The
Salinas Public Library had written to John Ernst Steinbeck that
it "was lucky [his] parents were dead so that they did not
have to suffer this shame." They were of course indicating
Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Grapes Of Wrath,
which had been poorly received by the public. "The vilification
of me out here from the large landowners and bankers is pretty
bad. The latest rumorthat the Okies hate me and have threatened
to kill me for lying about them." However, The Grapes of
Wrath, along with several of its companion books, Of Mice and
Men and In Dubious Battle are considered among the greatest of
American literary classics. This triad of American classics is
Steinbeck's primary depictions of the American public life during
the harsh times of the 1930s. Steinbeck himself during this time
found himself in similar social and economic conditions as many
other American, and was able to, in many forms convey the lost
enthusiasm and patriotism from the 1920s in the 1930s.
Early
in this decade, Steinbeck had not yet established himself as a
literary artist. In fact, little of his life centered on his writings;
he was an average American. Quite significantly, Steinbeck was
a common laborer, among the working class of Americans. The damaging
agricultural economy of this decade had devastated him as well
as other laborers in his common trades. As a worker in California,
he had witnessed first hand the migration of the "Okies",
effects of the great Dustbowl. Events such as the riots in his
hometown in Salinas that resulted in killings had deeply effected
him, and demonstrated his relation to the depression, economic
and emotion of the time. Steinbeck had been closely related with,
and written about the surplus of California workers in, The Harvest
Gypsies. He also had strong emotional bonds with Salinas, his
hometown and also a chiefly agricultural town that had been deeply
affected by the migration of workers from the Southeast. In a
close contact with the agricultural economy, Steinbeck demonstrated
the general spirit of this decade simply by being in close economic
depression in synchronization with the economy.
Another
method in which Steinbeck illustrated the general atmosphere of
the decade is through the depictions in his popular novels. His
novels written in the late years of this decade were focused around
the devastating effects of the Great Depression and the Dustbowl
on the agricultural economy, of which he was so closely related
with. In Dubious Battle, written in 1936 was a portrayal of a
California strike, an effect of the Great Depression and the Dustbowl.
The book itself was an extremely psychological account and depiction
of the poverty of the California working class, once of which
he had been a part. In another novel, Of Mice and Men, published
in 1937, Steinbeck describes a tragic story of two migrant workers
and their tragically unattainable dreams and aspirations. He himself
characterized one of the characters of representing "the
powerful yearning of all men". This is indeed the general
spirit of this decade. With the poverty of both the Depression
and the Dustbowl devastating the laborers in the state of California,
yearning, longing, and dashed dreams must have been dominant and
bitterly occurring throughout the country. Finally, in Steinbeck's
most widely acclaimed novel, The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck illustrates
the forced migration of impoverished farmers from the southeast
amid the chaos of the Depression. Published in 1939, it is often
recognized as an excellent illustration of humanity and the equally
real human pain. Such is the emotional distress suffered throughout
America by families deeply affected by the Great Depression and
other economic issues of the decade. Steinbeck was able to effectively
communicate the definite decrease in morale and energy in this
decade.
Using
both his own visions and his almost unchallenged talent in writing,
Steinbeck was able to demonstrate the emotional aspects, as well
as the economic aspects of the depression in the United States.
In a series of books, he illustrated tragic, emotional stories
of the depression. His great talents in writing that were able
to create such masterpieces such as those he had written in the
decade would continue on to win the Nobel Prize for literature
where he accepted the prize with these words:
Works Cited
Moritz, Charles, ed. Current Biography Yearbook. NewYork: H. W. Wilson, 1963
Garraty, John A. and Mark C. Carnes, ed. Dictionary of American Biography Supplement Eight. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1988
Author Unknown. John Steinbecks's Biography. National
Steinbeck Center. March 20, 2003
http://www.steinbeck.org/bio.html
Author Unknown. John Steinbeck. March 20, 2003
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/johnstei.html
Pictures Cited
http://www.educeth.ch/english/readinglist/steinbeckj/icons/steinbeck.jpg
http://www.multied.com/Bio/people/images/steinbeck.gif