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How Marxism Influenced John Steinbeck John Steinbeck is certainly one of the most remarkable and highly praised American writers; his works are popular all over the globe and draw attention of large and various audiences. In creating his works, Steinbeck was influenced by the ideas of Marxism, which is evident throughout the stories and novels he has written. Marxism was developed by Karl Marx in response to emergence of capitalism as the main economic order. Marxism was directed at social change, Marx believed that the idea of a society divided into classes was totally wrong; he wanted to change the injustices that existed in society in terms of uneven distribution of wealth. It is evident that Steinbeck's works are dramatically influenced by Marx views, and within the course of this paper we will discuss his writings and see how they relate to Marxism and its ideas. John Steinbeck wrote about the hard life of common people.
His stories were fiction to readers, but he knew what he was talking about since he lived trough the hard times, and worked with the people he had based his characters on. His life was full of excitement, due to his travels, and agony, as a result of his numerous marriages. Some of John Steinbeck's writings were very much criticized as a consequence of his vulgar language. However, within the conceptual framework of his works, Steinbeck agreed with the ideas of Marxism, and that might have been still another reason for the critics in capitalistic America, Marxism was not that popular. John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902. He grew up with three sisters having no brother.
After attending Salinas High School, he went to Stanford. Steinbeck did not get a degree at Stanford since he did not graduate. After Stanford he worked at many jobs, including sales clerk, farm laborer, ranch hand and a factory worker. John Steinbeck had many relationships with women. Altogether he had three wives, and two sons. The first two wives, Carol Henning and Gwendolin Canger, could not handle his temper and divorced him because of it.
Carol Henning was married to him for twelve years but did not have any children. Gwendolin Canger was married to him for five years, and together they had two sons, Thomas and John. His last wife, Elaine Scott, stayed married to him until his last moments. They did not have any children. John Steinbeck traveled very much. At one point in his life, when he was older, he took his poodle for a vacation in Europe.
That was when his career was near top and he had quite a fortune from his publications. In the pass time he liked to make inventions, just like his father, but he could not make a living out of it. Even though his start was a little rough, after a few stories which he published, his self-esteem rose and he began to write novels and screen plays. Even Alfred Hitchcock considered him a great writer, since he entrusted him in writing the script for the film Lifeboat.
And his great courage in writing the truth did at first get his novels banned, but later he received the Medal of Freedom from President Johnson. Steinbeck knew and understood common people, that is why the ideas of Marxism and social injustice are frequently deployed in his works. Of Mice and Men, a novel written by John Steinbeck, clearly develops three themes: mans desire to create and seek dreams, mans desire for companionship, and mans responsibility to other members of society. Within the course of this novel, Steinbeck shows how hard it is for common people to fulfill their dreams. A persons want to pursue their dreams is expressed through many of the characters. The primary example of this would be George and Lennie's attempting to earn a stake and purchase a small farm.
Never again would the two have to work on cultivating another mans crops. Lennie, of course, would get to feed the rabbits. Another example of mans need of having a dream is Candy wishing to join in on George and Lennie's dream of getting the farm. Candy is willing to give up his life savings so he wont have to worry about getting thrown out after he becomes worthless. Curley's wife also has created a dream for herself.
Before she married Curley she had the opportunity of being in the movies and pictures. Now she wishes for that to happen once again. All of these people have fantasies they wish to attain. Secondly, the topic of mans aspiration for companionship is indicated throughout the story. Crooks have an immense hunger for genuine fellowship. Being black, he was separated from the rest of the men, which made him lonely.
Crooks said, Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books aint no good. A guy needs somebody- to be near him. (Hughes, p. 89) Curley's wife is also in need of having someone to spend time with. Sure she is married to Curley, but its an intensely poor relationship. Every chance she gets she tries to talk to someone, but for the most part is ignored because she is married. Unlike most guys that work on ranches, George and Lennie have a friendship.
The two spend roughly all their time together. They show the companionship the others characters want. Lastly, the subject of mans dependability on his fellow man is shown in the novel. Unlike the other themes, this one is mainly displayed through only two characters, Lennie and George. Lennie's aunt used to take care of him, but she passed away and George said he would look after him. Since he is unintelligent, Lennie is greatly reliant on George for all the necessities such as: food, shelter, and guidance.
Mans need to produce and chase dreams, mans craving for camaraderie, and mans responsibility to his fellow man are the main themes of the novel. They are distinctly elaborated through numerous characters in the tale. The troubles in the novel were caused mostly by Lennie Small, huge but not bright, and solved by George Milton, small, sharp-faced man who believes he can live of the fat of the land. Originally, this novel was named Something That Happened, but this name did not stick to the story so Steinbeck decided to change it. Warren French, a critic, said, Of Mice and Men is Steinbeck's last novel to be directly influenced by Arthurian Legend. This novel was extraordinary just because of the fact that it could be played in a theater or in a movie from the exact same lines that the book was written.
