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John Steinbeck was born 1902 in Salinas, California. He is a descendant of old settlers. California itself - \"El Dorado,\" the Golden Country-has occupied a central position in his work. The epic power and sweep of the American continent, the machine-waste and the abusing of their power (potential vs. product), are a basic theme in Steinbeck\'s writing. Steinbeck\'s family was middle-class. His father, John Ernst, was a prosperous miller and County official. His mother, Olive Hamilton, taught school at various locations in California. As a boy Steinbeck was a reader rather than a scholar; resenting academic disciplines, he nevertheless loved outdoor life. Later he began to read more often. His favourite authors were George Eliot, Thomas Hardy and Warren French which had a profound effect on his mind and imagination. In addition to this the most powerful shaping force on Steinbeck was not as some critics later seemed to imply Darwin or Marx, but the King James version of The Bible, to which Steinbeck himself has repeatedly pointed as the greatest influence on his work. Moreover he was educated in Stanford University and left after 6 years without taking any degree. Afterwards he led a roving life. He worked at ranches, laboured on road-gangs, assisted in a laboratory of a sugar-beet factories, and held a variety of other jobs as well. In 1925 Steinbeck came to New York City and worked first as a newspaperman. Few Year later he worked as a journalist for some magazines. Until, when he was a caretaker of an estate which was snow-bounded for eight months a year, he began seriously to write.
The literary world, however, did not burst into hallelujahs at first. Several manuscripts were rejected and not published. His first book, which was sold successfully was the short novel called "Cup of Gold". This book appeared in 1929, the year of the Big Crash. It was a time when a historical novel by an unknown novelist could not be expected to achieve much success. Therefore it was very surprising that few people took this book seriously. In fact it was sold 1,533 copies on the first printing. Bad luck came back after his tries to publish "Pastures of Heaven" in the year 1932. When the novel finally did appear, it moved fairly slowly. Otherwise the success of several short stories was a sign that the tide was at last turning in Steinbeck's favour. Gradually Steinbeck became a well known literary name. Steinbeck was secure in the knowledge that he could earn his living with his pen.
Steinbeck was awarded the "1962 Nobel Prize" in literature for his best known novel "The Grapes of Wrath" (1939), which treats the plight of 1930s Dust Bowl Farmers. Among Steinbeck's other novels are "Tortilla Flat" (1935), "Cannery Row" (1945), and the famous book "East of Eden" (1952). The best known novel he had written is "Of Mice and Men" which was published in the year 1937. "Of Mice and Men" proved even more successfully as a play than it had been as a novel; it won the "New York Drama Critic Circle's Award" on the first ballot, and was later made into a powerful motion picture. In addition to this he also wrote his most successful short stories like "The Red Pony" (1933) and "The Murder" (1938).
His works are marked by a compassionate understanding of the world's outsiders and disasters. As a rule his work is mainly sad and serious. The endings are usually tragic and there is very little, if any humour in the stories. John Steinbeck's strength lies mainly in describing simple people who he often took out of real life. According to that the events take place on an rural background and the people are closely attached to the earth on which they live and work. Steinbeck always wanted to write a realistic story. Therefore he insisted on using romantic and lyrical elements to make the contents of his novels more lively and realistic. So it isn't surprising that Steinbeck filled the novels with his own experiences of life. For instance before he wrote the book "Of Mice and Man" he had travelled around and lived in a migrant camp as well. He had followed the migrants and lived with them all the way from Oklahoma through the country.
He was a very successful writer and died 1968 in New York.
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