Steinbeck+Lessons+and+Values

By: Blake Wilhelmy

John Steinbeck is a man of God and nature and portrays these values in his books. He attempts to teach lessons according to what he learns in his Bible studies and also incorporates his love of nature into his works. From 1929-1960 he was an inspiring writer who put together an astonishing 32 books (Swisher 4). Through his entire writing career he found inspiration from the Bible and nature and that is what he used to write his classic novels.

John Steinbeck’s appreciation for nature is used in all of his books to teach readers lessons and show them his values. In //Of Mice and Men//, Steinbeck showed his love for animals by making a character that killed animals brutally (French 1). He showed this love for animals by making the death of these animals seem very tragic and vulgar. In //Of Mice and Men//, Steinbeck also tries to get the point across that the defeat of good intentions in a naturalistic manner emphasizes the irony of man's sufferings in a paradisiacal and beautiful setting (Bloom 17). He believes that all things in nature suffer at the hands of others (Swisher 51). People are always looking down on others and society has gotten to the point where nobody can be comfortable with the people around them. John Steinbeck also believes that the fallibility of man, the wearing out of man, the unreliability of nature, and the exhaustion of nature leads to the extinguishing of man's dynamic urge (Bloom 16).

Steinbeck also had a passion for religion and attempted to show this through what he learned in his Bible studies. In his 1933 novel, //To a God Unknown//, Steinbeck shows his love of the land and teaches the lessons he’s learned from the Bible (French 1). Steinbeck has been quoted saying that he believes that everything that lives is holy (French 1). He gets most of his values from the Bible and uses those values in his writing to try to emphasize his Christianity and better our society. The lessons Steinbeck gets from the Bible are used to try and make others better people just like he believed himself to be (Swisher 4). He took pride in the way he lived a Christian life and that is what he hoped people would get out of his classic novels.

Through his love of nature and his faith toward his Christian religion, John Steinbeck gets his inspiration to write all of his novels. He uses this inspiration to teach lessons and portray the ideals that are valuable to him. In the course of over 30 years, Steinbeck wrote 32 books and in every single one of them displayed these values and passions. Without his passion for both nature and religion, John Steinbeck’s classic novels would be nonexistent and the world would be deprived of his teachings.

For my list of references, click the link below.