What Influenced John Steinbeck. What Exactly Influenced

What influenced John Steinbeck? What exactly influenced Steinbeck’s writings? Was it his background, his past, or was it the way he grew up and learned. There are many factors that come into play when trying to depict what exactly influenced an author. A lot of people believe that he was heavily influenced by California, where he lived. As many as nine of his works were proven to be based off of some part of california life in his time. But not all of his inspiration could simply come from California. John Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas, California, a town well known for farming and being poor. Its thought that his many conversations with the migrant workers of the area inspired a lot of his work, such as â€Å"Of Mice and Men†, a†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Of Mice and Men†, his talks about the dreams of a pair of migrant laborers, Lenny and George, working on a farm, is now quite well known. That novel was followed by what most people believe is Steinbeck’s best book, â€Å"Grapes Of Wrath†, which was based on articles he had written in San Francisco, and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. His talks of the poor conditions eventually caught the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt, who raised the standards, telling Congress to fix the bad parts of the labor laws and camp conditions. In all 17 of his works became movies or screenplays. After some of his success in writing steinbeck began working as a war correspondent for the NY Tribune. He kept journals of his work and places he went, usually taking notes that did not get into his books, but they were interesting and entertaining. Although the FBI never actually looked at him, Steinbeck did come to attention because of his political ideas, and he was interviewed by the Army for a commission. They declined to offer because of his â€Å"unsuitability due to psychological issues.. They basically deemed him a psychopath. He ended up writing a letter to a U.S. Attorney General in 1942. He asked, â€Å"Do you think you could ask Edgar s men to stop stepping on my heels? They think I’m an enemy. It is getting tiresome. Later, In 1967, Steinbeck went to Vietnam to report the war, and his views of the U.S. Army prompted the NewShow MoreRelatedJonelle Samai. Evelyn Cartright. Eng 210. John Steinbeck.1758 Words   |  8 PagesJonelle Samai Evelyn Cartright Eng 210 John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was an American Nobel Prize winner whose work was viewed by many as controversial. Growing up in Salinas Valley California, Steinbeck enjoyed a comfortable life but opted to work with migrants on a farm. Here, his interest in the socio -economic aspects of life sparked, which later influenced his literary perspective. 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