How did John Steinbeck research his fiction?

Answer 1

Steinbeck is a regionalistic writer, which means that he focuses on a particular region (often Salinas, California) and uses it to shape his narrative. In pieces like To a God Unknown and The Long Valley, the geographical location is less of a setting and more of a character in his work. In a sense, it is anthropomorphized (personified) as having its own personality and temperament.

In Of Mice and Men, however, the first and last chapters take place in the exact same place (among the brush near a pool). He does this to show the cycle of George and Lennie's life: they end up exactly where they started. Similarly, this also happens in The Wayward Bus.

Answer 2

Steinbeck was an avid reader and pulled many of his ideas and stylistic idiosyncrasies from earlier works, but noting this has his "resources" would be doing him a disservice. Steinbeck talked to people, and he listened intently to what they had to say. In researching the Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck was out in the fields talking to the displaced workers. Prior to writing Travels With Charley, Steinbeck spent several months on the road trekking across America and talking with its denizens. In preparing notes for the Sea of Cortez, Steinbeck waded in tide pools with Ed Ricketts. It is fair to say Steinbeck's resources were first-hand accounts.

Answer 3

Stienbeck's stories and characters were mostly tied back to his own life experiences. For example, his home of Monterrey Bay later was the setting for most of his fiction, "We were poor people with a hell of a lot of land which made us think we were rich people."

Answer 4

John Steinbeck conducted extensive research for his fiction by immersing himself in the environments and communities he wanted to write about. He traveled to various locations, interviewed locals, and observed their daily lives to develop authentic settings and characters for his novels. Steinbeck also relied on his own experiences and observations to accurately portray the social and economic conditions of the time.

Answer 5

he used Google.