John Ernst Steinbeck III 19021968

1
John Ernst Steinbeck III1902-1968
Created by Mrs. Jenny Shickley
2
Childhood Education

• February 27, 1902 Steinbeck is born in Salinas,
  California the third child to John E. Steinbeck
  II and Olivia (Hamilton) Steinbeck.
• Steinbecks family was upper-middle class his
  father was county treasurer his mother was a
  school teacher.
• 1915-1919 Steinbeck attended and graduated from
  Salinas High School. He decided at the age of 14
  that he wanted to be a writer.
• 1919-1925 At his parents insistence, Steinbeck
  enrolled and attended Stanford University. He
  took only classes that interested him which
  included literature, creative writing, and marine
  biology. He left the university without obtaining
  a degree.
• During his years at the university, he worked as
  a laborer on farms, ranches, and in factories.
  This probably denotes the beginning of his
  sympathies for the lower working class population
  and the underprivileged.

3
Steinbeck in New York

• Before leaving the university Steinbeck
  considered where he would travel next China,
  Chicago, Mexico, San Francisco. He decided on
  New York.
• Spring, 1925 Steinbeck moved to New York City
  where he worked construction at Madison Square
  Gardens.
• Steinbeck finally secured a job as a reporter for
  the New York American newspaper thanks to a well
  connected uncle.
• He was eventually fired from the newspaper due to
  his inexperience. He attempted to freelance
  write but was also unsuccessful. He chose to
  return to California to write.
• Steinbeck would later write about his experience
  in New York in an essay, Making of a New
  Yorker, published in the New York Times in 1943.

4
The Writing Years

• 1926 Upon his return to California, Steinbeck
  worked many odd jobs painter, fruit picker,
  surveyor.
• He eventually landed a job as a caretaker for a
  Lake Tahoe estate for two years, where he found
  much time to write.
• 1929 Steinbeck publishes his first novel, Cup
  of Gold.
• January 14, 1930 Steinbeck marries Carol
  Henning, his first of three wives. They move to
  Pacific Grove where Steinbeck continued to write
  and publish.
• 1935 Tortilla Flat
• 1936 In Dubious Battle
• 1937 Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony
• 1938 non-fiction, Their Blood is Strong
• 1939 Grapes of Wrath
• The Grapes of Wrath earned the Pulitzer Prize.
• 1940 Both Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of
  Wrath are turned into films.

All these pieces illustrate the lives and
problems surrounding migrant workers.
5
Life War

• Early 1940s Steinbeck spent a lot of time
  living in New York and traveling aboard. He
  eventually sets his permanent home in New York
  with brief visits to California throughout the
  rest of his life
• WWII Throughout the war, and even before
  Americas involvement, Steinbeck acted as war
  correspondent in Europe and North Africa for the
  New York Herald Tribune. His experiences led to
  the completion of several works on the subject of
  war.
• 1942 Bombs Away and The Moon is Down
• 1942 Steinbecks first marriage ends.
• 1943 Steinbeck marries second wife, singer
  Gwyndolyn Conger.
• 1944 Steinbecks first son, Thom, is born. His
  family returns for a brief stay in California.

6
More Years of Writing

• 1945 Canary Row
• 1946 Steinbecks second son, John IV, is born.
• 1947 The Pearl
• 1948 Steinbecks best friend, Ed Ricketts,
  dies. He was a marine biologist and traveled
  with Steinbeck in Mexico, where The Pearl is set.
  The character Doc, in Canary Row, was based on
  Ricketts.
• 1948 A Russian Journal, an account of
  Steinbecks journey to the Soviet Union with
  photographer Robert Capa.
• 1949 Steinbecks second marriage ends.
• 1950 Steinbeck marries third and final wife,
  Elaine Anderson Scott.
• 1952 East of Eden, a long family novel. Son,
  John IV, later wrote The Other Side of Eden about
  his life and writer father.
• 1959 Spent time in England studying Morte
  dArthur,the first book he ever read.

7
The End of a Good Life

• 1959 -1960 Steinbeck takes a 40-state tour
  around the United States with his standard
  poodle, Charley, but without his now estranged
  wife. He later publishes a travel book based on
  their experiences, Travels with Charley in Search
  of America.
• 1961 The Winter of our Discontent, his last
  fiction novel.
• 1962 Steinbeck is honored with the Nobel Prize
  for Literature.
• Vietnam War Visited Vietnam and reported on the
  war.
• December 20, 1968 Steinbeck dies at his New
  York home in Sag Harbor. His ashes were returned
  to his widow, who was living in California. He
  was buried in his family plot in Salinas,
  California.
• 1976 The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble
  Knights, published posthumously and unfinished.
  This work was based on his research in England.
• In all, Steinbeck wrote 26 books and countless
  short stories.