Abstracts

carried over in some instances t0 certain of his novels, particularly

In Dubioas Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. These ecological ideas
were considered t0 possess relationship with some of Wheelers
Laws of Human Nature.
Steinbecks conception of the unit animal, although somewhat
fanciful, appeared t0 have relationship with the collective or group
mind theory 0f LeBon, and t0 the explaination of crowd behavior by
McDougall and Brown.
The two most important sociological novels of Steinbeck, In
Duhious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath were compared with the
psychological concepts of ].F. Brown. The latter?s theory of social
psychology accepts the conclusions of organismic and field theory
psychology, and applies the results of Lewins topological psychol
ogy to the description of the social field. Browns concepts were
considered to offer a logical explanation for many of Steinbecks
ideas about economic depression, industrial conflict, family relation
ships, and individual personality.
]ohn Steinbeck evidences a decided liking to depict characters
of varying degrees of abnormality. This continues from his earliest
writings to his latest. Although the characters are not studied as case
histories with inquiry into causes and treatments, the author indi
cates that he understands the psychological behavior underlying
the portrayals. In some instances the behavior appears explainable
in terms of both Freudian and field theoiy psychology.
Finally, the results of the study add weight to the conviction
that ]ohn Steinbeck is a careful planner of his work. Much of this
planning can be attributed to his scientific background.
To date, there have been few critical studies made of ]ohn
Steinbeck. The conclusions of the study should aid in the formation
of a clearer picture of the author. The psychological concepts identi
fied with his writings should help in an understanding of many of
the characters and situations in his books.
The sociologists agree that there are social classes in American
society. Material prosperity seems to be the crucial source of value
in American society, but this has different manifestations in the
social class systems. The sociological studies were also used for
information about the sources of values of youngsters.
Dos Passos fiction reveals that he portrays the family as the
origin of values, but these can be negative or positive, depending
upon the kind of parental love the child experiences. The concept
of community does not emerge in his fiction; he dramatizes society
as an important influence on his youthful characters, but the in
fluence of a particular segment of society is harmful. School and

church fail as sources of moral and spiritual values. Books and

na ture, however, are important sources.
In Hemingways fiction, society is a constant threat to the
youngsters. The father, not the family, is a chief source of values;
and nature is the strongest.
Steinbecl<s fiction reveals that he sees the family as a locus of
values, but both the school and the communitywhen under the
domination of teleological charactersharm, rather than help, chil
dren. Religion, not church, exists in his fiction, but this religion
blends with the most important source of values for his young
charactersnature.
1961 Marks, Lester].
A Study of Thematic Continuity in the Novels of ]ohn Steinbeck."
Syracuse University, 1961. Director: David Owen.
This dissertation is concerned with the thematic design of the
novels of ]ohn Steinbeck. Since most critical work on Steinbeck has
tended to stress his wide variety of techniques and subject matter,
the present study becomes particularly important in illustrating how
a system of ideas exists beneath the surface diversities. These ideas
may be seen as three thematic patterns that recur consistently,
though with unequal emphasis, throughout Steinbecks novels.
The first of these patterns indicates that man is a religious
creature and that each man creates a god-head to satisfy his par
ticular religious need. The second pattern suggests that mankind
may also be viewed biologically, as a group animal" composed of
individuals (cells) but having a will and intelligence of its own,
distinct from any one of its parts. However, outside the group is
another kind of individual, analogous to the biologist himself, who,
in the role of Steinbecks constant hero, observes and comments
upon the animal. Finally in the thematic scheme is the non
teleological concept that man lives without knowledge of the cause
of his existence but that, nevertheless, the very mystery of life spurs
his search for human values.
These themes have been considered not only as they embody
Steinbecks social, religious, and scientific ideas, but also as they
indicate his artistic vision and methodas they are esthetically
resolved in his novels. For example, the biologisthero of Steinbecks
novels, who attempts to perceive order and value in the complex
and perhaps chaotic activities of the human animal, is actually
the symbolic manifestation of the artist in the act of creation. And
the artist, Steinbeck has in the same way taken his separate ideas
mans religious propensity, man the animal, and rational man in

