2. John Steinbeck is one
of the most influential
authors of American
literature whose works
have earned him many
prestigious literary
awards such as the
Pulitzer Prize and the
Nobel Prize for
literature.
3. A Look at the
Author• Born February 27th in 1902 in Salinas, California.
• During his childhood, Steinbeck
learned to appreciate his surroundings,
and loved the Salinas countryside. This
appreciation would later come
out in his writing.
• Steinbeck worked during his summers as a hired
hand in nearby ranches.
4. • At the age of 14 he decided to be a writer
and spent a lot of time writing in his room.
• From 1919-1925 Steinbeck attended Stanford
University to please his parents, but only chose
courses that interested him, classical and British
Literature, writing courses, and an odd science
course.
• However, Steinbeck did not receive a degree because he
would drop in and out of school, sometimes to work with
migrant workers on California ranches.
5. During the late 1920s and 1930s, he
concentrated on writing and wrote several
novels set in California.
In 1936, Of Mice and Men was published,
and was so widely accepted that Steinbeck
began a book tour that led him to Europe.
6. • In 1939, The Grapes of Wrath was
published and became an instant
best-seller; in 1940 it was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most
prestigious literary awards in the
world.
• Steinbeck’s experiences in the fields
researching migrant workers to write
his two best selling novels led him
to have more compassion for these
workers, and stirred up his concern
for social justice.
7. Steinbeck's real gift was to see people that
the rest of society chose to overlook.
Steinbeck's characters are not the rich men
and women of California's boom days, but are
the homeless, the migrant workers, the
poor fishermen, and the farmers. However,
each of these people has a deceptively simple,
but important story to tell, a story filled with
love and pain. The stories tell us not only of
the lives of the poor who seek to live off the
land, but of the struggles of all people.
8. Steinbeck also challenged his
readers to look at the harsh
realities of life, with the belief that
facing such conditions was the
first step toward improving
them. Steinbeck's strongest belief
was in the ability of man to
improve his condition.
9. "The ancient commission of the writer
has not changed," he said upon
accepting his Nobel Prize in 1962. "He is
charged with exposing our many grievous
faults and failures, with dredging up to
the light our dark and dangerous dreams
for the purpose of improvement." By
giving voice to voiceless people, John
Steinbeck lived up to the challenge he set
for himself.
10. The Pearl is a novella- a literary form that Steinbeck
often employed.
A novella is longer than a short story but, is
shorter than a novel.
A novella generally features fewer conflicts than a
novel, yet more complicated ones than a short
story. The conflicts also have more time to develop
than in short stories. They have endings that are
located at the brink of change.
11. A parable is a simple story meant to
teach a moral or religious lesson.
It differs from a fable in that fables
use animals, plants, inanimate
objects, and forces of nature as
characters, while parables generally
feature human characters. It is a
12. A parable is a short tale that illustrates
universal truth. It often involves a
character facing a moral dilemma, or
making a questionable decision and
then suffering the consequences.
Though the meaning of a parable is often
not explicitly stated, the meaning is not
usually intended to be hidden or secret
but, on the contrary, to be quite
straightforward and obvious.
13. Take out a sheet of paper
1. For every statement in the next
slide, write down “agree” or
“disagree” according to your
beliefs.
14. 1) There are unwritten rules that dictate how people should act.
2 )Good luck can bring happiness.
3) There are unwritten rules that dictate how successful, powerful,
or popular you can become.
4) Money can provide happiness.
5) We control our own lives.
6) Fate, destiny, or another force we cannot control determines our
lives.
7) All good things that happen come with a price.
8) One single choice can have a huge impact on the outcome of
your life.
9) Success is available to every person.
10) We choose our morals.
11) Money is power.
12) Weapons make people powerful.
13) People like to limit other people’s success.
15. 2. Pick three statements that you
STRONGLY feel are true. Put a star
by these statements.
3. Pick three statements that your
STRONLY disagree with. Put an X by
these statements.
4. Pick ONE statement that you agree
with. Support your answer with
examples from real life and from your
17. • Ants and their competition with
each other
• Steinbeck identifying Kino with
God
• The scorpion episode
• Social class distinctions
• Nature imagery vs. civilization
