John Steinbeck Essay -- Essays Papers

John Steinbeck A novelist is someone who writes novels, or writes a fancy work of fiction which often has a complicated plot, many major and minor characters, a significant theme, and several varied settings. A novelist will use literary devices such as characterization, tone, symbolism, imagery, and figurative language. John Steinbeck, an American novelist, uses many literary devices such as metaphors, similes, imagery, and figurative language along with excellent descriptive words to develop his characters and vividly describe their surroundings. His masterly of these and other techniques, in my opinion, is why John Steinbeck’s novels, like The Grape’s of Wrath and Of Mice and Men, have survived the test of time. John’s writing style was developed from the experiences in his life; this may be why he is so interesting to read, because John has had an interesting life. John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in the Salinas Fertile Valley, California. His father, John Ernst Steinbeck, was a simple farmer and the treasurer of Monterey County, California. His mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, was a school teacher and she was the one person who was responsible for introducing him to the wonderful world of famous literature. She also read and taught him Shakespeare and other famous writers. John Steinbeck had two younger sisters, Ester and Elizabeth. John grew up in Salinas on a farm and was surrounded by animals and other forms of nature, this is the main reason that John had such a love of all forms of nature and wildlife. He graduated from Salinas High School in 1919 and then went to Standford University in 1920. At Standford he published â€Å"The Standford Spectatorm,† his first short story. During a break from Standford, John got a job on Spreckel’s Ranch near Salinas. While he worked there, he was able to observe firsthand the lives of â€Å"bindle stiffs† and â€Å"ranch bosses†. These observations would later on become the characters in Of Mice and Men. John eventually dropped out of Standford University and began his career as a full-time writer. In 1930, Steinbeck meet Ed Ricketts, who soon is to be his life-long friend. Also that year, he married his sweetheart, Ms. Carol Henning. He then moved to Pacific Grove to find a publisher for A God Unknown. He failed to find a publisher but that did not stop him and he began writing stori... ...iptions and literary devices, such as metaphors and similes, the characters seem to come to life for the reader. John’s vivid descriptions of nature really help the reader see the surroundings in his novels. The following quote starts of the book Of Mice and Men and contains some of the most descriptive language, and imagery in the hole book. â€Å"A few miles south of the soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too: for it has slipped twinkling in the yellow sands before reaching the narrow pool. On one side the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains but on the valley side the water is lined with trees – willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in there lower leafs the debris of the withers flooding: and sycamores with mottled, white recombered limbs and branches that are over the pool.† This and other examples in Of Mice and Men show just how well John Steinbeck describes the settings that are in his novels. Many other writers have analyzed John’s work. Most writers would have to agree with me on my opinion of his writing technique.