John Steinbeck - In Dubious Reputation

Diploma Thesis from the year 2000 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: very good, Education Center for Schools in Vienna (English), language: English, abstract: When I decided to write my masters about John Steinbeck, I only knew some of his works. I had read 'Tortilla Flat' - which is still one of my favourite books, of course I knew 'East of Eden ' and 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Pearl'. Then I started to read his not so well known novels and I wondered about his contradictory writing style and choice of topics. ' He is a crank, a storyteller, a critic, an anti - critic, an 'American', an internationalist, a sage, a prophet.' Reloy Garcia, professor of English Creighton University, states.2 In this study I will try to pursue and comment on the different aspects of Steinbeck's works. Although I read nearly all his books, I chose Cup of Gold, Pastures of Heaven, To a God Unknown, Tortilla Flat and In Dubious Battle to concentrate on. Each of them seems to me representative for a certain genre and they do not belong to his best-known ones - except Tortilla Flat. Steinbeck did not like book critics, which is hardly surprising, because each book published in his lifetime was attacked by prestigious reviewers, but even the books considered the weakest received plaudits from important reviewers. There was never a consensus on a Steinbeck text.3 I do not want to judge Steinbeck's different works. I want to deal with his background and I will try to understand his intentions. [...]