Best John Steinbeck Quotes
John Steinbeck Quotes About Love, East of Eden, America, Grapes of Wrath, Goodreads, Writing, Friendship, Cannery Row, California, Funny, Life & Success! John Steinbeck, an excellent American writer, got the Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Grapes of Wrath” (1939), as well as the Nobel Prize for Literature. He wrote extensively about the economic hardships felt by the rural class during the Great Depression. In addition to his passion for the topic, he brought an authentic voice to the piece due to his previous job as a manual worker.
He was born on February 27, 1902, to a middle-class family of German and Irish descent in Salinas, California. He enrolled at Stanford University but dropped out before completing his degree. The year was 1925, and he set out for New York to establish himself as a novelist. This time, he became aware of the hardships and animosity the migrant working class had to experience throughout the Great Depression.
His early works, such as Cup of Gold (1929), The Pastures of Heaven (1932), and To a God Unknown (1933), did not have much popularity. As a result of receiving the California Commonwealth Club Gold Medal for Tortilla Flat (1935), Steinbeck gained some first exposure and notoriety. His best-known book, “The Grapes of Wrath,” was published by John Steinbeck in 1930. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck tells the tale of a tenant farming family who has been evicted from Oklahoma and is now trying to make life as migrant laborers in California. The narrative depicts the brutality of the agricultural economy.
On December 20, 1968, John Steinbeck passed away in New York City. He was known as “a monster of American letters” throughout the years. Many of his writings are regarded as masterpieces of Western literature, and he has a massive following around the globe.
Best John Steinbeck Quotes
1. “All great and precious things are lonely.” ― John Steinbeck
2. “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” ― John Steinbeck
3. “There’s more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.” ― John Steinbeck
4. “My imagination will get me a passport to hell one day.” ― John Steinbeck
5. “Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do a thing his cleverness forbids.” ― John Steinbeck
6. “A kind of light spread out from her. And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything. And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid anymore.” ― John Steinbeck
7. “People like you to be something, preferably what they are.” ― John Steinbeck
8. “It would be absurd if we did not understand both angels and devils since we invented them.” ― John Steinbeck
9. “Some men are friends with the whole world in their hearts, and there are others that hate themselves and spread their hatred around like butter on hot bread.” ― John Steinbeck
10. “Some people think it’s an insult to the glory of their sickness to get well.” ― John Steinbeck
11. “I eat stories like grapes.” ― John Steinbeck
12. “The weight of knowledge is too great for one mind to absorb.” ― John Steinbeck
13. “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.” ― John Steinbeck
14. “Socialism is just another form of religion, and thus delusional.” ― John Steinbeck
15. “I know now why confusion in government is not only tolerated but encouraged. I have learned. A confused people can make no clear demands.” ― John Steinbeck
16. “And this I must fight against any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual. This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for this is the one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system.” ― John Steinbeck
17. “I guess this is why I hate governments, all governments. It is always the rule, the fine print, carried out by fine-print men. There’s nothing to fight, no wall to hammer with frustrated fists.” ― John Steinbeck
18. “Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love.” ― John Steinbeck
19. “A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.” ― John Steinbeck
20. “I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.” ― John Steinbeck
21. “A woman holds dreadful power over a man who is in love with her, but she should realize that the quality and force of his love is the index of his potential contempt and hatred.” ― John Steinbeck
22. “I believe that love cannot be bought except with love.” ― John Steinbeck
23. “There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do.” ― John Steinbeck
24. “It was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials.” ― John Steinbeck
25. “How can we live without our lives? How will we know it’s us without our past?” ― John Steinbeck
