Myth America
Perhaps the overarching theme unifying much of the non-fictional work written by Steinbeck is the revelation of the disconnect which exists between the American that its citizens have created as a myth for itself and the rest of the world and the reality which persistently undermines that myth. “Paradox and Dream” outlines this theme and punctuates in language impossible to mistake: “in nothing are we so paradoxical as in our passionate belief in our myths. We truly believe ourselves to be natural-born mechanics and do-it-yourselfers.” We also believe we are a nation in which every man is created equal, but Steinbeck’s essays on the brutality exercised against both black civil rights protesters and white fruit pickers quickly relieve any reader of this misapprehension of myth for reality.
Travels with Steinbeck
One of the last books Steinbeck wrote was a collection of essays titled Travels with Charley with detailed his cross-country trek with a pet poodle named, of course, Charley. Throughout his career, however, Steinbeck was in constant motion and constantly detailing the highlights and low points of that travel through travel essays. Among the titles representative of this theme include a wistful reflection about his home in California, “Always Something to Do in Salinas” and the alternately hilarious and terrifying ride with a wild cabbie named Signor Bassano in “Positano.” Also on the itinerary: Sag Harbor, Ireland, and Vietnam during the war.
Politics
Steinbeck was very active in politics both at the larger level of ideology and the immediate level of candidates and personalities. Such is the extent that the theme of politics runs through his essays that it even shows up in a posthumously published piece ostensibly on the subject of sports. “I Even Saw Manolete” reveals a changing attitude toward the bravery manifested by the bullfighter by comparing unfavorably to the bravery of Edward R. Murrow standing up to Sen. Joseph McCarthy or a black person daring to show up at the polls in Dixie on election days. “Madison Avenue and the Election” was published in 1956 and seems absolutely quaint today, but was at the time a revelation of Steinbeck’s ability to see the potential dangers to the American political system that others didn’t: it is a dire warning about the influence of the advertising industry on crafting political campaigns built around image rather than substance. (Told you it had become quaint.)