nonrational nature~and has resolved them through his creative

experience.
1961 Taylor, Horace P., ]r.
The Biological Naturalism of]ohn Steinbeck.
Louisiana State University, 1961. Director: Donald E. Stanford.
The seeds of Steinbecks biological naturalism were sown in his
childhood in his romantic sense of wonder over the panorama of
nature and germinated in his teens with his manysided' outdoors life
and omnivorous reading. These seeds, however, remained largely
dormant until Steinbecks meeting with the late Edward F. Ricketts,
a marine biologist, who became not only Steinbecks closest friend
but also the greatest single influence on his fiction. For it was the
friendship of Ricketts and the intellectual stimulus of his profession
that helped Steinbeck to develop his biological view of life and it
is important to note that the period of its strongest influence on
Steinbecks fiction curiously coincides with the time of Steinbecks
friendship with Ricketts, 1930-1948.
In four distinct ways this biological naturalism can be shown
to motivate Steinbecks fiction: in ideology, characterization, lan
guage, and structure. In ideology Steinbecks biological naturalism
is the key to his thought; it is the indicator of mans nature, function,
and purpose; the source of Steinbecks value judgments, and the
explanation of mans history. Biological naturalism plays an im
portant role in Steinbecks handling of character in its confining
his people largely to a plane of sensation; psychological nuances,
the usual character-developing tool of most novelists, seem largely
to be absent in the determination of Steinbecks characters. Perhaps
the strongest linguistic evidence of the role biological naturalism
plays in Steinbecks work lies in his use of analogy which is almost
always biological in reference, relating man to animal activities.
In three structural relationships, theme, recurrent symbols, and In three structural relationships,
theme, recurrent symbols, and
plot Steinbecks biological naturalism has made strong inroads.
Steinbecks major themes owe much to his naturalism as do his
recurrent symbols. The biological influence on Steinbecks plots is
best seen in his nature vignettes or animal fables which appear to
relate human activity to the natural processes of the universe in
an ecological fashion.
The most important conclusion to be drawn from Steinbecks
biological naturalism is the limitation it places upon his art. It limits
his definition of man largely to a plane of sensation. Thus, most of
mans faculties, if not taken from him or else ignored, are placed
in jeopardy. Furthermore, by confining man severely, Steinbeck
effectively reduces the significance of mans greatest achievements,

technology, and civilization. Indeed, Steinbeck seems to regard

civilization as more harmful than beneficial to man since it generally
circumscribes mans biological fulfillment by limiting his adapt
ability. Finally, Steinbecks biological naturalism largely rules out
any effective code of morals or ethics for man that would restrict
his instinctive life, for only desire and need are normally permitted
in Steinbecks naturalistic ethic.
Human Emotion and the Early Novels of ]ohn Steinbeck.
The University ofTexas, 1966. Director: William Handy.
Two of the most common assertions made about the fiction of
]ohn Steinbeck are that it (1) suffers from sentimentalism and (2) is
strengthened by its authors compassion. That is, one critic con
demns Steinbeck for his sentimentalism while another praises Stein
beck for his sympathy or compassion. In relatively few instances
does a critic attempt to be veiy specific as to what he means by
the terms sentimentalism and compassion or what specific de
tails of plot, setting, characterization, and so forth seem to him
sentimental or compassionate.
Yet sentimentalism is one of the most common charges against
Steinbecks fiction, and is often considered to be its chief fault.
1966 Wallis, Prentiss B., jr.
]ohn Steinbeck: The Symbolic F amily.
The University ofKansas, 1966. Director: Edward Grier.
The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate the under
lying unity in Steinbecks fiction. The basic procedure involves an
examination of the symbolism in Steinbecks early fiction and of
the development of that symbolism throughout his writing. Such
an analysis demonstrates how Steinbeck, in using the same basic
symbolic motifs, is preoccupied with certain basic themes which
inform all ofhis fiction.
The primary material for this study consists of Steinbecks
novels and short stories. Chapter I defines and classifies Steinbecks
basic symbolic pattem; this pattem consists of a grouping of char
acters which is referred to as a symbolic family. This initial chapter
introduces the symbolic family by examining the prototypes which
appear in the early novel, To a God Unknown, and by briefly out-
lining their significant reappearance throughout Steinbecks fiction.
Chapter II_reveals that Steinbecks symbolic family embodies ideas
remarkably similar to the ideas expressed by D. H. Lawrence in Fantasrkz of the
Unconscious and in much of Lawrences fiction.

