critics and the readers of his novels and stories (Shillinglaw, p77). Before the publication and popularity of Tortilla Flat there was little to talk about his critical treatment because his work was not popular enough to catch the attention of critics and academia however after his first commercial success the critics widely paid attention towards his writing and with favourable response treated his novels and stories. The publication of Dubious Battle in 1936 well supported his critical reputation and the critics widely acknowledge that he possessed the matured skills to create unifies, well-conceived and well characterized novel (Benson, p65). His later works also prove that he has the potential to come up with the writing pieces possessing of all these attributes and his close observation to the social and economic problems also help in creating master pieces like Grapes of Wrath etc. (Benson, p65). His novels and stories published from time to time proved that he has the capability to write upon number of interesting subjects with the help of his skills of observing and expressing the life experiences. He receives several important and reputable awards and prizes for his works that also indicate that his critical treatment in the academic and literary world was favourable and most of the critics and readers were impressed from his style of describing the events and feelings in very detailed and heart touching manner (Moore, p154). John Steinbeck in relation to his Peers John Steinberg has left lasting impression upon the American literature and has widely been remembered for his novels and stories. It is not a simple task to locate the position and status of Steinberg among his peers because his work has made immeasurable impact upon the readers and have left great influence upon them. The critics believe that the detailed and deep depiction of the problems make him distinguished from the other writers of his age because no other writer has talked about these issues in such detailed and delicate manner as Steinberg do (Benson, p65). He had very close sight upon the political life of America and being the victim of the situation he was in a better position to experience and expresses the problems that people encounter in the political system of that time (Li, p9). He has left profound influence upon the American literary world as well as upon the American culture and society by dealing with the subjects of politics and social problems. He possessed the natural skills of shaping the raw materials of life into fiction making the life experience interesting and heart touching for the readers. Despite the positive reception of many of his novels, it is often being argued by some critics that not all of his work could be regarded as master pieces and there are only few novels and stories that attract the readers to reread and several other are not worth rereading. Despite this little criticism he has mainly deemed as an influential writer and it could be said that he enjoys distinguished and prominent position in the literary sphere as compared with his peers (Moore, p154). Theoretical/Critical Perspective The main focus of his work remained the Great Depression and the portrayal of the problems and issues encountered by the people during this time. It was the era that witnessed massive decline in the employment and people have to face worst economic downfall due to the declining economy of the country (Benson, p65). He saw people very close and also gone through the state of struggle and financial problem during this time. As a result he developed very detailed observation about the problems and miseries evolved during this time (Shillinglaw, p77). Most of his novels and stories talk about the condition of the people during the Great Depression due to which he has been regarded as the spokesman of that era. Along with the depiction of Great Depression problems he also emphasises upon some other subjects in his work. He expressed his political views and ideology by talking about capitalism and labour rights. His later work was focused upon diverse issues and topics like religion, history, mythology and politics etc. He also proves his sense of exploring and describing things from new perspective by penning a travelogue of the road trip that he took in 1960 in which he attempted to rediscover America. Awards John Steinbeck was an award winning author. His novels won him Pulitzer Prizes for The Grapes of Wrath (1939). East of Eden (1952) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937). In 1962 he was granted the Nobel Prize for literature. He was given the Nobel Prize for his realistic and imaginative writing. However, when it was announced that he has been granted the Noble Prize, Steinbeck expressed his views that he didn’t think that he really deserve to be granted the Noble Prize (Li, p9). The Nobel Prize proves that he has made remarkable and outstanding contributions to the literary world that was also well directed towards positive ambitions and directions. He was also awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. In 1979, on the day of his 77th birthday he was again honoured for his literary contributions by being places of a U.S postage stamp (Shillinglaw, p77). Work Cited Benson, J. The Short Novels of John Steinbeck: Critical Essays with a Checklist to Steinbeck Criticism. Durham: Duke UP, 1990. Print. Ditsky, J. John Steinbeck and the Critics. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2000. Print DeMott, Robert and Steinbeck, Elaine A. John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath and Other Writings 1936–1941, NY: Library of America, 1966. Print Li, Luchen. John Steinbeck: A Documentary Volume. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Print Moore, H. T. The Novels of John Steinbeck: A First Critical Study. Chicago: Normandie House, 1977. Print Shillinglaw, S. John Steinbeck: Centennial Reflections by American Writers. San Jose, CA: Center for Steinbeck Studies, San Jose State University, 1977. Print. Read More