John Steinbeck is an author that most people are familiar with. In almost every high school across America, one of his books is on a required reading list that students are supposed to read. But who is the man behind the stories? What was it like for his when he was a kid and why did he write what he wrote? You will find all those answers and more when you read this biography of John Steinbeck, and then learn what happened to him in his own hometown.
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas Valley, which was located in Monterey County. He was raised by his father, John Erst Steinbeck, who was the county's treasurer, and by his mother, Olive Hamilton Steinbeck, who was a teacher. He had two older sisters, Elizabeth and Esther, and also a younger sister by the name of Mary. During his lifetime he was married three times and had two children with his second wife Gwendolyn; two boys by the names of Thomas and John Steinbeck. .
John Steinbeck was a man that most people in the world respected; yet he was disgraced and not welcome in his own hometown. This next part will show you, year by year, what I mean. In 1902, he was born February 27th in the Salinas family home. He wrote his first stories there, including sections of various works like "The Red Pony" and "Tortilla Flat". In 1919, he graduated from Salinas High School and then relocated to West Alisal Street, which was across from the post office. That same year, he began studying at Stanford University. After dropping out of Stanford, in 1925, he moved to New York City to look for a publisher. He was there for over a year, working odd jobs, including manual labor for construction of Madison Square Garden, but when he couldn't find a publisher, he moved back in California. He had better luck in California because, three years later, in 1929, his novel, "Cup of Gold", because his first novel to be published. The following year, 1930, he married Carl Henning and moved to the family home in Pacific Grove.