This discussion of Lawrence does not assert his influence upon

Steinbeck, but it is concerned with using Lawrences parallel ideas
to elucidate the basic ideas involved in Steinbecks symbolism.
Steinbeck, as well as Lawrence, is concerned that modem man
emphasizes too much the spiritual and the intellectual at the ex
pense of deeper, more natural instincts. The next four chapters
demonstrate how Steinbeck incamates extremes of temperament
and behavior into a symbolic group and how the struggle for family
survival gives rise to many significant values. The tensions within
the families continue to have universal significance, symbolizing
the struggle of the individual and of mankind to attain psycho
logical, spiritual, and social sanity.
Chapter VII discusses how Steinbecks new emphasis upon
naturalistic determinism affects the symbolic pattern of In Dubious
Battle and Of M ice and Men. This analysis reveals that even though
Steinbecks philosophy is modified by his new scientific conceptions,
his basic values remain unchanged and receive basically the same
symbolic expression as in the preceding novels. Chapter VIII de
scribes how Steinbeck incorporates all of his previous themes into
the symbolic ]oad family in The Grapes of Wrath. This chapter also
discusses Steinbecks return to transcendental optimism and how he intertwines this transcendental theme
with his new scientific
preoccupations.
The remaining chapters are largely concerned with Steinbecks
search for new settings in which to portray his basic ideas. It is
apparent that Steinbecks symbolic family rarely receives effective
presentation when he abandons the American Western landscape.
For it is with this setting that Steinbeck most vividly portrays mans
mystical bond with his fellow man and with the universe. Only when
he uses the tide pool as informing metaphor in Cannery Row does
he approach the effectiveness of his previous fiction. His weakest
fiction, such as The Moon is Down and Burning Bright, presents
symbolic families in settings which are not suited to his purposes.
As a result, his symbolism becomes clumsy and obtrusive. In spite
of his stylistic decline, however, the same basic motifs appear in
the family. Chapter XV, the final chapter, analyzes The Winter of
Our Discontent, illustrating how Steinbecks urban protagonist
struggles to preserve the unity of his symbolic family in a com
mercial America which has lost contact with the values of its tradi
tion. Thus the study ends with the demonstration of how the last
family in Steinbecks fiction recapitulates the symbolic struggles of
the preceding families, as all attempt to achieve unity not only

among themselves but also with the larger family of mankind and with the universe.
with the universe.
1967 Smith, Donald Boone.
The Decline in ]ohn Steinbecks Critical Reputation Since World
War II: An Analysis and Evaluation of Recent Critical Practices
with a Suggested Revision]
University of New Mexico, 1967. Director: E. VV. Tedlock, ]r.
As the major result of the foregoing, the study reveals that there
is no critical consensusor near consensusconcerning the general
quality of Steinbecks art. Moreover, regarding any given aspect
or example of his fiction, his critics are shown to nearly always
divide into two opposing groups, approximately equal in numbers
and caliber, one of which is favorable in its estimate while the other
is not. Some of these critics are found to either consistently approve
or consistently disapprove of Steinbecks work in general, while
still others are seen to vary in their reactions as they pass from one
aspect or example to another. Few Steinbeck critics are found to
ever be neutral in their attitude toward any given feature of his
work.
1968 Satyanarayana, M. R.
The Element of Compassion in the Works of]ohn Steinbeck.
Osmania University, India, 1968. Director: William Mulder.
Steinbeck criticism has centered around his preoccupation with
biology as Edmund Wilson began to point out in 1940. Lately,
however, it has confined itself to Steinbecks departure from his
earlier interests and the gradual decline of his literaiy merit. While
it is true that such critics as Lewis Cannet, joseph Heniy ]ackson,
Leo Gurko, and Samuel Levenson have treated the compassion of
Steinbeck as a continuous and unifying element in his works, no
thorough study ofhis works from this point of view has been made.
Steinbecks writings cover a period of four decades comprising
The Great Depression, the Second World War, and the years after
it. He has dealt with various contemporary problemssocial, econo
mic and political. _He has been identified with the Communists and
the Fascists in the past, and in recent days dismissed as a bourgeois.
This dissertation attempts to show that whatever shifts _and changes
might be noticed in Steinbecks writings the predominant feature

is the element of compassion that dominates his works.

