John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr.
Essay by Christian Myers • April 25, 2017 • Research Paper • 327 Words (2 Pages) • 1,504 Views
John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American author of 27 books, including 16 novels, six non-fiction books, and two collections of short stories. He is widely known for the comic novels Tortilla Flat (1935) and Cannery Row (1945), the multi-generation epic East of Eden (1952), and the novellas Of Mice and Men (1937) and The Red Pony (1937). The Pulitzer Prize-winning The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is considered Steinbeck's masterpiece and part of the American literary canon. In the first 75 years after it was published, it sold 14 million copies
In Steinbeck's younger years of life, his father was a bookkeeper and accountant who served for many years as the treasurer of Monterey County, California. Steinbeck received his love of literature from his mother, who was interested in the arts. His favorite book and the main influence on his writing was Sir Thomas Malory's (c. 1408–1471) Le Morte d'Arthur, a collection of the legends of King Arthur. Steinbeck decided while he was in high school that he wanted to be a writer. He also enjoyed playing sports and worked during the summer on various ranches. Steinbeck grew up and returned to California to begin his work as a serious writer of fiction. A collection of short stories, The Pastures of Heaven (1932), contained vivid descriptions of rural (farm) life among the "unfinished children of nature" in his native California valley. His second novel, To a God Unknown (1933), was his strongest statement about man's relationship to the land. The book Tortilla Flat (1935) gave Steinbeck critical and popular success; there are many critics who consider it his most artistically satisfying work.
John Steinbeck's first success was the book "Tortilla Flat",
Works Cited:
1. http://www.biography.com/people/john-steinbeck-9493358
"John Steinbeck." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 08 July 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
2. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Sc-St/Steinbeck-John.html
"John Steinbeck Biography." Encyclopedia of World Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.
3. http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-01561.html
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