John Steinbeck's book ast of den gathers under the pages of a beautifully written literary work the deep concerns of a troubled mind. Steinbeck appears to be haunted by those eternal questions human being must have asked himself or herself ever since any form of religion even existed. The conflict between good and evil and the meaning of the "truth" as well as the theme of the original sin and that of the atonement are main themes that Steinbeck borrows from Christianity to create his story and its characters.
The big question, the question that makes all the myriad of related questions arise from, is the one questioning God's existence. As St. Anselm of Canterbury explains in his Proslogion, God's existence cannot be questioned since God is the greatest thing for those who believe in Him as well as for those who deny his existence. Steinbeck creates Cathy as something essentially…...
mlaEast of Eden is the expression of profound thought given to the meaning of human existence, through God's grace. Steinbeck goes deep into the human soul hoping to reach God in a way or another. The bleaker reality of this world, the stronger his certainty in this book: "The King James translation makes a promise in 'Thou shalt,' meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel -- 'Thou mayest' -- that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world"(Steinbeck).
St. Anselm. The Major Works. Oxford University Press. 1998
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. Penguin Group U.S.. 2002
Grapes of rath
John Steinbeck's novel, "The Grapes of rath," described the economic divide that existed in America during the Great Depression of the 1930's and the tragedies that occurred as a result. A native Californian, Steinbeck used his home state as the backdrop for a story of a family of migrant farm workers; derisively called "Okies" for their area of origin: Oklahoma. Devastated by a natural disaster commonly referred to as the "Dust Bowl," in the 1930's Oklahoma faced the worst drought in recent history and it's economy was all but destroyed. Like the protagonists in the story, hundreds of thousands of real families who faced eviction and ruin were forced to gather up their meager possessions and head off to somewhere else; hoping to find a better life. Many of these people traveled to California where rumors promised paradise and work, but unfortunately those who made the arduous journey…...
mlaWorks Cited
Steinbeck, John. "The Grapes of Wrath." 1939.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
John Steinbeck's "East of Eden" is a story patterned after the Biblical stories of the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the sibling story of Cain and Abel. The primary theme of the story focuses on the struggle of good against evil. In the first Biblical story, the Garden of Eden is shown as a place where purity, happiness, and all the beauty of the world can be found, and Adam and Eve, the first man and woman of the world, resides in this 'paradise.' Similarly, Steinbeck shows his own version of the Garden of Eden, which can be found in Salinas Valley in California. Meanwhile, the story of Cain and Abel is illustrated twice in the story: the first being the story of Adam and Charles Trask, and the second one with Aron and Caleb, Adam's sons from…...
mlaReference
Steinbeck, John. E-text of "East of Eden." 1952. 4 March 2003 http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Steinbeck/east.html.
Tiflin; and as a result, he tried to make it a point that Jody grows up responsible and independent (SparkNotes).
Strengths & Weaknesses:
The strength of this book is that three of the four stories in this book were published as separate short stories. The elements in common that hold these stories together so that they can be considered a book are characters, setting, and themes (SparkNotes).
All four short stories are not very much connected tightly as the chapters in a book. Firstly, they stand on their own, where each section completing a thought. Secondly, the connections between all the sections are much rather loose, with no explanation of anything that has been left unsettled in the previous part of the story (SparkNotes). For instance, when illy brought the pony in the third section of the story, the author did not say anything about Jody's reaction or the care of the…...
mlaBibliography
Benson, Jackson J., John Steinbeck, Writer: A Biography, Penguin USA, 1990.
To better understand the writings of Steinbeck, it helps to understand his life, as much of the material of his books comes from his personal experience. Benson offers a comprehensive look into the life of Steinbeck.
French, Warren. "Steinbeck, John," in Reference Guide to American Literature, 3d ed.
Edited by Jim Kamp. 1994.
