People in his life. . .
How many times did John Steinbeck marry?
3
First wife, Carol Henning (1930-1940)
Second wife, Gwen Conger (1943-1946)
The third wife, Elaine Scott married in 1950
Steinbeck's died in 1968.
What is the term used for the region/area of the midwest in which a terrible drought dried all the crops to dry up in the 1930s?
What is the Dust Bowl?
This novella tells the story of two traveling partners struggling to find work in the time of the Dust Bowl/Great Depression.
It's also the book we're reading during class.
What is Of Mice and Men?
Steinbeck enrolled at this university to study literature.
Fun fact, he left the school before graduating.
Stanford
How many times did Steinbeck win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
1 --
the year was 1962.
1
Yes
According to the website Mental Floss, Toby destroyed John Steinbeck's first draft of his manuscript of Of Mice and Men. Who is Toby? How did Toby destroy the manuscript?
Toby was his dog who ate the manuscript.
Luckily, Steinbeck was an avid dog-lover, so he took the incident in stride and spent the next two months rewriting his work. "I was pretty mad but the poor little fellow may have been acting critically," Steinbeck wrote of the event.
California
This book was Steinbeck's first commercial success. His writing career took off after this book's publication.
Tortilla Flats
His mother, Olive Hamilton, instilled in him a love for language, reading, and writing.
What job did she have?
School teacher
In which decade did Steinbeck write his two masterpieces, Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath?
1930s
1937 - Of Mice and Men
1939 - Grapes of Wrath
2
Yes
Steinbeck had two sons. What are their names?
Hint - the first letter of one son is J; the second son's name begins with a T.
John and Thomas
Name of the president who was in office while the Dust Bowl era occurred.
Who is Franklin Roosevelt?
Steinbeck wrote the following: The Moon is Down and Burning Bright.
What genre (type) of literature are these creations?
Hint, the story we're going to read, Of Mice and Men, was first written in this genre format before Steinbeck wrote it as a novel.
What are plays?
Name two of Steinbeck's "odd jobs."
What is a tour guide, reporter, freelancer, caretaker, fishmonger, ranch hand etc.
What year did Steinbeck win the Nobel Prize for Literature?
1962
3
Yes
Steinbeck was greatly influenced by this contemporary author who wrote such great novels as Old Man and the Sea; For Whom the Bell Tolls, and A Farewell to Arms.
Ernest Hemingway
What was the first war that Steinbeck served as a correspondent for?
His injuries from this war include shrapnel wounds and some post-war psychological trauma.
World War II
What is John Steinbeck's first book?
Hint, the title includes measurement and precious metal.
Cup of Gold
The job Steinbeck held from 1926-1928. His parents gave him this job so he could focus on his writing
What is a house caretaker?
Steinbeck's first book to be made into a movie was Of Mice and Men.
How many times has the story been made into a movie?
3
The first time was in 1939 and starred Lon Chaney.
The second film was made in 1982.
The third film version starring Gary Sinise was made in 1992. (McMillan's favorite version, the one we will watch.)
4
Yes
In 1948, this good friend of Steinbeck died which sent the author into deep depression.
Ed Ricketts
In 1964 this US president awarded John Stenbeck the Presidential Medal of Freedom award.
Lyndon Johnson
Steinbeck considered this book his opus (masterpiece).
It's his longest book. In addition, the movie version of this story was the first movie role for 1950s icon James Dean.
East of Eden
(Notice the assonance as you say the title aloud)
Most language arts teachers consider Grapes of Wrath to be his masterpiece. Henry Fonda starred in the movie version.
Steinbeck helped write the screenplay for the movie Lifeboat.
Lifeboat was directed by this famous film director who also directed the movie Psycho.
Alfred Hitchcock
The number of books John Steinbeck wrote?
(Your guess can be + /- 3 and still earn credit.)
27 if the novellas aren't included in the total
31 if novellas are included in the total
(Any number within the range of 23-34 earns the points.)
5
Yes