Nevertheless Steinbeck altered the conclusion so that the play ends just before Lennie's death. He also expanded the role of a flirtatious wife to make it more interesting to human eye. (French, 325) Some critics argue that this novel could not be a tragedy even though it has a sad ending. Supposedly, as a tragedy, the seemingly fated end of the sole friendship, Georges abandonment of a noble dream despite the standing offers the assistance of a co-worker. Like his previous writing In Dubious Battle, the characters and settings for Of Mice and Men are derived from Steinbeck's experiences while he was a farm laborer in California in 1922.
This novel is argued over in many ways, one of which is allegorical. Steinbeck based Of Mice and Men on a biblical tale of Cane and Abel; in which Cain is banished from his family to wander alone, and interpret Georges loss of Lennie as Steinbeck's confirmation of the individuals destiny to live in isolation. This book was so celebrated that it received a Haakon Liberty Cross, an award from the Norwegian king, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. (Bloom, p. 86) The main influence of Marxism is evident in Steinbeck's characters, they are all common people, hard workers, and they simply want to do something to fulfill their dreams. However the capitalistic society does not let everyone to become happy, therefore not all the dreams come true. Steinbeck's another famous work, The Grapes of Wrath, also supports Marxism and its ideas. Steinbeck clearly shows that the life of common people is in such a miserable state that something should be done to change it drastically, implying the change of social order at large.
When The Grapes of Wrath was published on March 14, 1939, it created a national sensation of the devastating effects of the Great Depression of 1929. Steinbeck's varying works during the years of his greatest popularity and power in the 1930 s were characterized by precisely this kind of irony. John Ernst Steinbeck began to write The Grapes of Wrath a few years after the Great Depression of 1929. During this time, Steinbeck gathered information and experienced the Depression of 1929 personally in his home state of California.
This experience may have led to the realistic portrayal of The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath, written by John Steinbeck, was written to show the world how terrible and troublesome life was during the Great Depression of 1929. The Grapes of Wrath was released at the begging of World War II and just as the United States of America was coming out of the post-depression era. During Steinbeck's lifetime, his concern with the problems of the landless laborers received greatest emphasis in The Grapes of Wrath. As Steinbeck intended to do, The Grapes of Wrath revealed the truth and tragedy of the Great Depression era of the 1930 s, and various social injustices that flourished in the capitalistic America. Undoubtedly, John Steinbeck often puzzled critics during his lifetime because early in his career, his style and subject matter seemed to change with each new story.
Since living in California his entire life, Steinbeck saw the tragedy of the Great Depression of 1929. Before his books attained success, he spent considerable time supporting himself as a manual laborer while writing and his experiences lent authenticity to his depictions of the lives of the workers in his stories. The Grapes of Wrath was bound to cause controversy in a county experiencing a decade of major social upheaval during the Great Depression of 1929. The Grapes of Wrath is arguably John Steinbeck's finest novel and the summation of his California experience. The Grapes of Wrath was an excellent book and even though there were some exaggerations, most of the scenes Steinbeck depicted were accurate. In the original meaning of the word, a classic is a book taught in the classroom.
Steinbeck's book is certainly a classic in this sense of the word. The Grapes of Wrath was criticized for its negativity but came out as a best seller. It was a novel whose hunger, passion and poverty are in direct answer to the angry stirring of peoples conscience with regards to social injustice flourishing in American society. John Steinbeck extolled the virtues of the American dream while he warred against what he believed to be the evils of an increasingly materialistic American society. With the novel's publication, Steinbeck found himself immersed in a great national debate over the migrant labor problem. The Grapes of Wrath is a realistic portrayal of laborer life in the United States of America after the Great Depression of 1929.
The Grapes of Wrath is an excellent novel written by John Steinbeck, about the reality of the Great Depression of 1929. The book is about a family desperately trying to get to California after being forced off their land by the banks. The John family hopes to find freedom and work in California, but finds trouble instead. This book corresponds with history, because it was released after the Great Depression of 1929. The Grapes of Wrath was criticized with both negative and positive criticism from its release date in 1939 to this very day. Although many critics criticized The Grapes of Wrath for its negativity, the book won the Nobel Prize for Literature and became an instant best-seller.
It is evident that Steinbeck's writings were greatly influenced by the ideas of Marxism. In his works, he depicted common people, laborers, who had to struggle to fulfill their dreams, and not always succeeded. Steinbeck showed a variety of social injustices that were present in the contemporary American society, and the underlying message of most of his works was that of social change. Words Count: 2, 069 Bibliography: Bloom, H.
John Steinbeck. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. French, W. John Steinbeck's Fiction Revised. Michigan: Zondervan Publishers, 1989. Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, 1876.
Marxism. Hughes, R. John Steinbeck - A Study of the Short Fiction. Boston: Twayne, 1989. Ebert, R.
The Grape of Wrath. Retrieved from web Lewis, C. Major Themes, Historical Perspective and Personal Issues. Retrieved from web Print, J. Retreat of John Steinbeck. Retrieved from web Woods, A.
Marxism and the United States. Retrieved from www. Marxist. com
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