A family functions like a grapevine; its coarse green vines intertwine from the dusty dirt that conceals the intricate network of roots to the first cluster of sweet grapes that grow in the hot California sun. Similar to the growth pattern of a...

The philosophy of transcendentalism has played a major role in shaping American literature for the last 150 years. At its core, transcendentalism is a set of principles designed to guide a person to happiness through their relationships with God,...

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s experiences in life create a pathway that guides the development of his morals and values. Through his journey, he establishes a unique interpretation towards life that he culminates in “Self Reliance.” By understanding...

Steinbeck’s characterization of Jim Casy in The Grapes of Wrath stems from Emersonian thought, as expressed in Emerson’s essay “The Over-Soul”. Jim Casy forms beliefs based on the ideas presented in this piece, as evident through his action of...

“Like William Faulkner and Willa Cather, John Steinbeck wrote his best fiction about the region in which he grew up and the people he knew from boyhood…” Paul McCarthy

Steinbeck’s novels of the common people and the troubles that beset them have...

In both The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath, color is used in order to reflect the atmosphere or mood. This allows Fitzgerald and Steinbeck to illustrate the events in a more sophisticated style and intensify the clarity of actions; therefore...

Depicting a world where the struggle to survive is elemental, two incisive narratives emerged to describe what life was like during the Dust Bowl. Timothy Egan’s The Worst Hard Time comprises a non-fiction description of life following actual...

While The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Good Earth by Pearl Buck vary greatly in basic subject matter, their thematic content and general intent are strikingly similar. Both award-winning literary works in their own right, together...

America is known to be the land of freedom and opportunities, but in times of crisis it can turn into a disaster. During the 1930s America was going through a terrible drought, no rain and extremely high temperatures, which later on led to the...

Nearly sixty years after John Steinbeck put pen to paper and wrote the series of San Francisco News articles that would later inspire The Grapes of Wrath, a renowned singer-songwriter from Freehold, New Jersey wrote a beautifully tragic song...

Have you savored the hot taste of life? (180) How do you view and interact with the world around you? From a young age, we are taught to enjoin right and forbid the wrong; however, the definition of what is right and wrong can change according to...

The vignettes and anecdotes interspersed throughout John Steinbeck's Cannery Row may, at first sight, seem tangential. Yet they are fundamental to the novel, not least because the plot line--throwing a party for Doc--would be insufficient to...

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck is a novel that allows “the stories [to] crawl in by themselves” (Steinbeck 3). Set in Monterey, California during the Great Depression, this piece of fiction follows various characters, all of whom are different from...

In his short story “The Chrysanthemums,” John Steinbeck portrays not just the restrictions placed upon the protagonist, Elisa Allen, in the male dominated society of her day, but the intellectual and emotional shortcomings of the men to understand...

In John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums,” nature represents Elisa Allen’s confinement, the chrysanthemums symbolizes Elisa herself, and the tinker embodies Elisa’s wants. The narrator compares the Salinas Valley to “a closed pot” because “[a] high...

John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” dives into the world of wife Elisa Allen. As a 35 year old woman she is childless and extremely dissatisfied in her passionless marriage to her well-meaning but utterly clueless husband, Henry. Her low level...

“The Chrysanthemums” written by John Steinbeck, illustrates the feelings of a woman in a misogynistic relationship living in a patriarchal society. Women are placed into gender roles of being housewives to their working husbands. They are...

Defining what it means to be an American is a complicated, daunting, and nearly impossible task, for the nation’s broad geographical landscape makes it difficult to find a common ground for every citizen. While one man may imagine America to mean...

In his article Paradox and Dream, John Steinbeck insinuates that the American culture has ways of showing progression, as well as the inevitable drawbacks that come with such an advancement in society. Steinbeck develops this insinuation by...

Within Steinbeck’s oeuvre, the 1942 novella The Moon is Down is far less renowned than works like The Grapes of Wrath, Tortilla Flat or even Cannery Row. However, The Moon is Down is an excellent novella and can be used as a meaningful...

John Steinbeck incorporates disabilities within his stories with characters like Johnny Bear and Lennie Small from his works and “Johnny Bear” Of Mice and Men. Lennie from Of Mice and Men is a mentally handicapped giant of a man who has the very...