John Steinbeck
was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California, a farming community with of about 2500 people. He was the third of four children and the only son of John Ernst and Olive Hamiton Steinbeck. His sisters Beth and Esther were much older than John and he felt closest to Mary, the youngest. He spent his childhood and adolescence in the Salinas Valley, which he later called “the salad bowl of the nation.” John’s mother, Olive, was the daughter of Irish immigrants. She left her parents’ ranch to become a teacher. John remembered his mother as energetic and full of fun. He called his father, in contrast, “a singularly silent man.” Steinbeck’s father, also named John, worked as the ...
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to continue with his writing. Throughout high school, John spent most of his free time writing stories in his room.
John graduated from HS in 1919 and then went to Stanford University. John wanted to study to be a writer, but his mother wanted him to be something practical, like a lawyer.
While attending Stanford University, decided that a degree was of no use to a writer. Instead, he studied the things that interested him and would help him progress as a writer. He studied literature, history, and classical Greek. He convinced university officials to let him learn human anatomy alongside the medical students. Dissecting cadavers would help him “know more about people”, he explained. Steinbeck’s creative writing teacher taught him to write stories that were “true.” She didn’t mean the events in the story had to have actually happened, but instead the story and characters must reflect real human feelings and conflicts.
During his college years, Steinbeck worked at a ...
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He took her out on a date before she returned to her home in San Francisco. After being fired from his job, Steinbeck promptly moved to San Francisco to be with Carol. “Cup of Gold” was published in 1929. Steinbeck would send his books off to friends to have them type them and correct spelling and punctuation. “Why should I bother?” Steinbeck asked. “There are millions of people who are good stenographers but there are’t so many thousands who can make as nice sounds as I can.” For the first time in his life he was able to look ahead with financial comfort. The following year, John and Carol were married and moved to Monterey, California.
Near the Steinbecks home there was a ...
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John Steinbeck. (2004, July 28). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/John-Steinbeck/11706
"John Steinbeck." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 28 Jul. 2004. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/John-Steinbeck/11706>
"John Steinbeck." Essayworld.com. July 28, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/John-Steinbeck/11706.
"John Steinbeck." Essayworld.com. July 28, 2004. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/John-Steinbeck/11706.
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