John Steinbeck’s early life and education both played a pivotal role in his writing and way of life. To start off, Steinbeck was born on the day of February 27th, 1902 in the highly agricultural and rural area of Salinas, California. Because his father was a mill worker, Steinbeck grew up on moderate terms according to the time. During his childhood, Steinbeck grew closer and closer to nature, and eventually at the age of fourteen he found his apparent destiny, writing.  Although his early writings were inevitably weak, these early works, namely letters of change,  transgressed his interest of writing into a career. Early on, Steinbeck also wrote about nature with allusions to the Bible. This early impetus of Christianity is directly correspondent with his family’s Christian roots. Steinbeck’s novel East of Eden contains a novel-wide allusion to the Bible story of Cain and Abel. Oddly enough, as an adolescent, Steinbeck had a lackadaisical approach to education. He eventually attended Stanford with his own intent of bettering his writing, despite his view on education. After graduating in 1925, Steinbeck moved from his home state of California to the opposite coast of the country, New York. His career as a novelist had officially started. Steinbeck’s experiences during his early adulthood greatly influenced the subjects he would later write about. Prior to his success he held a variety of jobs which enabled him to meet people from different social and economic strata. These experiences can be seen directly in his diverse choice of characters to represent.(San Jose),(Stanford University).

Steinbeck was a more successful writer later in his career. As he became more successful, his travels around the United States exposed his experience to places outside of California and New York. One of his most famous journeys was a three month truck trip with his dog Charley. This trip allowed him to see different parts of the country and meet people from different backgrounds. These journeys gave Steinbeck a wider perspective on American life and influenced his even later work. Eventually, Steinbeck was recognized as a great American writer in the public’s eyes. He even gained a valuable fan and friend, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In fact, Steinbeck met the First Lady on one of his trips, enforcing the idea that he met a multitude of people during these said trips. Unfortunately, Steinbeck was not always seen as a beneficial person to society. Through his work in different social issues such as economic inequality, Steinbeck inevitably received the blanketed term of a communist. His writings often challenged social conditions, even though his personal political views were more complicated than the label suggested. In the same tone, Steinbeck suddenly experienced heart problems later in his life. Despite the health problems, he continued writing and remained an important and pivotal figure in American literature. Through his discipline and hard work in writing, Steinbeck eventually received a multitude of awards.The most important of these would be his Nobel Prize in Literature that he received in 1962. This award represented the international recognition of his career and contributions to not only literature but also social problems. Ultimately, Steinbeck died on December 20th, 1968, in New York City. He was 66 years old. Overall, Steinbeck’s later travels and experience expanded his perspective beyond California and helped him develop a broader understanding of American society. These experiences later contributed to his influential career as an American novelist.(Encyclopedia Britannica),(The Nobel Prize).