John Ernst Steinbeck definition of John Ernst Steinbeck in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Steinbeck, John Ernst

Born Feb. 27, 1902, in Salinas, Calif.; died Dec. 20,1968, in New York City. American writer.

Steinbeck studied biology at Stanford University and then held a number of jobs before his first work was published. In his early work, Steinbeck displayed his romantic illusions about the possibility of flight from bourgeois society (as in the novel Cup of Gold, 1929) and tended to depict the eccentrics of provincial and rural America (as in the short-story cycles The Pastures of Heaven, 1932, and The Red Pony, 1933). In the 1930’s, he dealt with severe social problems, as in the novel In Dubious Battle (1936) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937; Russian translation, 1963). The tragedy of Steinbeck’s heroes lies in their disinheritance and their failure to understand the causes of the calamities that befall them. The high point of Steinbeck’s work is the novel Grapes of Wrath (1939; Russian translation, 1940), centered on the fate of farmers who have been driven off the land and roam about the country in search of work. Through severe tribulations, Steinbeck’s heroes come to the realization that they are a small part of a suffering and struggling people.

In the 1940’s, Steinbeck retreated from the traditions of proletarian and revolutionary literature, as can be seen in the novels Cannery Row (1945), The Wayward Bus (1947), and East of Eden (1952). His work showed a new creative surge in the early 1960’s. The novel The Winter of Our Discontent (1961, Russian translation, 1962) and the book of sketches Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962; Russian translation, 1965) told anxiously of the destruction of the individual personality in a world of middle-class standards and delusive prosperity. During the war in Vietnam, Steinbeck defended the aggression of the USA. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1962.

WORKS

The Long Valley. London, 1964.
The Moon Is Down. New York, 1964.
In Russian translation:
Zhemchuzhina. Kvartal Tortil’ia Flet. Moscow, 1963.

REFERENCES

Mendel’son, M. O. Sovremennyi amerikanskii roman. Moscow, 1964.
Fontenrose, J., ed. John Steinbeck. New York, 1964.
Moore, H. T. The Novels of John Steinbeck, 2nd ed. Port Washington, N.Y. [1968].
Hayashi, T. Steinbeck’s Literary Dimension: A Guide to Comparative Studies. Metuchen, N.J., 1973.
Hayashi, T. A New Steinbeck Bibliography, 1929–1971. Metuchen, N.J.,1973.

Mentioned in	?		Encyclopedia browser	?		Full browser	?
No references found			John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Memorial Parkway John Dalton John Damascene John Damascene, Saint John Daniel Wild John Davis John Day John Day Dam John Day Fossil Beds National Monument John Denton Pinkstone French John Desmond Bernal John Desmond Clark John Dewey John Doe John Dollond John Donne John Dory John Douglas Cockcroft John Dryden John Edensor Littlewood John Edgar Hoover John Edward Redmond John Ellis McTaggart John Emil Max Eggert John Ernst Steinbeck John F Kennedy National Historic Site John F Kennedy Regional Park John Ferguson McLennan John Fillmore Hayford John Fisher, Saint John Fiske John Fitzgerald Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site John Flamsteed John Flaxman John Fletcher John Ford John Fortescue John Foster Dulles John Francis Bray John Frank Schairer John Franklin John Franklin Enders John Frederick Charles Fuller John Frederick I John Frederick William Herschel John Fullarton John Galsworthy John Gay John George			John E. Littlewood John Eccles John Eccles John Eck John Eckert John Edensor Littlewood John Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover John Edward Masefield John Edward Masefield John Edward Redmond John Edward Robinson John Edwards Memorial Foundation John Ehret High School John Eliot Gardiner John Elliot Burns John Ellis Bush John Ellis McTaggart John Elway John Emery Geotechnical Engineering Limited John Emil Max Eggert John Endecott John Enders John Endicott John Erickson Museum of Art John Ericsson John Ericsson Society John Ernst Steinbeck John Evelyn John Everett Millais John Everett Millais John F Dutch Home Servers John F Kennedy Centre John F Kennedy Institute John F Kennedy Middle School John F Kennedy National Historic Site John F Kennedy Regional Park John F Kennedy School John F Kennedy University John F. Butts & Associates, Inc. John F. Condon John F. Dulles John F. Dulles John F. Enders John F. Henderson Public Branch Library John F. Herschel John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy Branch Library John F. Kennedy Catholic School John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts John F. Kennedy High School John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy Jr. Public Library John F. Kennedy Library and Museum