“The Chrysanthemums” and “The Lady with the Pet Dog” Both Steinbeck and Chekhov offer realistic depictions of love and unhappiness in their respective stories. Chekhov paints a vivid picture of two unhappy people, each married to someone neither loves. They meet at a resort away from home and casually fall in love with one another. However, the reason they are able to fall in love so easily on this resort is that it is a vacation—it is not real life. It is not the day to day or the simple fact of the matter. They are on holiday: they feel free to be charming, to be witty, to laugh, to be themselves, and to not care about anything at all. Chekhov would say, perhaps, that they are not quite living in reality and that when they do attempt to carry on their love affair into reality, they quickly realize the difficulty:…...
mlaWorks Cited
Carnegie, Dale. How to win friends & influence people. Musaicum Books, 2017.Chekhov, Anton. “The Lady with the Pet Dog.” Malick, Terrence, dir. To the Wonder. Magnolia Pictures, 2012.Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.htmlSteinbeck, John. “The Chrysanthemums.” http://mspachecogdhs.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/2/0/13206998/the_chrysanthemums_by_john_steinbeck.pdf http://www.shortstoryamerica.com/pdf_classics/chekhov_lady_withthe_pet_dog.pdf
John Steinbeck's Morose Preoccupation
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a somewhat strange, surprising read. The author selects a very unlikely setting, a farm populated predominantly by hired hands, for a tale that is largely predicated on the conception of friendship and its myriad interpretations -- and applications. However, there is a definite undercurrent that some readers might find disturbing that is present in some of the most poignant notions of this tale. That undercurrent is one of death, the virtue that Western civilization seemingly extols above most other ones. An analysis of some of the more pivotal moments in this novel reveal that ultimately it is a morbid one in which death is seen as the ultimate expression of friendship: which is more than a little morose, to say the least.
Thematically, it is difficult to distinguish the motifs of friendship and death that are tightly intertwined in this particular…...
mlaReferences
Steinbeck, J. (1993). Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books.
S. History, 2011).
Only after aggressive government intervention did the Dust Bowl conditions improve. The government, even before the drought was broken in 1939, was able to reduce soil erosion by 65% through the actions of the Civilian Conservation Corps, which planted 200 million trees to "break the wind, hold water in the soil, and hold the soil itself in place" ("Disasters: The 1930s," U.S. History, 2011). Farmers received instruction by the government on "soil conservation and anti-erosion techniques, including crop rotation, strip farming, contour plowing, terracing and other beneficial farming practices" ("Disasters: The 1930s," U.S. History, 2011). For the first time, the government took an interest not simply in preserving some of its land from development in the form of national parks, but gave counsel to farmers how to use the land.
The gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots,' already wide even before the Great Depression, grew into a chasm…...
mlaReferences
"Disasters: The 1930s." U.S. History. February 20, 2011
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1583.html
"The Great Depression: What happened and how it compares with today." The Great
Depression. February 20, 2011.
I. Introduction
A. Elisa Allen is the protagonist of John Steinbeck’s short story “The Chrysanthemums.” Louise Mallard is the protagonist of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour.”
B. Both Elisa and Louise are products of their social and historical contexts, particularly when it comes to gender norms.
C. Elisa and Louise are passive protagonists, because patriarchy has stripped them of political agency.
Thesis: By creating passive protagonists in their respective short stories, Steinbeck and Chopin make powerful social commentary about the role of women in their private and public lives.
II. Body
A. Topic Sentence: Both Elisa and Louise feel stuck in their marriage, but perceive liberation as impossible within the confines of their culture.
1. First concrete detail: Nature symbolizes wasted potential.
a. Elisa is capable of so much more than gardening: “The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy,” (Steinbeck)
b. Louise receives her epiphany through nature: “She felt it, creeping out of…...
Elisa Allen is the protagonist of John Steinbeck's short story “The Chrysanthemums,” and Louise Mallard is the protagonist of Kate Chopin's “The Story of An Hour.” Both Elisa and Louise are products of their social and historical contexts, particularly when it comes to gender norms. Elisa and Louise are passive protagonists, because patriarchy has stripped them of political agency. By creating passive protagonists in their respective short stories, Steinbeck and Chopin make powerful social commentary about the role of women in their private and public lives.
Both Elisa and Louise feel stuck in their marriage, but perceive liberation as impossible within the confines of their culture. In both short stories, nature symbolizes wasted potential. For example, Elisa is capable of so much more than gardening: "The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy," (Steinbeck). Similarly, Louise realizes that she has wasted her life when she sees nature through…...
