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John Steinbeck: The Impact of His Parents' Deaths on His Writing  It is hard to imagine the impact the death of one’s parents could be on one’s life. It is even harder to imagine the impact of losing both parents in a short span on time. This is what John Steinbeck went through in his early writing career. Both of his parents died within a year of each other, and neither died a quick peaceful death, but rather slow and drug out ones. People may argue that this impacted his writing in a negative way, while others may argue that it had a positive effect on his works and his writing career.

Steinbeck’s mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck died in 1934 in their home town of Salinas (Neary, Walter 1). His father, John Ernest Steinbeck, passed on a year later (Neary, Walter 1). Both parents slowly withered away, forcing Steinbeck to move them into his own home and take care of them. After the death of both parents he once described his Salinas home when saying “The house in Salinas is pretty haunted now. I see things walking at night that it is not good to see" (Unger, Leonard 447.) As Steinbeck’s darker side came to the surface, he wrote the novel “The Murder.”

In his novel, “ //Of Mice and Men // ” there are many examples of Steinbeck’s negative writing that could be attributed to the troubles he faced. George’s character was similar to that of many of Steinbeck’s characters, he was hard-working, determined, and made a life for himself because that he what he had to do. However, there was one drawback that set George apart from Steinbeck’s typical characters, he was held back by another character with a lesser ability then himself. George could have been successful on his own and make a good life of himself, but he was never able to because he not only had to worry about himself, but also Lennie, a slow man that George had to take care of because he made a promise to his aunt to do so. Lennie is another character that had a great deal of potential but was given a setback. Lennie was a huge man with tremendous strength, but his mind was slower than that of others. He also could have been a good, successful man, but is instead made out to be a monster. When thinking of Lennie, gentle giant comes to mind, however he is not gentle. He very well could be, but the dark side of Steinbeck’s writing forces this innocent man, who wants to do no harm to anyone, kill little creatures and even a human being.

While the negative affects of his parents’ death are evident, the positve affects are also there. Because Steinbeck was always taking care of his parents, he was never able to fully focus on his writing. After the death of his parents he was finally able to settle down and just write. Shortly after his father’s death in 1935 Steinbeck published “//Tortilla Flat,//” a novel that kicked off his writing career (Internal Access 1). Other novels that came after this one included “Of Mice and Men,” “The Long Valley,” “East of Eden,” and “The Grapes of Wrath" (Internal Access 1). Steinbeck’s writings became very popular, many were made into movies, and “The Grapes of Wrath” is considered one of his best novels, and “Of Mice and Men” is read by students all around America. In 1962 Steinbeck one the nobel peace prize for literature (John Ernest Steinbeck 584).

Steinbeck is considered one of America’s greatest writers. People all over read his works even today. Whether one argues that the death of his parents gave Steinbeck a negative look on life which is shown through in his writing, or that their deaths gave Steinbeck the time to concentrate on his work, it is apparent that it did have a major effect on his writing and the outlook he has on his on life. The works we all read today were influenced by the lives and the deaths of his parents.

WORKS CITED:

“John Ernst Steinbeck.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Ed. Suzanne Michele Bourgoin and Paula Kay Byers. Vol. 14. New York: Gale Research, 1998. 416- 417. Print.
"Internal Access." //Power Library//. Web. 1 June 2010.<[]>.

Neary, Walter. "About John Steinbeck." //Welcome to The National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, CA//. Ed. Robert Walsten. Web. 05 June 2010. [].

Steinbeck, John. //Of Mice and Men//. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print. Unger, Leonard, ed. //American Writers//. Vol. IV. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974. Print.