After tracing the springs of compassion in Steinbecks early
youth in the first chapter, the dissertation examines in the next two
chapters his concern for the unhappy men and women of rural
Califomia. The Pastures of Heaven and The Long Valley are discussed here with special reference to
the authors treatment of the
mentally retarded, the deluded innocent, and the lonely. The fourth
chapter surveys almost all the novels and short stories of Steinbeck
from the point of view of the recurring theme of dream and dis
enchantment. His works of the Thirties are given special attention
in this survey. The fifth chapter treats Steinbecks theories of the
group-man and the non-teleological point of view, and their rela
tion to the subject of compassion. Steinbeck takes stock of his
literary theory and practice, as it were, in The Log From the Sea of
Cortez. This chapter further describes how during the Second
World War and the years immediately following Steinbeck gradu
ally moved away from his non-teleological point of view towards
a moral point of view and how the emphasis shifts from the group
man to the individual. The sixth chapter deals with the two novels
East of Eden and The Winter of Our Discontent which are based
entirely on the moral point of view. The concluding chapter de
scribes Steinbecks rediscovery of America and Americans, his dis
tress over violence and racial hatred, and his concern for the lack
of ethical values. Yet he does not despair of man. At the heart of all
his writings there is a concern and compassion for man.
1969 Bleeker, Cary
Setting and Animal Tropes in the Fiction of]ohn Steinbeck.
University of Nebraska, 1969. Director: ]ames L. Roberts.
The many scenic vignettes and the recurrent references to
animals and animal figures in Steinbecks fiction prompted early
critics to argue that Steinbeck was more concerned about portraying
the local flora and fauna than he was about creating human situa
tions and credible characters. Recent critics, however, have begun
to show that setting and animals function metaphorically to develop
themes and to delineate complex characters.
A textual study of Steinbecks fiction reveals that setting, ani
mals, and animal tropes function artistically in a number of short
stories and novelsThe Chrysanthemums, The White Quail,
Flight, The Snake, Saint Katy the Virgin, The Red Pony, Of
Mice and M eri, The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl, Cannery Row, The
Winter of Our Discontentin helping (1) to depict characters and
interpersonal relationships, (2) to develop themes and sub-motifs,
(3) to intensify the emotional impact of a situation, and (4) to con

tribute toward the aesthetic unity of Steinbecks fiction.

Steinbecks narrator, unlike Henry ]ames, seldom enters the
minds of the characters. He used plants, animals, and atmospheric
conditions as objective correlatives to display the characters
emotions, moods, and thoughts. The fog in The Ch1ysanthemums mirrors the tedium, isolation, and
sterility of Elisa Allans world,
and the large, white and yellow flowers externalize her desire for
supernal fruition. A snake in Dr. Phillips laboratory serves as a
vehicle to demonstrate his own irrational self. And periodic allusions
to changes in seasons in The Winter of Our Discontent objectify
the moral transformation going on within Ethan Hawleys mind.
Animal metaphors and analogues are also used to enlarge rather
than to diminish mans dimensions. In The Grapes of Wrath, nu
merous animal tropes show that even though man is driven to an
animal existence he never stops struggling to regain his human
dignity. And in Cannery Row, the narrator uses the commensal unit
found in sea-life as a natural framework in which he can celebrate
the virtues and nobility of men who live close to nature.
Setting and animal activities also assist in developing and sus
taining themes. The spring landscape and the birth of Black Demon
in The Red Pony underline ]odys birth into reality. The death of
Candys dog punctuates the theme of loneliness in Of M ice and Men.
And the ubiquitous dust and predatory movements of domestic animals in The Grapes of Wrath symbolize
the end of the family
sized farm in Oklahoma.
Then, too, setting intensifies the emotional impact of certain
situations but at the same time modulates the effect so that the
response is somewhere between sentiment and hysteria. The disas
trous flood in The Grapes of Wrath underscores the desperate plight
of the Okies; yet the momentum of the flowing river implies that
the ]oads will persevere, and thus the emotional reaction is one
of triumph.
Finally, setting and animal tropes help unify Steinbecks fiction.
Natural events foreshadow comparable activities on the human
level. Recurrent animal images tie the materials together. Physical
features often form a natural framework for the action, and the
symmetrical arrangement of scenic details in The Pearl and Of
Mice and Men gives them the rhythmic quality of a symphony.

