The American Dream

• Continuing the unit, we will study John Steinbeck and several of his novels.

• Click for Refresher: Unit Questions

1

John Steinbeck

• Born in Salinas, California (in Monterey County) in 1902

• Died in New York City in 1968

2

Education

• Studied marine biology at Stanford University but never graduated

3

Connections to Salinas, California

• Wrote novels that were either set in Salinas and Monterey County or that dealt with his life growing up there

• Some novels include Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, and The Grapes of Wrath.

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• He grew up in Salinas and married his first wife, a local girl.

• They divorced, and he married again twice.

• He had two sons with the 2nd wife, Thomas and John, Jr. 5

Trying it in NYC…

• He moved to NYC after dropping out of college and tried at several odd jobs.

• He also worked as a freelance writer, but he could never find a publisher to accept his work.

• He moved back to California.

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North Salinas High School

• They wanted to name the high school he had attended after him, but he didn’t want school kids to curse his name.

• “If the city of my birth should wish to perpetuate my name clearly but harmlessly, let it name a bowling alley after me or a dog track or even a medium price, low-church brothel – but a school!”

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