| |
|  |  |
| Discussion: John Steinbeck Does anyone knows what the themes of Travels With Charley:In Search of America are? >>By Kate Can anyone help me with my essay of Winter of Discontent? I am talking about the relationship between 'normal' and 'imagination'. Any ideas??? >>By Skippy STEINBECK, John Ernst (1902-68), American novelist, born in California. He took his native state as the background for his early short stories and novels and described the lives of those working in the land with realism and understanding. Tortilla Flat (1935) was his first success, and he confirmed his growing reputation with two novels about landless rural workers, In Dubious Battle (1936) and Of Mice and Men (1937), the story of two itenerant farm labourers, one of huge strength and weak mind, exploited by the other. His best-known work , The Grapes of Wrath (1939), is an epic account of the afforts of an emigrant farming family from the dust bowl of the west to reach the 'promised land' of California. Among his later novels are East of Eden (1952), a family saga, and The Winter of our Discontent (1961). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. Source: The Oxford Companion to English Literature-Edited by Margaret Drabble >>By Gervillelds@aol.com travels with charley is an autobiographical novel that portrays Steinbeck's view on America. The main themes are change and corruption of the American people. Above all, it is a search to find oneself and discover that one person can't do everything for one nation. >>By missy i really like some of his books. i just wish that this site let you read what the book is about before you buy them >>By jeff report about the book the winter og our discontent >>By lisa I contend that John Steinbeck has been trivialized as an American author. Many of his works The Pearl, The Red Pny, Of Mice and Men, have been standard fare for reading in middle and high school. A great writer spent on many kids not yet ready to read him. The result has been a general lack of understanding of his powerful writing and message about American life. Steinbeck is a writer who comes to fruition in today's world. I wich every reading American would spend some time with Winter of Our Discontent, East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, The Wayward Bus, and a host of his lesser known works. He was a very serious writer about the American condition. Tremendous reading for thinking adults...not kid stuff. >>By Al C I am trying to find out what Dessie had that she died of in East of Eden. And what the milky water was that Tom gave her. I am assuming it was salt water. >>By bitnyre The winter of our discontent one of the funniest, saddest, truest books ever written >>By mebaroo mebaroo, obviously I agree. I am convinced Steindbeck is one of the most unread, well known name in literature. He was brilliant. >>By Al C Absolutely, people have a tendency to lump him in with hemmingway without ever reading him.... >>By mebaroo He might be the greatest American writer in my opinion. He got locked into the jr. high school reading canon with Of Mice and Men, The Red pony...too bad. Steinbeck has been one of America' most eloquent speakers about the negative power of consuumerism. He might be more relatent otday than in his own time. >>By Al C What is incredible about Steinbeck is his ability to incorporate personal individual character into his writings. This is what makes him great. I think he can give the reader after they put down the book, the ability to reflect and say, yeah, I share that trait, how can I use that to better myself? I suggest you take a character you have an affinity with and use some introspection and make yourself the best you can be. >>By noname1 But on even a more basic level...all of that sumptuous delicious prose makes me salivate! >>By mebaroo I read many Steinbeck's books over the years, and find that his views are still current in today's society. Maybe a new look on what he wrote would make us realize that the poor are turned into criminals by the rich who get away with crime every day. >>By Noudjali mebaroo, ha! You are so dead on this one. It is the sumptuous prose that infects a reader. I told a friend who had not read Steinbeck that Steinbeck was the only writer I would find myself FORCED to go back, over and over again, to read pasages of a book long before I finished it. Noudjali...I think that Steinbeck woould have been felt great satisfaction to know that his work looked so clearly into the future. I think he would be disenchanted with our indiffernece to what he had to say. >>By Al C Here in Denmark Steinbeck have a big name, most children meet him in school, and read Mice and Men. Then we return to him later in life. In Danish we can say “ en Lenny god mand” what translate will say something like “ a Lenny look a like” or “a Lenny god man”. It’s said about a man who is a little naïve, honest an maybe a little dumb, but a man everyone loves. I’m sure that Steinbeck has a big influence at the way Danes look at USA and Americans. (and that is god… and bad). villys@msn.com >>By villys Steinbeck's ability to capture character and present it to us in few words puts him on a par with any writer of this century. His penetrating view of the world is wonderfully given to us in To A God Unknown, an early project of his which took many years to bring to fruition. Cannery Row is to me one of the funniest celebrations of life I've ever read, mixing outrageos humor with tender sadness while exploring the themes of our togetherness as human beings and our ultimate aloneness. To read Steinbeck is to experience beauty. He is very overlooked as a truly great writer. >>By aprender Thank you Aprender for mentionning Cannery Row. It's a Steinbeck book I don't know. I'll try to find it and read it soon. >>By Noudjali The movie, "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Ford, is an ALL-TIME Classic. Henry Fonda plays the Tom Joad part Brilliantly (the Best performance of his career). As Great as the movie is, the book is even better; Steinbeck's evocative imagery, both in terms of the Physical World, and the World of Ideas (Justice/Injustice; Love/Hate; Affluence/Poverty; and the indispensible role of Family in our Society), is lush, and unflinchingly Honest. It paints a very unflattering picture of America's Love Affair with Money, and how American's value Cash over Human Life itself. Many people say the Great American Novel has yet to be written. This is just not so, for "The Grapes of Wrath" is just that....... >>By Pincushion I read Of Mice and Men in high school and thought it was alright. Now, three years later I just read East of Eden and wow. The prose caught me from page one, his opening descriptions of the Valley are incredible, and so poetic. I was really impressed, just in those first 20 pages I realized for the first time what a truly fantastic writer Steinbeck really is. I've read a few critiques that seemed to feel he over-simplified his characters and that the novel was far too straightforward... but I don't feel that's an adequate description. The characters are relatively static, to be sure, however each of them has an amazing depth and richness. I found myself recognizing pieces of myself and people I've known in each character, and I could connect with many other aspects of the plot as well. Though the novel is fairly straightforward, I think it helps lend it the epic, biblical feel that Steinbeck was (probably) shooting for. >>By Mezzanine When Steinbeck wrote, he was not so interested in pleasing critics and readers with literary tricks or slickness. He dealt with the conditions of life in America. No one does it better. Al >>By Al C You are not logged in. To access all functionality, you can log in via Flork. Flork is a worldwide community of people who are interested in music, movies and books. As a Flork-User, you can participate in this and other discussions, meet new people and exchange messages with other members directly: www.flork.com |