John Steinbeck’s Shift In Political Views From The 1930s To 1940s

John Steinbeck was a great literary virtuoso in the 20th century America. He was believed to be in the prime of his literary career in the 1930s, during which he produced the labor trilogy which was acknowledged as the most significant work in his life. His masterpiece, The Grapes of Wrath published in 1939 aroused quite a stir in the nation and earned him unprecedented fame. He was constantly labeled as a proletarian writer or communist writer for his works in the 1930s that mirrored the poor living condition of the workers in America. Yet the 1940s witnessed the turn of Steinbeck’s focus from socially conscious novels to more placid and conservative ones. This paper sets out to examine the reasons for the changes taking place in Steinbeck’s works from the 1930s to the 1940s by the means of comparing the value orientation reflected in The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row, each representing his consummate work for the time.The thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter makes a brief introduction to John Steinbeck, his achievements in writing together with his literary works, especially The Grapes of Wrath and Cannery Row. Chapter two and chapter three share similar structure and discuss the value orientation in each work from the perspective of relationship with oneself, with others and with the society. The second chapter probes into the collectivist ideology in The Grapes of Wrath in the light of existence, others and choice. John Steinbeck speaks highly of the qualities of interdependence and solidarity among the migrant laborers in the novel. At the same time, he assails the avaricious and treacherous nature of the bourgeoisie. Steinbeck further reveals through the work that the poor, once cornered, would unleash invincible force to fight against the oppression of the bourgeoisie. Then the third chapter analyzes the individualist thoughts in Cannery Row in the light of the three aspects mentioned above. The writer lauds the spirit of freedom, independence as well as equality in Cannery Row. In addition, protection for privacy is encouraged and the individual right of free choice is glowingly exalted. The following chapter makes a summary on the basis of the previous chapters and account for the reasons for the change in his value orientation from collectivism to individualism, which, as the paper points out, is due to Steinbeck’s shift in political views from pro-communism to liberalism. The paper further ascribes the political shift of the writer to the leftist movement in "the Red Thirties," the fickle situations in America and the Soviet Union as well as the writer’s change in geography and socialization. The last chapter draws a conclusion and does the writer justice by defining him a patriot regardless of his political belief. No matter it was communism or liberalism that the author believed in, the ultimate goal of Steinbeck was to promote the fulfillment of individuals.