约翰-斯坦贝克-介绍-John-Steinbeck.ppt

John Steinbeck（1902-1968) -- the spokesman for the oppressed His life He was born in Salinas, California, in a long valley between two mountain ranges, which he used as the setting for many of his stories. His father was a well-to-do flour miller who also served as a country official, and his mother was a school teacher. His life With his three older sisters, they were a family who enjoyed books, so Steinbeck did well at school. He attended a university in California on and off for five years, studying literature and taking courses in writing. Major Works In 1937, he wrote Of Mice and Men, a short novel which established his reputation among literary critics as a major American writer. In 1939, he wrote his masterpiece, The Grapes Of Wrath. This book was turned into an unforgettable film, which is still considered a great classic. His major works 1937- Of Mice And Men is a short novel, written almost like a play with six chapters, each of which represents a scene. It tells of the tragic friendship between a migrant farm worker and his enormously strong, feeble-minded friend whom he is finally forced to kill, as an act of kindness, to save him from a worse death at the hands of his oppressors. Major Works 1939- The Grapes Of Wrath is Steinbeck’s masterpiece. It is the story of a family from Oklahoma who are evicted from their small farm when they cannot pay their debts. They set out as migrants for California, to start a new life. Cruel police and employers mistreat them, some of them die, but the family somehow survives by all helping one another. His post-war novel The Pearl (1947) reflected his bitter feelings against those greedy elements of society which made the war possible. Major Works In 1962, Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for his lifetime work, but primarily for the great works he produced in the 1930’s. He died in New York, in 1968. Award His style and point of view Steinbeck’s best writing was produced by outrage