John Steinbeck's power as a storyteller is rooted in his portrayal of America's workers. It is Steinbeck's understanding of the common man that gives his books universal appeal and keeps them in print around the world. Rather than being a writer of the 1930s, Steinbeck speaks directly to man's current concerns, he too was ahead of his time in developing an ecological vision of man's place in the universe. He brought into the American dream the idea of ​​self-improvement, the idea that the American conscience should also contain tolerance and compassion and above all a democratic vision of life. In works such as The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row, Steinbeck illustrates his worldview, his social vision for America. It witnessed the political and social upheavals of the 20th century and places readers in the midst of this turmoil and allows them to see firsthand the period that shaped American history. John Steinbeck remains a significant cultural voice, as a novelist, playwright, social visionary, and enduring commentator on twentieth-century American values ​​and ideals. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" told the extraordinary story of intolerance that goes hand in hand with economic adversity, the novel held a mirror up to America's shameful and abusive neglect of its own people. Upon its release, at the end of the 1930s, the novel had a dramatic effect, it was loved by some and hated by others. In many ways the immense popularity of “The Grapes of Wrath” distorted Steinbeck's reputation, however, his range was all-encompassing and his work prolific. He was one of the greatest writers of the American landscape, creating enduring myths around the lives of ordinary Americans, whose lives were the figures of those landscapes affected by the forces of nature and politics. In “The Grapes of Wrath” Steinbeck illustrates the environmental disaster of the Dust Bowl as a catastrophe of biblical proportions, but also focuses on the economic stranglehold that threatens survival. It was about turning agriculture into big business and Steinbeck had no doubt who the bad guys were, it was the banks who were ruthlessly forcing small farms out of business. Steinbeck says: "The Bank - or the Company - needs - wants - insists - must have been - as if the Bank or the Company were a monster, with thoughts and feelings, which had trapped them. The latter took no responsibility towards banks and businesses because they were men and slaves, while banks were machines and masters at the same time” (The Grapes of Wrath pp. 36-37). the ravenous greed behind the decision to evict so many tenants from their land. Steinbeck through this symbolic representation shows his critical view of a materialistic and capitalist society focused solely on growth. The NY Times published a letter written by Steinbeck in 1953 to a student at Columbia University, in which he describes the purpose of his writings, “Now, I suppose the purpose of a book is to entertain, to interest, to instruct, but its warmest purpose is simply to associate the reader . You use symbols that he can understand so that the two of you can be together. The circle is not closed until the trinity is present: the writer, the book and the reader” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck saw himself as a writer with a single purpose: to open the closed eyes of readers for a betterunderstanding of the conflicting duality that exists in human nature. In a letter to George Albee, Steinbeck says: “Man hates something in himself. He has been able to defeat every natural obstacle, but he cannot conquer himself unless he kills every individual. And this self-hatred that goes so closely with self-love is what I wrote about” (SLL p. 98). Steinbeck's purpose, in short, is to connect with readers through conceptual self-understanding. Steinbeck's characters shared physiological rather than autobiographical similarities with himself. In the figure of Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath, the antihero changes dramatically from a figure of failure to someone who inspires hope in the defeated masses. Steinbeck's characters commonly describe his vision of collective harmony within society and his sense of frustration at his inability to realize this vision. In Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath dreams, hopes and plans are the very substance that makes life worthwhile, these concepts go beyond realistic ambitions and function as a way to survive life during the Depression. Steinbeck's frustration is reflected in the similar struggle the characters face to realize their visions, seemingly the closer they come to realizing their dreams, the closer they come to disappointment. However, Steinbeck makes it clear that despite the general unhappy futility that seems to characterize this era of American history, there is an element of happiness through the denial of man's attempt to maintain a positive outlook despite many depressing circumstances. Steinbeck shows readers the negative side of fate: the cruel and indifferent side of life. The novel ends with the death of a main character, victim of a cruel and inevitable fate. The final importance of the novel, however, is not Lennie's death, but that of George, Lennie's failed protector; He built a dream world around Lennie that protected them from their unpleasant realities. When George must kill Lennie himself to save his friend from a lynching death, he must also destroy his own dream. Warren E. French, describes this as "a kind of living death, since [George] was forced to destroy what had made his life worthwhile" (Beyond Boundariesp. 69). However, dreams weren't the only thing that made life worthwhile for these characters, friendship also gave meaning to their lives. George says, “Boys like us, who work on ranches, are the loneliest in the world. They have no family. They don't belong anywhere. They come to a ranch and build up a share, then they go to town and blow the sum, and first thing they realize they're tailgating at some other ranch. They have nothing to look forward to” (Of Mice and Men pp. 13-14). For the lonely and isolated figures that dot the American landscape, Steinbeck describes a loneliness worse than poverty. For Lennie and George, their inherent inability to be free is pure tragedy, as they both continue to make poor decisions. It is a lonely story about two men whose dreams exceed their potential, destined by their misery to never enjoy true companionship and happiness. Indeed, the novel remains thematically pure and carefully follows man's search for self and meaning. Steinbeck, through his friendship with Ed Ricketts, developed a philosophy of how man fits into the entire ecosystem. In The Log of the Sea of ​​Cortez, Steinbeck says: “[...] it is a strange thing that most of the feeling that we call religious, most of the mystical cry that is one of the most appreciated, used and desired reactions of our species, it is.