Presentation on John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck. Prepared: I ZVFil student. Dragomanov NPUVictoria Shevchenko

Early life. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. John Steinbeck’s family experienced many setbacks when he was younger. His father lost two jobs until he became a county treasurer for Monterey. John attended Stanford University in 1919, but later dropped out without receiving a degree.

John Steinbeck and literature. Steinbeck had a love for literature in his early years, which drove him to create many successful stories. His aunt gave him a copy of Thomas Malory’s, Le Morte d’Arthur, which inspired his book, Tortilla Flat. In the late 1950’s he traveled to England, to research Arthurian Tales for modern text. Steinbeck would often write to magazines under false names. He knew he wanted to be a writer, at age 14.“I was scared to death to get a rejection slip, but more, to get an acceptance.” - John Steinbeck

Career. Returned to Stanford for 6 years, but eventually dropped out once and for all and moved to New York City to write. First novel, Cup of Gold was published in 1929. In 1936, Steinbeck publishes In Dubious Battle and Their Blood is Strong. Of Mice and Men was published shortly after in 1936. All of these books surround the life of a migrant worker and the adversity such laborers endure.

The Great Depression period. During the 1930’s when the Great Depression took place, he wrote many books portraying the living conditions in the Salinas valley. He had witnessed the conditions first hand. The Salinas valley was poorly developed and many displaced workers moved there from around the US.

At these hard times, Steinbeck writes several of books about working-class conditions: Pastures of Heaven (1932);Tortilla Flat (1935);In Dubious Battle (1936);The Grapes of Wrath (1939). The latter one, The Grapes of Wrath, win a Pulitzer Prize in 1940.

Nobel Prize. 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." The selection was heavily criticized, and described as "one of the Academy's biggest mistakes" in one Swedish newspaper. The reaction of American literary critics was also harsh. Fifty years later, in 2012, the Nobel Prize opened its archives, and it was revealed that Steinbeck was a "compromise choice" among other nominees. The declassified documents showed that he was chosen as the best of a bad lot.

Later Life - War years1943-1945 (WW2)John Steinbeck was a patriot, especially after Pearl Harbor, but was denied a commision in the armed forces because of his “suspected communist leanings.” However, he dedicated himself to writing war propaganda and writing books like Cannery Row, The Pearl, and Once There Was a War. He followed around a bomber team, recording their training regime and was inspired to write Bombs Away. In 1943, Steinbeck served as a World War II war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune

We tried to read a little of the plane, and promptly went to sleep. And when we were awakened, we were over the flat grainlands of the Ukraine, as flat as our Middle West, and almost as fruitful. The huge bread basket of Europe, the coveted land for centuries, the endless fields lay below us, yellow and with wheat and rye, some of it already harvested, and some of it being harvested. There was no hill, no eminence of any kind. The flat stretched away to a round unbroken horizon. And streams and rivers snaked and twisted across the plain. In 1947 John Steinbeck along with Robert Capa (war photographer) visited Kyiv and some Ukrainian villages.

Later years and personal life. He and his first wife Carol Henning, married in January 1930 in Los Angeles. By 1940, their marriage was beginning to suffer, and ended a year later, in 1941. In 1942, after his divorce from Carol, Steinbeck married Gwyndolyn "Gwyn" Conger. With his second wife Steinbeck had two sons. In June 1949, Steinbeck met stage-manager Elaine Scott at a restaurant in Carmel, California. Steinbeck and Scott eventually began a relationship and in December 1950 Steinbeck and Scott married. This third marriage for Steinbeck lasted until his death in 1968.

Death and legacy. John Steinbeck died in New York City on December 20, 1968, during the 1968 flu pandemic of heart disease and congestive heart failure. He was 66, and had been a lifelong smoker. John Steinbeck's work is still read today, and is even required for reading in many American And UK highschools. This is because of his relatable, down to earth characters, his way of connecting his works to the land and the world around him.

Thank you for listening!

Citationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck#Personal_lifehttps://edu.glogster.com/glog/john-steinbeck/2bflqg39sda?=glogpedia-sourcehttps://www.biography.com/writer/john-steinbeck#awesm=~o. DBjnj. Wnqlp82ahttps://u-krane.com/john-steinbeck-describes-post-ww2-ukraine-1947-kiev-trip/