A Biography Of A Nobel Prize Winner Writer John Ernst Steinbeck (Essay Sample)

Student’s name Instructor’s name Course Date John Steinbeck’s Biography John Ernst Steinbeck (27th Feb 1902) was born in Salinas, California. His family belonged to the German immigrants living in small rural towns of California. Just like any other person, he received a modest and comfortable upbringing. John Steinbeck became famous for his novel Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and the East of Eden among other several books (Pettinger). The talented writer has done more than 16 novels through linking them up summing into a total of more than 27 publications. As a Nobel Prize winner, Steinbeck took much of his time to achieve the success seen in his life, though difficulties emerged along the way but did not hamper his determinations. Most of his works take the setting of California where he was born and raised. He developed an inspiring character after interacting with multiple persons and characters in his daily life. More specifically, some of his friends were influential, an example being Ed Rickets (The Editors of Encyclopaedia). His first successful book was Tortilla Flat from which then, his literary work achieved success after being famous. Based on the tones of his books, he novels have been subject to controversy with some being discouraged from use in schools for making use of obscene language. In the latest years, 20th century, the author’s works have been banned most of the times around the world. Most of his holidays were spent working in ranches as a harvester so that he could earn some money (The Biography.com). While working at the farms, he gained insights about the plights of migrant workers; his experiences thus contributed to materials that were seen used in some of his greatest works. Childhood and early life John Steinbeck's mother was Olive Hamilton, and his father was John. His father worked in the Salinas Municipality at Monterey County in California. His father also worked as a government treasurer for the same county. As a young child, he was raised as an Episcopal Christian but later turned out to be a sceptic. The rural areas he grew it became the backbone and played some of the most critical roles in literary works that he would later do in life He received his education at Salinas High School which he completed in 1919 before proceeding to Stanford for higher learning to do a degree in Literature. Despite spending five good years in the institution, he still left without a degree. After 1925, he left his learning institution and moved to New York where he wanted to be a writer; he, therefore, resorted to running small errands for survival. Since he was unable to secure a career for himself after failing to complete his education, he resorted to menial jobs for survival. He got so discouraged that he returned to California in 1928 where he would secure a job as a caretaker (The Biography.com). He had failed to find a job s a writer and started guiding tourists, at the same time being a mannequin manufacturer. It is during the period when the global economic crisis emerged and was characterized by The Great Depression. During the time, he was a struggling man to make a living both for himself and the family Working full time,, he managed t0 secure some time to publish his first book in 1929, Cup of Gold (Pettinger). A few years afterward, he receives a financial aid from his father that enabled him to quit his full-time job. He had a lot of time and therefore devoted much of his time to writing from his father's cottage. In 1930, he came across a writer specializing in marine biology, and they developed a close friendship. He was instrumental in modeling multiple characters in John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck’s books In his entire writing career, Steinbeck managed to write 31 books in total with the most popular being Of Mice and Men in 1937, East of Eden in 1952, and Grapes of Wrath (Biography). After doing Grapes of Wrath which was the best-selling book by then, Steinbeck went to Mexico to have some experience with a freelance biologist Edward F.; the two joined hands in writing Sea of Cortez published in 1941. His writing was not limited to one subject, and he wrote on different issues including pieces on propaganda during the Second World War. The last pieces of writings he did were about the experiences he had while touring across the United States. Later, he was interspersed with conscientious attempts of asserting himself as a novelist. The critical opinion l his later writings were seen not to equal his earlier achievements. East of Eden was done as an ambitious story focusing on two sons of a farmer, with its film being made later in 1955 (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Other outstanding stories were done by Steinbeck between 1941 and 1952. Most of his reputation is attributed to naturalistic novels having proletarian themes that he wrote in the early 1930s. His books, mostly Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath captured the cost of Great Depression. For example, The Grapes of Wrath provided a discussion of social, economic and cultural implications of the movement. The book also gave focus to low-income family tenants who face difficulties during the beginning of the Great Depression. The literature also offers a sympathetic account of the experiences of migrant workers as a critical component of capitalism. In the same book, his subtle opinion on the politics of the world was also controversial. At some point, his book, The Grapes of Wrath was banned between 1939 and 1941since he was a loyal and active supporter of new deals by FDR, he also had a lasting relationship with writers labor unions (The Famous People). When he relocated to Vietnam in 1967, he had to write in support of the war which many people considered a challenge to the new liberal ideas. At the same time, he complained of government drafting measures to harass him. It’s the time when he did works with the best symbolic structures through his attempts to communicate the archetypical qualities of his attributes as being effective. Career life Steinbeck started his career by bringing a debut novel name Cup of Gold in 1929. The book wasn’t famous since it was not received well by readers within the country. In 1932, he published a book going buy the name The Pastures of Heaven that consisted of twelve short stories related to each other. In the subsequent year, he wrote The Red Pony as his second work followed by o a God Unknown, all of them being moderately successful. In 1935, he tasted the success of his novel Tortilla Flat that made use of California as the setting. The novel was done after the Second World War and was the main subject for both the readers and critics. In the same year, he joined American League of Writers where he received inspirations to work with communist writers such as Ella Winter and Lincoln Steffen (The Famous People) In 1936, Dustbowl’ trilogy his first work under the communism influence and the book talked of protests by California workers. The second book afterwards was Of Mice and Men that was published one year later. The book takes the form of a drama touching on the controversial issues evident at the time such as discrimination against the workers with mental instabilities, apartheid and fight for independence. Two years later, he printed the final third part of Dustbowl trilogy, taking the name Grapes of Wrath. The literature majorly supported the working class while condemning capitalist moves. As a result, the book was banned for multiple years including a recent period when Mississippi school discouraged the use of book for too much use of expletives. In 1943, he became a prolific writer for the New York Herald Tribune and was mainly reporting the major events in the Second World War. During the time, he had some connections with the CIA (The Famous People). He returned home soon after the end of war to take care of depression and physical injuries he received at the war. In 1945, he came up with Cannery Row which gave a wider focus to the lives of people in Monterey. Two years later, he did The Pearl assuming it would turn into a movie. He published several novels till 1961 with the lates being Travels with Charley; a novel describing the adventures that he takes with his dog, Charley while working to rediscover America. Marriage and family life In 1942, he remarried after divorcing his first wife whom she married in 1930. He was married three times and gave birth to three children; both were males. Her first wife was Carol Henning whom; they spent a decade before choosing to be writer under her wife's support. He divorced his first wife in 1942 before marrying his second wife, Gwyndolin Conger (1948). The second marriage resulted into the couples having two sons together; Thomas and John born two years apart in 1944 and 1946 respectively. He later conducted a wedding to his third wife, Elaine Anderson Scott in 1950. The couple chose to live together for 18 years. Three years after divorcing his first wife, Steinbeck decided to write a novel on the experiences of the Second World War. The novel was entirely based on the resistance of the soldiers to German control and occupation. In his book The Moon is Down, he revealed the experiences of serving as a respondent to the war. During the time of war, he witnessed the actions both in the Mediterranean and in North Africa. In 1944, he was a victim of an explosion at war, making him unfit in the environment and so he went back home. Few years after the war, he paid a visit to the Soviet Union with his photographer to publish war experiences in a journal. It was rare American participation in Russian relationships after the war. Awards and Achievements In...