John Steinbeck

Born February 27th 1902 in Salinas, California John was the only son of four children

Steinbeck loved the Salinas countryside and appreciated nature from a young age His love of the land and the ocean came out in much of his writing

Steinbeck worked during his summers as a hired hand in nearby ranches.

When he was 14, Steinbeck decided he wanted to be a writer When he was 14, Steinbeck decided he wanted to be a writer. He wrote often, and was the editor of his high school yearbook From 1919-1925 Steinbeck attended Stanford University, but only chose courses that interested him

He did not finish his degree, since he often left to work with migrant workers and bindlestiffs.

Steinbeck began writing novels and novellas (several set in California) in the 1920s and 30s. He quickly gained critical acclaim. His first award was the Gold Medal for Best Novel from the Commonwealth Club of California in 1935 for his novel Tortilla Flat

He published Of Mice and Men in 1936, and it was brought great success. Steinbeck’s experience with migrant workers greatly influenced his books. What was happening in America in the 1930s?

Thousands of men travelled West to find work during the Great Depression. They were often field labourers since many had come from farms damaged by the Dust Bowl.

The unemployment rate at this time peaked at 25%, and workers were paid very little

In 1943 Steinbeck worked as a war correspondent for the New York newspaper, Herald Tribune. Steinbeck said that he felt unwelcome living in Monterey, California as no one would rent him an office for writing, and he was harassed

Steinbeck wrote that his old friends did not want to be around him, because of his works and because he was so successful. “This isn't my country anymore. And it won't be until I am dead. It makes me very sad.” He left Monterey the next year and moved to New York.

In 1948 he moved back to Monterey In 1948 he moved back to Monterey. A year later he met Elaine Scott, who in 1950, became his third wife. Although he continued to write and publish, he never felt at ease in his life, and once wrote to an aspiring writer from Salinas: “Don't think for a moment that you will ever be forgiven for being what they call ‘different.’ You won’t! I still have not been forgiven. Only when I am delivered in a pine box will I be considered ‘safe.’ After I had written the Grapes of Wrath the librarians at the Salinas Public Library, who had known my folks remarked that is was lucky my parents were dead so that they did not have to suffer this shame.” 

One of Steinbeck’s two sons fought in the Vietnam War, while Steinbeck himself was in Asia covering the war for Newsday, a Long Island newspaper. Steinbeck supported the War and America’s involvement, and lost a number of friends over it.

John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, at his apartment in New York City, and his wife took him home to Salinas to be buried near the land that he spent his life writing about.

Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men was originally called Something That Happened and he intended it to be for children. His first manuscript was eaten by his puppy! The setting of the novella is near Soledad, which is south-east of Salinas on the Salinas river