Thus, an examination of Steinbecks use of setting and animal tropes

demonstrates that by these devices he integrates and deepens the
meanings in several of his most successful works.
Recent Steinbeck Studies in the United States
Tetsumaro Hayashi
The literary reputation of john Steinbeck, the 1962 Nobel Prize
winner, has begun to rise steadily, especially since his death in
1968. Such leading critics as Peter Lisca, Warren French, and joseph
F ontenrose have continued to enlighten serious Steinbeck students.
Liscas The Wide World ofjohn Steinbeck (1958) was instrumental
in initiating this movement. The john Steinbeck Society has been
publishing the Steinbeck Quarterly since 1968 and recently initiated
the Steinbeck Monograph Series under Hayashis editorship. The
Steinbeck Quarterly, published under the joint sponsorship of Bal]
State University and the john Steinbeck Society, has discovered
promising young scholars such as Richard Astro, Robert DeMott,
john Ditsky (Canada), and others. Since May 1969, when the Uni
versity of Connecticut sponsored the first Steinbeck Conference
based on the theme of The Grapes of Wrath and its impact on the
1930s, even further interest has been generated. Richard Astro, who
has recently joined the editorial staff of the Steinbeck Quarterly
as Assistant Editor, successfully directed the 1970 Steinbeck Con
ference at Oregon State University. Both Astro and Hayashi have
edited the proceedings entitled S teinbeck: The Man and His Work,
which was published by Oregon State University Press early in
The original Steinbeck Society was created in 1966 by Preston
Beyer and Hayashi and grew to be a 53-member society by 1969.
By june 1971 it listed more than 260 members in nine countries
(U.S.A., Canada, japan, England, Australia, India, Korea, Malaysia,
and Rumania) and forty-one states. The Steinbeck Quarterly, the
four-yearold journal of the Society, is now reaching nineteen coun
tries. The Society sends its publication to twenty-three U.S.I.S.
sponsored libraries abroad and nine Ball State University European
Centers as its guest institutions.
The Society has many other reasons to be proud of its accom
plishments. It not only has such prominent Steinbeck scholars as
Peter Lisca, joseph Fontenrose, and others as active members, but
has as contributing members such noted Steinbeck collectors as
Preston Beyer and Roy S. Simmonds (England). It is privileged to
have Warren French, one of the leading scholars in American litera
ture, author and editor of several books on Steinbeck and related

subjects, as President of the Society and Senior Editorial Advisor.

Its members include representatives of all walks of life such as
librarians, book collectors, book sellers, poets, journalists, lawyers,
business executives, government officials, college professors, high
school teachers, and students. The institutional memberships in clude most of the outstanding university
and public libraries at
home and abroad.
While the most recent trends in Steinbeck studies in the United
States are rather difficult to assess, as Editor of the Steinbeck Quar
terly and Director of the john Steinbeck Society, I am in a position
to recognize some of the significant directions in which Steinbeck
critics are currently moving. In my direct contact with them I have
observed the following trends: (1) a conscious effort to treat more
specific and narrower subjects in Steinbeck research; (2) a growing
interest in comparative studies between Steinbeck and other authors
such as Faulkner, Hemingway, D.H. Lawrence, etc.; (3) an en-
thusiastic research on films and filmscripts based on Steinbecks
work} (4) a steady ef`fort to explore Steinbecks minor works,
including his short stories and articles originally published in vari-
ous magazines and newspapers; (5) an attempt to collect Steinbecks
unpublished manuscripts and letters by Robert DeMott and Lester
Marks of Ohio University;2 (6) a serious interest in another com
parative study between two works such as a comparison between
The Grapes of Wrath and In Dubious Battle; Cannery Row and
Sweet Thursday; and The Winter of Our Discontent and America
and Americans; (7) projects to write biographies of Steinbeck by
such scholars as Richard Astro, jackson Benson, and others;3 (8) a belated critical interest in Ed Ricketts,
Steinbecks artistic
conscience, whose influence upon Steinbeck has long been recog
nized but not yet fully assessed; (9) a recent interest in source
studies of Steinbecks fiction; and finally (10) a special interest in
Steinbecks political views on the war in Viet Nam.
Although Steinbeck has long suffered from both unkind criti
cism and equally undeserving neglect from academic circles, his
reputation has begun to rise in recent years. Serious scholars who
are contributing to the Steinbeck Quarterly and other journals such
as PMLA, American Literature, Modern Fiction Studies, and Twen
tieth Century Literature now have a sense of aesthetic distance, an
advantage which enables them to reassess accurately Steinbecks
philosophy of life, his image of man, and his artistic contribution
to American literature. The following book-length studies may
serve as a basic guide to Steinbecks major works in either Viking,
Bantam, or Random House editions.

1In February, 1971, San jose State College sponsored the Steinbeck Film
Festival with Martha Cox as Director and Peter Lisca as Consultant. In addition
Professor Lisca, who helped Don Wrye do a short film on Steinbeck for the
U.S.I.S., is completing a film for Lee Mendelson Productions to be called Fo1ty
Years of American Life as Seen in the Works of john Steinbeck, which will
be a television special.
2Robert DeMott and Lester Marks, both of Ohio University, are com
piling an edition 0fSteinbecks correspondence.
3Richard Astro of Oregon State University and jackson Benson of San
Diego State College are preparing full-length biographies ofSteinbeck.
To conclude, I should like to share with you wise advice
Warren French has issued: One ofthe primaiy duties ofthe []ohn
Steinbeck] Society is to add new dimensions to our understanding
of ]ohn Steinbeck by encouraging the study of the distinction be- d
tween these two Steinbecks [the involved journalist and the e
tached artist] and reaflirming in the two distinct areas of American
cultural studies and fictional aesthetics the separate, yet ultimately
related importance of both.