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John Steinbeck is considered one of the best writers of our time. He has written many award winning novels such as: //[|Of Mice and Men]//, //East of Eden//, and //The Grapes of Wrath//. But what inspired this brilliant author to write these pieces?

Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California. Salinas Valley (where he grew up), is where most of his novels take place (1937). This area was very important to Steinbeck’s career as an author because it inspired the setting of his most of his books. In //Of Mice and Men//, an introduction says “…both valley and coast would serve for some of his best fiction,” (Steinbeck intro). When John Steinbeck was younger, he enjoyed reading for fun and His mother, Olive, tutored him (Newman 7). He didn’t enjoy reading, but he was a “loner”, so he spent most of his time in his backyard, or in his room reading a book. He enjoyed //Alice and Wonderland//, and //Tom Brown’s Schooldays//, but his favorites were myths and old legends, such as //Morte D’Arthur//, by Thomas Malory (Newman 7). These books were where he spent much of his time and were influential to him to write books of his own. In college (although he didn’t graduate), Steinbeck studied writing. He took a short story course with Edith Mirrielees. “Edith Ronald Mirrielees, a short story writing teacher was Steinbeck’s greatest influence at Stanford… in short, she turned him into a professional,” (Newman 13).

After //The Grapes of Wrath// was published, Steinbeck and Edward F. Ricketts went down to Mexico to collect sea life. This trip was an inspiration to both of the men to write a book together, called //The Sea of Cortez//, a study of the fauna of the Gulf of California (“Bibliography”).

World War II and the Great Depression were also influential to some of John Steinbeck’s works. He wrote a lot of propaganda about the war and the depression, which made him more popular. One of the pieces of propaganda he wrote during this time was called //The Moon is Down//, which is about Norway under the Nazis (“Bibliography”).

John Steinbeck had many influences that helped him turn into the writer he became. If it had not been for them, he would not have become such a memorable author and his works would not still be so popular today.

SOURCES

1937, April. "Of Mice and Men Summary & Study Guide - John Steinbeck - ENotes.com." //ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More.// Web. 04 June 2010. []. Newman, Gerald. //A Student's Guide to John Steinbeck//. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publisher's, 2004. Print.

Steinbeck, John. //Of Mice and Men//. New York: Covici, Friede, 1937. Print.

"Biography of John Steinbeck | List of Works, Study Guides & Essays | GradeSaver." //Study Guides & Essay Editing | GradeSaver//. Web. 04 June 2010. [].