Profile of John Steinbeck on Famous Like Me

John Ernst Steinbeck III (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was one of the most famous American writers of the 20th century. A winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, he is best known for his novella Of Mice and Men (1937) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939), both of which examine the lives of the working class during the Great Depression.

Steinbeck wrote in the naturalist/realist style, often about poor, working-class people, and his body of work reflects his wide range of interests, including marine biology, jazz, politics, philosophy, history, and myth.

Seventeen of his works, including Cannery Row (1945) and The Pearl (1947), went on to become Hollywood films, and Steinbeck himself achieved success as a Hollywood writer, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing for Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, in 1945. In recognition of Steinbeck's work with marine biologist Ed Ricketts, a sea slug species, Eubranchus steinbecki, was named after him in 1987.

Biography

Early life and work

Steinbeck was born to John and Irish-American Olive Steinbeck in Salinas, California. He had three sisters: two older and one younger. Steinbeck's father worked in county government, and Steinbeck's mother was a teacher.

Steinbeck enrolled in Stanford University in 1919 and attended until 1925, but dropped out and moved to New York City, where he labored at various jobs, including as a construction worker while developing his skills as a freelance writer. He was unable to find a publisher, and returned to California.

Steinbeck's first novel, published in 1929, was the unsuccessful mythological Cup of Gold. He married Carol Henning in 1930 and while he continued to write, he also cared for his ailing parents—his mother died in 1934, and his father in 1935. Steinbeck achieved his first critical success with the novel Tortilla Flat, which won the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal. The story of the adventures of young men in Monterey during the Great Depression was made into a film of the same name in 1942, starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, and John Garfield.

Political views increasingly influenced Steinbeck's writing. Carol Henning was a Marxist who took him to radical political meetings in San Francisco and the couple visited the Soviet Union in 1937, a common voyage of American liberal intellectuals hoping to view the successes of the world's foremost communist power. She registered as a member of the United States Communist Party, reportedly over Steinbeck's objections.

Marriages and children

Steinbeck separated with Henning in 1941 and moved to New York with Gwyndolyn Conger. His divorce from Henning was finalized in 1942. In 1943 Steinbeck married Conger, and the couple had two sons: Thomas "Thom" Steinbeck who was born August 2, 1944, and John Steinbeck IV who was born June 12, 1946. Conger and Steinbeck divorced in 1948.

• John Steinbeck IV was a journalist who received an Emmy Award for his reporting during the Vietnam War, was also heavily involved in drug trafficking and the consumption of narcotics, and was once arrested and charged with "maintaining a public nuisance" after having been found with 20 pounds (9 kg) of cannabis in his apartment. He died February 7, 1991 after complications resulting from back surgery.
• Thom Steinbeck is a fiction writer who lives in Big Sur and who has published a collection of stories, Down to a Soundless Sea (2003, ISBN 0345455770).

Actress Ava Gardner introduced Steinbeck to Elaine Anderson Scott at a dinner party, and John married Elaine in December of 1950 within a week after her divorce from actor Zachary Scott became final. Elaine survived John.

Critical success

Back in California, Steinbeck found his stride in writing "California novels" and Dust Bowl fiction, set among common people in the Great Depression. His socially-conscious novels about the struggles of rural workers achieved major critical success. Of Mice and Men, his novella about the dreams of a pair of migrant laborers working the California soil, was critically acclaimed, and was rapidly adapted into a 1939 Hollywood film, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as "Lennie" and Burgess Meredith as "George." Steinbeck followed this wave of success with The Grapes of Wrath, (1939), based on newspaper articles he had written in San Francisco, and considered by many to be his finest work. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1940 even as it was made into a famous film version starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford.

The success of The Grapes of Wrath, however, was not free of controversy, as Steinbeck's liberal political views, portrayal of the ugly side of capitalism, and mythical reinterpretation of the historical events of the Dust Bowl migrations led to backlash against the author, especially close to home. Of the controversy, Steinbeck himself wrote, "The vilification of me out here from the large landowners and bankers is pretty bad. The latest is a rumor started by them that the Okies hate me and have threatened to kill me for lying about them. I'm frightened at the rolling might of this damned thing, It is completely out of hand ; I mean a kind of hysteria about the book is growing that is not healthy."

