Introduction


John Steinbeck

Henry Fonda (center) with Jane Darwell and John Carradine in The Grapes of Wrath
Although he spent a few years at Stanford University, the academic life did not suit John Steinbeck, because what he really wanted to do was to write. And write he did. Steinbeck penned twenty-seven novels, three collections of short stories, and numerous essays between 1929 and his death in 1968. He is best known for The Grapes of Wrath, a Depression-era (1930s) novel that follows the migratory experiences of the Joad family, who travel from the ravaged Oklahoma Dust Bowl to the “Promised Land” of California. Committed to diversity in his writing, Steinbeck’s other works of note include the semiautobiographical novel East of Eden, the comical Tortilla Flat, the travelogue Travels With Charley, and the nonfiction work Log From the Sea of Cortez.

Essential Facts

  1. Although many people believe him to be a lifelong Californian, Steinbeck spent much of his life in New York and eventually shed most of his ties to the Salinas Valley.
  2. Steinbeck had a lifelong fascination with the King Arthur tales.
  3. Hollywood loved Steinbeck. Film adaptations of his work include The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, East of Eden, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and Tortilla Flat.
  4. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 “for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception.” Privately, however, he feared that the prize usually spelled the end of a writer’s career.
  5. The two things Steinbeck found most necessary to life were “work and women.”
 

Recommended Resources

  1. John Steinbeck - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  2. Of Mice and Men Lesson Plans
  3. Of Mice and Men Study Guide (eNotes)
  4. The Grapes of Wrath Study Guide (eNotes)

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. Author Profile
  2. Cannery Row - Identities and Issues in Literature
  3. Cannery Row - Masterplots
  4. Cannery Row Lesson Plans
  5. Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  6. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  7. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  8. Dictionary of World Biography
  9. East of Eden (1954)
  10. East of Eden (1980)
  11. East of Eden - Cyclopedia of Literary Characters
  12. East of Eden - Cyclopedia of Literary Places
  13. East of Eden Literary Characters
  14. East of Eden Magill Book Review
  15. East of Eden Study Guide
  16. Flight Study Guide
  17. Identities and Issues in Literature
  18. In Dubious Battle Literary Characters
  19. In Dubious Battle Literary Places
  20. In Dubious Battle quickNotes
  21. John Steinbeck (Volume 1)
  22. John Steinbeck (Volume 124)
  23. John Steinbeck (Volume 13)
  24. John Steinbeck (Volume 21)
  25. John Steinbeck (Volume 5)
  26. John Steinbeck (Volume 9)
  27. John Steinbeck - Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  28. John Steinbeck Criticism
  29. Magill's Literary Annual 1991-2005
  30. Of Mice and Men (1939)
  31. Of Mice and Men (1981)
  32. Of Mice and Men (1992)
  33. Of Mice and Men Lesson Plans
  34. Of Mice and Men Literary Characters
  35. Of Mice and Men Magill Book Review
  36. Of Mice and Men Study Guide (eNotes)
  37. Short Story Criticism
  38. The Chrysanthemums - Masterplots
  39. The Chrysanthemums Criticism
  40. The Chrysanthemums Study Guide
  41. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
  42. The Grapes of Wrath - Identities and Issues in Literature
  43. The Grapes of Wrath Censorship
  44. The Grapes of Wrath Character Profiles
  45. The Grapes of Wrath Criticism
  46. The Grapes of Wrath Lesson Plans
  47. The Grapes of Wrath Literary Places
  48. The Grapes of Wrath Magill Book Review
  49. The Grapes of Wrath Movie Learning Guide
  50. The Grapes of Wrath Primary Sources
  51. The Grapes of Wrath Study Guide (eNotes)
  52. The Grapes of Wrath/Great Depression and New Deal Primary Sources
  53. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on East of Eden
  54. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on John Steinbeck
  55. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on John Steinbeck
  56. The Pearl Lesson Plans
  57. The Pearl Literary Characters
  58. The Pearl Study Guide
  59. The Red Pony (1949)
  60. The Red Pony - Masterplots
  61. The Red Pony Lesson Plans
  62. The Red Pony Literary Characters
  63. The Red Pony Magill Book Review
  64. The Red Pony Study Guide
  65. Travels With Charley Lesson Plans