Sudeep Annem Essays (1507 words) - United States, Film,

Sudeep Annem Mrs. Burch AP English Literature 15 November 2017 John Steinbeck's Award-Winning Prowess Nobel Prize winners are synonymous with excellence and achievement at the highest level. One recipient of this illustrious award is John Steinbeck. According to BBC Bitesize, Steinbeck grew up in rural California during the time of The Great Depression, which proved to be a great influence on the topic and matter of his novels. His ability to weave exquisite details while designating hidden meanings and commentaries within his novels was remarkable. He rose to acclaim as one of the renowned authors of his time through the usage of vivid imagery, the way he encompassed his personal experiences into the personalities of his characters and he deservedly wonthe Nobel Prize because of his distinct and powerful individual pieces of literature as well as the ways these pieces accurately represented the struggles of the American people during his time period. Although there were many (including himself) that believed that Steinbeck was undeserving of the award, among his countless works o f literature, two of his most glorious creations, Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, served as valuable evidence when asserting that Steinbeck was well deserving of the prestigious Nobel Prize and the recognition that came along with it. Steinbeck's real-life experiences with society's migrant workers during the time of the Dust Bowl epidemic served as inspirations for the main message of both of the novels. The humiliation and hardship that these workers faced during these harsh times were accurately reflected in the depiction of the lives of ranch hands George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men and the lives of the Joad family, a clan of sharecroppers. The vivid description of the harsh circumstances that many Americans faced during these times brought with it harsh criticism from defensive landowners and nationalistic citizens, but despite all of the controversy that arose from these publications Steinbeck continued to state that his goal for writing both of these novels was not to incriminate or demonize those in the industry, instead it was to allow all of the American public the ability to resonate with the experiences these farmers had to face in order to allow them to coexist better in this country. Kristen Mas ters details on her blog that the same controversy that held Steinbeck at odds with critics is what led to copious quantities of his works being sold. She then continued by arguing that the political importance of an author's works is deserving of consideration when deciding the winners of the prize and that the individual contributions to literature that The Grapes of Wrath had pushed Steinbeck past the threshold and made him a qualified recipient. Steinberg makes use of his adept handling of imagery while connecting to the social topics he is discussing when he has George articulate "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." (Steinbeck 12). He directly points to the predictable continuous lifestyl e the ranch hands were accustomed to and brings about a sense of the misery and dreariness of this type of existence. This depiction of the depression that was resoundingly present during these times is similarly portrayed in The Grapes of Wrath in chapter 26 when Tom Joad witnesses the murder of fellow worker Curly and kills the perpetrator. It is eventually brought to attention that Curly died because he was on strike in order to protest the low pay the farmers were receiving since it was not even enough for their families to subsist on such minimal pay. Through this chapter in the novel, Steinbeck expressed how the harsh times had led to situations such as these where inhumane acts were being committed as a result of desperation and lack of resources. The ruggedness, solidarity, and the willpower that these workers displayed in order to survive through such a dark period in our history left a profound