1940s–1960s

In 1940, Steinbeck's interest in marine biology and his friendship with Ed Ricketts led him to voyage in the Gulf of California, also known as the "Sea of Cortez," where they collected biological specimens. Their account of this trip was later published as The Log from the Sea of Cortez, and describes the daily experiences of the trip as well as considering philosophical questions related to ecosystems and biology.

During the Second World War, Steinbeck served as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune.

He continued to work in film, writing Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944), and the film A Medal for Benny (1945), about paisanos from Tortilla Flat going to war.

His novel The Moon is Down (1942), about the Socrates-inspired spirit of resistance in a Nazi-occupied village in northern Europe, was made into a film almost immediately. It is presumed that the country in question was Norway, and in 1945 Steinbeck received the Haakon VII Medal of freedom for his literary contributions to the Norwegian resistance movement.

After the war, he wrote The Pearl (1947), already knowing it would be filmed., and traveled to Mexico for the filming; on this trip he would be inspired by the story of Emiliano Zapata, and wrote a film script that was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Marlon Brando and Anthony Quinn.

In 1948 Steinbeck again toured the Soviet Union, together with reknown photographer Robert Capa. In the same year he was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Following the success of Viva Zapata!, Steinbeck collaborated with Kazan on East of Eden, James Dean's film debut.

Steinbeck was a friend to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1962, Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his “realistic and imaginative writing, combining as it does sympathetic humor and keen social perception.” In his acceptance speech, he said,

"the writer is delegated to declare and to celebrate man's proven capacity for greatness of heart and spirit – for gallantry in defeat, for courage, compassion and love. In the endless war against weakness and despair, these are the bright rally flags of hope and of emulation. I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature."

In 1964, Steinbeck was awarded the United States Medal of Freedom by President Johnson.

Legacy

The Salinas, California area, including the Salinas Valley, Monterey, and parts of the nearby San Joaquin Valley, acted as a setting for many of his stories. Because of his feeling for local color, the area is now sometimes called "Steinbeck Country".

The day after Steinbeck's death in New York City, reviewer Charles Poore wrote in the New York Times: "John Steinbeck's first great book was his last great book. But Good Lord, what a book that was and is: The Grapes of Wrath." Poore noted a "preachiness" in Steinbeck's work, "as if half his literary inheritance came from the best of Mark Twain—and the other half from the worst of Cotton Mather." But he asserted that "Steinbeck didn't need the Nobel Prize—the Nobel judges needed him." Poore concluded: "His place in [U. S.] literature is secure. And it lives on in the works of innumerable writers who learned from him how to present the forgotten man unforgettably."

Political views

Steinbeck's literary background brought him into close collaboration with leftist authors, journalists, and labor union figures, who may have influenced his writing. Steinbeck was mentored by radical writers Lincoln Steffens and his wife Ella Winter, and through Francis Whitaker, a member of the United States Communist Party’s John Reed Club for writers, Steinbeck met with strike organizers from the Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union.

In 1935 Steinbeck joined the League of American Writers, a Communist organization intended to foster ideological support in the literary community.

However, while definitely sympathetic to the political left, Steinbeck's politics were considerably more ambivalent than those of some of his admirers. A fierce individualist, he was never fully convinced with socialism, once stating "socialism is just another form of religion, and thus delusional."

Although he was never investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI did collect information about Steinbeck due to his political leanings, and he was screened by United States Army Intelligence during World War II to determine his suitability for an officer's commission — they found him ideologically unqualified. Steinbeck wrote to the Attorney General of the United States, Francis Biddle, in 1942, stating, "Do you suppose you could ask Edgar's boys to stop stepping on my heels? They think I am an enemy alien. It is getting tiresome."

In later years, he would be criticized from the left by those who accused him insufficient ideological commitment to Socialism. In 1948 a women's socialist group in Rome, Italy condemned Steinbeck for converting to "the camp of war and anti-Marxism.", and in 1955 an article in the Daily Worker criticized Steinbeck's portrayal of the American Left.

Religious views

Works

East of Eden

Main article: East of Eden

Steinbeck turned his attention from social injustice to human psychology, in a Salinas Valley saga loosely patterned on the Garden of Eden story. The book was written and published in 1952. The main characters, Samuel and Liza Hamilton, are immigrants from Ireland, who raised their nine children on a rough unfertile hillside.

The Grapes of Wrath

Main article: The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath was written in 1939 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. The book is set in the Great Depression and describes a family of sharecroppers, the Joads, who were driven from their land due to the dust storms of the Dust Bowl. The title is a reference to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The book was made into a movie into a film in 1940 starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford.