John Steinbeck's Morose Preoccupation
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a somewhat strange, surprising read. The author selects a very unlikely setting, a farm populated predominantly by hired hands, for a tale that is largely predicated on the conception of friendship and its myriad interpretations -- and applications. However, there is a definite undercurrent that some readers might find disturbing that is present in some of the most poignant notions of this tale. That undercurrent is one of death, the virtue that Western civilization seemingly extols above most other ones. An analysis of some of the more pivotal moments in this novel reveal that ultimately it is a morbid one in which death is seen as the ultimate expression of friendship: which is more than a little morose, to say the least.
Thematically, it is difficult to distinguish the motifs of friendship and death that are tightly intertwined in this particular…...
mlaReferences
Steinbeck, J. (1993). Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books.
"She relaxed limply in the seat. "Oh, no. No. I don't want to go. I'm sure I don't." Her face was turned away from him. "It will be enough if we can have wine. It will be plenty." She turned up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly -- like an old woman" (Steinbeck).
There are a number of fairly eminent points to be made about this quotation -- the first of which is that Allen's husband has taken her away from her source of power -- her garden. Away from that source, she is described by imagery that is rather enervating and in opposition to the vivacity she previously personified. The imagery of her sitting "limply" and weeping "weakly" is strongly contrasted with the images of her cutting through plants and powerfully gripping handfuls of earth -- which symbolizes the source of her…...
mlaWorks Cited
Budnichuk, Monica. "The Chrysanthemums: Exposing Sexual Tension Through Setting And Character." Universal Journal. No date. Web. http://ayjw.org/print_articles.php?id=647033
Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants." Men Without Women. New York: Scribner's Sons, 1927. Online reprint. Scribd.com, 2011. Web.
Hashmi, Nilofer. "Hills Like White Elephants": The Jilting of Jig." The Hemingway Review. (2003): 72-83. Print.
Hunt, D. "Steinbeck's Allegory of the Cave: Deconstructing Elisa Allen in "The Chrysanthemums." Universal Journal. No date. Web. http://www.ayjw.org/articles.php?id=582962
East of Eden
John Steinbeck's story centers on two generations of the Hamilton and Trask families. "East of Eden" is essentially a modern-day 'Cain and Abel' tale corresponding the Biblical conflict to two generations of two sets of brothers, Charles and Adam Trask, and Adam's sons Aron and Caleb Trask. "The Trasks were his 'symbol people,'" Steinbeck insisted, "and their story was one about how one lives with human suffering" (Summary pg).
Cyrus, the Trask patriarch, favored Adam over his other son Charles, which led to lifelong conflict and an adulterous affair between Charles and Adam's bride, Cathy, who represents Eve in Steinbeck's 'Cain and Abel' tale. The Biblical correlation continues into the next generation of Trasks with Adam's treatment of his twin sons Aron and Caleb, favoring Aron over Cal and creating great suffering for Cal and drama for the entire family (Steinbeck 2003).
hether good or evil, the women in Steinbeck's…...
mlaWorks Cited
Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. Penguin USA. 2003.
Summary of East Of Eden (1952)." The Center for Steinbeck Studies: San Jose
State University. 11-12-2003).http://www2.sjsu.edu/steinbeck/ .(accessed
Philosophical and Literary epresentation of Capitalism
Progress & Technology in Capitalism
John Steinbeck wrote the social The Grapes of Wrath during the interwar years, just after the Great Depression harrowingly illustrated the power of unchecked capitalism. His novel takes the position that revolutionary change is needed, is inevitable, and that a just and non-exploitive society can only come about when capitalism is eliminated. Steinbeck is reported to have made clear his intentions as he prepared to write The Grapes of Wrath. In his words, "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this" [the Great Depression and its widely destructive effects]." Steinbeck's collectivist-leaning voice at the time of his writing The Grapes of Wrath would become so altered over the course of three decades that it hardly seemed to belong to this writer who created on the very edge of moral fervor. Marxism acquired…...
mlaReferences
Cunningham, C. (2002). Rethinking the politics of The Grapes of Wrath. [In Cultural Logic, ISSN 1097-3087].
Denning, M. (1996). The cultural front: The laboring of American cultural in the twentieth century. London and New York: Verso.
Hicks, G. (1939, May 2). "Steinbeck's Powerful New Novel." Review of The Grapes of Wrath. New Masses, 22-3.
