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John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck. A Great American Writer. Biography. Born 1902 Salinas, California Died 1968 NYC Mother - teacher Went to Stanford no degree Married 3 times...son Tom (1944) John IV son (1946) Awarded 1962 Nobel Prize Awarded US Medal of Freedom by President Johnson 1964

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John Steinbeck

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  1. John Steinbeck A Great American Writer

  2. Biography • Born 1902 Salinas, California • Died 1968 NYC • Mother - teacher • Went to Stanford no degree • Married 3 times...son Tom (1944) John IV son (1946) • Awarded 1962 Nobel Prize • Awarded US Medal of Freedom by President Johnson 1964 • Issued…1979 stamp

  3. Biography Continued… • 1st 3 books financial failures...took on odd jobs...found out feelings of working people • 1935 Tortilla Flat brought him recognition • 1937 Of Mice and Men...best seller...book of the month...respected author • 1939 The Grapes of Wrath...Pulitzer

  4. His Works • Show compassion for the lonely • Probe and question American values • Discuss human capacity to overcome evil

  5. Travels with Charlie subtitle In Search of America • Published in 1962 • Lost touch with his country and its people • Decided to reestablish ties by driving west • Travelled Maine to California along northern route. ..return along the southern route

  6. List of All Novels • Cup of Gold (1929) • To A God Unknown (1933) • Tortilla Flat (1935) • In Dubious Battle (1936) • Of Mice and Men (1937) • Red Pony, the (1937) • Grapes of Wrath, the (1939) • Moon Is Down, the (1942) • Cannery Row (1945) • Wayward Bus, the (1947) • Pearl, the (1948) • Burning Bright (1950) • East of Eden (1952) • Sweet Thursday (1954) • Short Reign of Pippin IV, the (1957) • Winter of Our Discontent, the (1961) • Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, the (1976)

  7. List of Movies • 1939—Of Mice and • 1940—The Grapes of • 1941—The Forgotten • 1942—Tortilla • 1943—The Moon is Down • 1944—A Medal for • 1947—La Perla (The Pearl, Mexico) • 1949—The Red • 1952—Viva Zapata • 1955—East of Eden • 1956—The Wayward Bus • 1961—Flight • 1962—Ikimize bir dünya (Of Mice and Men, Turkey) • 1972—Topoli (Of Mice and Men, Iran) • 1982—Cannery Row • 1992—Of Mice and Men—directed by Gary Sinise and starring John Malkovich and Gary Sinise

  8. The Great DepressionCauses • Farm failures…producing large numbers…prices fell 40%...forced off land because loan payments • Bank failures…more than 550 banks closed because loss of farm jobs and lower prices • Lower wages…factory workers…competition of people moving north…cut in personnel • Stock market boom to crash…buying stocks on margin (people borrowed money to buy stocks hoping to sell at profit) • Black Thursday (Oct. 24) followed by Black Tuesday (Oct.29)…stocks became worthless

  9. The Great DepressionEffects • Savings lost • Unemployment...13 million could not find jobs…25% of workforce…some accepted salary cuts • Homelessness • Starvation • Hopelessness…riding the rails…many young males left the home and rode freight trains to other areas to hopefully find work…wandering (hoboes) • Hoovervilles (neighborhoods of broken down shacks)…people lost homes…people moved in w/relatives • Bread lines…churches and charities set up soup kitchens

  10. The Great DepressionEffects • Schools different…taxes…hired fewer teachers…some classes 50 kids…no textbooks or supplies…no nurses even though kids sick b/c of conditions • Kids could not afford to go to school…either care for kids at home or work • Time frame changed…shorter year • New Deal • CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp.) WPA (Works Progress Administration), FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, bank holidays, SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

  11. History of the Migrant Worker • Economical and ecological forces brought rural and poor migrant worker from Great Plains to California • After WWI recession led to drop in the market price of farm crops • So people had to produce more • To meet demand farmers brought more land and invested in equipment but that led to debt • Stock market crashed in 1929, and banks foreclosed on mortgages

  12. History of the Migrant Worker • Farmers lost property and forced to find other work • Increase in farming caused soil to erode • Erosion and drought was bad for 17 years (1931 started)…. led to the dust bowl • Left and went to California…The Promised land • Migrant workers called Oakies…20 % from Oklahoma • Farming was truly a tough life

  13. The Dust Bowl • Great Plains • 1931-1937…brutal drought…virtually no rain • Insect invasion…swarms of grasshoppers eating everything in their path • Winds…black blizzards…dust seeped into every crack…doors and windows…breathing difficult…wind stripped away top soil…blew all the way to the Atlantic…ships covered w/it…had to shovel it • Moved to other areas…jalopies…camped along the way • California…promise land

  14. The Dust Bowl

  15. The Dust Bowl

  16. Of Mice and Men • Published • Original title… Something that Happened • Made into movies…1939 and 1992

  17. Characters • George • Lennie • Curley • Curley’s Wife • Slim • Candy • Crooks • Carlson • The Boss

  18. Setting • Salinas Valley Area in California (thought to be the Garden of Eden) • Soledad…loneliness • Grips of the Depression…1930’s • Ranch…is a microcosm of a world of uneducated lower class people who are trying with little success to change their lives

  19. Title Reference • It is an allusion to Robert Burns’ poem, “To a Mouse” • 1785 poem written • “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men/Gang aft a’ gley” • The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray

  20. Symbols • Names…Small, Candy, Crooks, Soledad • Rabbits • What they are striving for • Hopes

  21. Form and Structure • Allegory…story with an underlying message…the good life is impossible • Realistic….slice of life • Naturalistic…environment of the time • Circular • 3 days • 3 days of suffering

  22. Exhibits at National Steinbeck Center

  23. Culture of 1930’s • People • Amelia Earhart…1st woman to fly solo across Atlantic • Jessie Owens…African American athlete...4 gold medals in track and field 1936…Olympics Berlin • Art • Mt. Rushmore completed by Gutzon Borglum • Jason Pollock artist • Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center • Education • School terms shortened because depression led to short money supply-taxes • Dick and Jane books

  24. Culture continued… • Fashion and Fads • Hobby…stamp collecting • Monopoly…20, 000 sets sold in a week in 1935 • Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio • Zipper used in clothes • Literature • Writers • F. Scott Fitzgerald • Hemingway • Steinbeck • Wilder • Music • Duke Ellington • Benny Goodman • Glenn Miller • 1931 Star Spangled Banner

  25. Culture continued… • Radio • 80% people owned one by 1939 • Jack Benny Show…Lone Ranger…soap operas…The Shadow • Science/Technology • NY World’s Fair 1939 World of Tomorrow • Einstein immigrated to US in 1933 professor at Princeton • Better refrigeration • Nylon made • 1938 photocopying started • Theater and Film • Hollywood flourished • Clark Gable…Bette Davis…Shirley Temple • Gone with the Wind

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