John Steinbeck His Life Times and Values John

John Steinbeck His Life, Times, and Values

John Ernst Steinbeck

1902 -1968 Born in Salinas, CA Major Works: The Grapes of Wrath (1939) Of Mice and Men (1937) Long friendship with Ed Ricketts, biologist Pulitzer Prize winner (1939) Nobel Prize winner (1962) Still considered a major American artist

The Salinas Valley

The Monterey Bay

“In every bit of honest writing in the world… there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other. ” - -- from his journal

Steinbeck and God

“The proofs that God does not exist are very strong, but in lots of people they are not as strong as the feeling that He does. ” “Only God sees the sparrow fall, but even God doesn't do anything about it. ” The Winter of Our Discontent Steinbeck was not religious

Steinbeck and Politics

“I find out of long experience that I admire all nations and hate all governments. ” Travels with Charley “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. …

… And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.

“And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. ” -- East of Eden

Steinbeck and the Powerless

“If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones. ” - -- The Grapes of Wrath

“She seemed to know that if she swayed the family shook, and if she ever deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall. ” - -- The Grapes of Wrath

1929: The Great Depression began 1930 s, the “Dirty Thirties: ” The Dust Bowl develops and worsens So – the financial disaster is followed by an environmental disaster The end of the 1930 s (when “The Chrysanthemums” is written) is a time when the country is recovering, but still struggling.

The following pictures help you understand what the U. S. was like as the 1940 s began. Take a look and think about what the mood of the average person might have been at the time.

Think: How did these hard times affect women in particular? Think of Story Packet 1(women as selfish and ambitious, like Mathilde; romantic and passionate, like Della; or helpless and childlike, like Mrs. Mallard). Can these roles exist when families are stuggling to survive?

Great Depression Scenes

Financial crash - 1929

Massive unemployment

Charity did not last forever. After a few years, there was nothing left to offer the homeless.

The Dust Bowl: The 1930 s

The “Dust Bowl” was caused by drought and bad farming practices

Storms of sand covered thousands of acres in the Midwest

Farms and small towns were destroyes

Families had to flee

Hopefully this helps you understand the world that Steinbeck was writing in. The setting of “The Chrysanthemums” is a healthy farm in California, but the world around that farm was full of fear.