Line #29 Creator/JohnSteinbeck


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/john_steinbeck.jpeg]]
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3	->''"The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true."''
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5	John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was a [[UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize Pulitzer]] and UsefulNotes/{{Nobel Prize\|in Literature}}- winning American author. He wrote twenty-seven books within his lifetime, and became influential in his writing style and views.
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7	Steinbeck was born by the Salinas River in UsefulNotes/{{California}} out in the country, which affected many of the settings of his works. A simple man, he labored alongside the migrant workers that inspired him. After leaving Stanford University without a degree, he set off his career with ''Tortilla Flat'', a novel set in post-UsefulNotes/WorldWarI Monterey. His Dust Bowl novels set in California garnered critical success and became some of his most popular works, such as ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen''. ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'' won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940, and became a controversial but influential work that ended up on the list of banned novels, and caused controversy with his socialist views. [[CapitalismIsBad The negative angle on capitalism]] and the representation of the Okies made trouble for him, but the book remained a success and is considered by many to be his best work.
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9	In 1952, he gave the introductory narrations for the short stories of a film adaptation of ''Film/OHenrysFullHouse''.
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11	Steinbeck is known for showing the poor as decent people and the underdogs, and putting his views into his work. He was awarded the UsefulNotes/NobelPrizeInLiterature in 1962 before he died in 1968.
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13	John Steinbeck's works have become popular MediaNotes/SchoolStudyMedia and are still read today, [[TearJerker traumatizing]] generations of American teens/young adults for ever after.
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16	!!Notable works by Steinbeck:
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18	[[index]]
19	[[folder:Books]]
20	* ''Literature/TheRedPony'' (1933)
21	* ''Literature/TortillaFlat'' (1935)
22	* ''Literature/InDubiousBattle'' (1936)
23	* ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'' (1937)
24	* ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath'' (1939)
25	* ''Literature/CanneryRow'' (1945)
26	* ''Literature/ThePearl'' (1947)
27	* ''Literature/EastOfEden'' (1952)
28	* ''Literature/SweetThursday'' (1954)
29	* ''Literature/TravelsWithCharley'' (1962)
30	* ''Literature/TheActsOfKingArthurAndHisNobleKnights'' (1976)
31	[[/folder]]
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33	[[folder:Screenplays]]
34	* ''Film/{{Lifeboat}}'' (1944)--Wrote the story outline, while Jo Swerling wrote the screenplay.
35	* ''Film/VivaZapata'' (1952)
36	[[/folder]]
37	[[/index]]
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40	!!Tropes associated with his works:
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42	* AuthorTract: A lot of his works express his socialist beliefs, with varying degrees of subtlety.
43	* CentralTheme: All his books are set during TheGreatDepression
44	* [[DeathByNewberyMedal Death By Pulitzer Prize]]
45	* DiedDuringProduction: Steinbeck died before finishing his modern English translation of ''Literature/LeMorteDArthur'', leaving the book stopping after the story of Lancelot.
46	* DownerEnding: Reading Steinbeck is sort of like driving past a bad traffic accident. You know someone who probably didn't deserve to die has died, but you ''have'' to look.
47	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His first book, ''Cup of Gold'', is a historical fiction about the notorious privateer Henry Morgan, and a far cry from the low key and bitterly realistic works he's known for.
48	%%* FromBadToWorse
49	* GreyAndGrayMorality: His books were aware of human evil but many of his characters prove to be real, human, sympathetic, and decent people.
50	%%* KitchenSinkDrama
51	%%* LiteraryAllusionTitle
52	* RousseauWasRight: While his books are aware of human evil, many of his characters are still decent and sympathetic human beings.
53	* SceneryPorn: Steinbeck is to California what Creator/LMMontgomery is to Prince Edward Island.
54	* ShootTheShaggyDog
55	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: While his books often featured sympathetic people....they were set during the great depression.
56	* SlidingScaleOfRealisticVersusFantastic: His books are as realistic as modern literature gets. His books were about real people [[TheGreatDepression living through a really dark time in human history]].
57	* WriteWhatYouKnow: Most of his books are based on his own experiences.

Context Creator / JohnSteinbeck