Innis, H. (1930). The fur trade in Canada: An introduction to Canadian economic history. Revised and reprinted (1977). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Both Elisa Allen and Goodman Brown suggest that sexual tension might be at the root of their conflict.
Allen arguably deals with her pain more constructively than Brown does. Brown becomes bitter as a result of the conflict he perceives in his heart. Moreover, Brown fails to ground himself in reality. Questioning whether or not the forest vision was real, Brown neglects to contemplate its value even as a dream. Learning that he does have longings to break free from the social conventions tying him down to the rigid and conformist Puritan society would have helped Brown come to terms with the Faith he does genuinely seek. Elisa cries but deep down knows that a simple dinner out with her husband is as much freedom as she can have while still savoring the joy of…...
Environmental Themes in Grapes of rath
This essay reviews environmental themes from the following five books: Dust Bowl by Donald orster, The Grapes of rath by John Steinbeck, Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Killing Mr. atson by Peter Matthiessen, and River of Lakes by Bill Belleville. This paper discusses the role that culture has played in environmental issues during the past century. Five sources used. MLA format.
Environmental Themes
Humans from the very beginning of their existence have had an impact, for better or worse, on the environment. Man has for the most part tried to control the environment to suit his needs or tastes of the era. Over-grazing, over hunting, ignoring the importance crop rotations, dam building, and toxic dumping, are but a few of the ways man tries to control. Few societies have ever considered any of the above when it comes to the environment. There are a…...
mlaWorks Cited
Belleville, Bill. River of Lakes. University of Georgia
Press. 2001.
Douglas, Marjory Stoneman. The Everglades River of Grass.
Pineapple Press. 50th Anniversary Edition. 1997.
In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, the author's structural choices effectively depict the harsh realities of the American Dream, its hopeful pursuit, and the tragic consequences of shattered dreams. One way to formulate a unique thesis statement for your novel could be to focus on Steinbeck's use of symbolism and imagery to convey the themes of friendship, loneliness, and the struggle for independence in a society marked by economic hardship and prejudice. By analyzing how these literary devices contribute to the overall message of the novel, you can craft a strong thesis statement that highlights the depth and complexity....
Structural Analysis of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men": Interplay of Time, Isolation, and the American Dream
Thesis Statement:
John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" is a meticulously structured novel that employs a dynamic interplay of time, isolation, and the American Dream to explore the complexities of human existence and the fragility of hope. Through the novel's unique structural framework, Steinbeck illuminates the profound impact of these elements on the characters' relationships, choices, and ultimate fates.
Part I: Temporal Flux and the Illusion of Control
Non-Linear Narrative: The novel's unconventional structure juxtaposes past and present, fragmenting the narrative into disjointed memories and flashbacks.....
Metaphors: Captivating and Memorable Title Creation
Metaphors, figurative devices that compare two unlike things without using "like" or "as," hold immense power in crafting captivating and unforgettable titles. They transcend literal meaning, evoking emotions, creating vivid imagery, and leaving a lasting impression on the reader's mind.
1. Establishing Intrigue and Enchantment:
Metaphors evoke curiosity by hinting at deeper meanings. Titles like "The Great Gatsby" (F. Scott Fitzgerald) or "Gone with the Wind" (Margaret Mitchell) intrigue readers with their metaphorical undertones of unattainable dreams and the transience of time, respectively.
2. Creating Emotional Resonance:
Metaphors tap into human emotions. "The Catcher in the Rye" (J.D. Salinger)....
Literary Analysis and Criticism:
"The Profound Influence of Shakespeare's Soliloquies on Character Exploration"
"Deconstructing the Symbolism in 'The Great Gatsby': A Journey of Dreams and Desolation"
"The Evolution of the Gothic Novel from Horace Walpole to Mary Shelley"
"The Psychological Complexity of Hamlet: A Freudian and Jungian Analysis"
"The Role of Irony in Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice': A Critique of Social Etiquette"
English Language and Linguistics:
"The Evolution of the English Language: From Anglo-Saxon to Modern English"
"The Impact of Technology on English Language Usage: A Sociological Perspective"
"Regional Dialects in the United States: A Study of Linguistic Diversity and....
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