Of Mice and Men

Main article: Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men is a tragedy that was written in the form of a novella in 1937. The story is about two migrant farm workers trying to work up enough money to buy their own farm.

The Pearl

Main article: The Pearl (novel)

The Pearl is another novella that tells the story about a poor diver named Kino who finds the largest pearl anyone has ever seen. He wishes to use the money to pay for a doctor to treat his son's scorpion sting. His dream for a better life for his family leads to greed, obsession and ultimately, inevitable tragedy.

Full bibliography

• Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, With Occasional Reference to History 1929
• The Pastures of Heaven 1932
• The Red Pony 1933
• To a God Unknown 1933
• Tortilla Flat 1935
• In Dubious Battle 1936 The title is a reference to John Milton's "Paradise Lost."
• The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath [newspaper articles, 1936]
• Of Mice and Men 1937 The title is a reference to the Robert Burns poem "To a Mouse."
• The Long Valley 1938
• The Grapes of Wrath 1939 The title is a reference to the American Civil War song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."
• Forgotten Village 1941
• Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research 1941 with Edward F. Ricketts.
• The Moon Is Down 1942 The title is a reference to William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth"
• Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team 1942
• Cannery Row 1945
• The Pearl 1947
• The Wayward Bus 1947
• A Russian Journal 1948 with Robert Capa as photographer
• Burning Bright: A Play in Story Form 1950
• Log from the Sea of Cortez 1951
• East of Eden 1952
• Sweet Thursday 1954
• The Short Reign of Pippin IV 1957
• Once There Was A War 1958
• The Winter of Our Discontent 1961 The title is a reference to the William Shakespeare play "Richard the Third".
• Travels With Charley: In Search of America 1962 (a semi-documentary work about his late-life car trip, with his poodle Charley, around the United States.)
• America and Americans 1966
• Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters 1969
• Viva Zapata! the Original Screenplay 1975
• The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights 1976
• Working Days: The Journals of the Grapes of Wrath 1938–1941 1989

Film credits

• 1939 – Of Mice and Men – directed by Lewis Milestone, featuring Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney, Jr., and Betty Field
• 1940 – The Grapes of Wrath – directed by John Ford, featuring Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell and John Carradine
• 1941 – The Forgotten Village – directed by Herbert Kline, narrated by Burgess Meredith
• 1942 – Tortilla Flat – directed by Victor Fleming, featuring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield
• 1943 – The Moon is Down – directed by Irving Pichel, featuring Lee J. Cobb and Sir Cedric Hardwicke
• 1944 – Lifeboat – directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring Tallulah Bankhead, Hume Cronyn, and John Hodiak
• 1944 – A Medal for Benny – directed by Irving Pichel, featuring Dorothy Lamour and Arturo de Cordova
• 1947 – La Perla (The Pearl, Mexico) – directed by Emilio Fernández, featuring Pedro Armendáriz and María Elena Marqués
• 1949 – The Red Pony – directed by Lewis Milestone, featuring Myrna Loy, Robert Mitchum, and Louis Calhern
• 1952 – Viva Zapata! – directed by Elia Kazan, featuring Marlon Brando, Anthony Quinn and Jean Peters
• 1955 – East of Eden – directed by Elia Kazan, featuring James Dean, Julie Harris, Jo Van Fleet, and Raymond Massey
• 1956 – The Wayward Bus – directed by Victor Vicas, featuring Rick Jason, Jayne Mansfield, and Joan Collins
• 1961 – Flight – featuring Efrain Ramírez and Arnelia Cortez
• 1962 – Ikimize bir dünya (Of Mice and Men, Turkey)
• 1972 – Topoli (Of Mice and Men, Iran)
• 1982 – Cannery Row – directed by David S. Ward, featuring Nick Nolte and Debra Winger

Trivia

To symbolize himself, Steinbeck used the stamp of a Pigasus, a flying pig, and the phrase Ad Astra Per Alia Porci (To the stars on wings of pigs.)

In recognition of Steinbeck's work with marine biologist Ed Ricketts, a sea slug species, Eubranchus steinbecki, was named after him in 1987.

Bruce Springsteen's song and album The Ghost of Tom Joad are written with reference to the character in The Grapes of Wrath, as is Woody Guthrie's "Tom Joad."

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