There is evidence in Steinbeck's works of anti-intellectualism which is expressed by a somewhat maudlin handling of human emotions,and by a doggedly persistent attack on various intellectual types. This attitude is further revealed in Steinbeck's personal life by his abstention from any literary coteries or universities and his adamant refusal to discuss his life and works or offer his considerable talent to any institution of higher learning.

This thesis seeks to refute by close examination of distaff character the claims that John Steinbeck is a misogynist who rejects women from the true human society and also that his characters are rudimentary, almost animal-like in nature. Although he places emphasis on masculine comradeship, he has created many subtly drawn, complex women characters who play necessary and often noble roles. This thesis will consider most of the major women characters in Steinbeck's novels and his two books of short stories and will include minor characters who uniquely illustrate important points.

This thesis is concerned with nature as a source for much of the symbolism and imagery in the novels and short stories of John Steinbeck. The symbolism is examined from the perspective of the philosophy governing Steinbeck's artistic use of nature: that life is a unity and that man is one with nature.

The primary purpose of this study is to show that John Steinbeck's concern with alienation is pervasive and consistent from the beginning of his career as a writer until the end. The pervasiveness of his concern with alienation is demonstrated by examining his two early collections of short stories and by showing how alienated characters in these stories resemble alienated characters in all the author's major works of fiction. Since much confusion surrounds the meaning of the word "alienation," it is necessary to begin with a definition of "alienation" as it is used to discuss Steinbeck. An alienated character in Steinbeck's fiction is a person who is separated from another person, group of persons, society, or the person's ideal self. This study is concerned with characters who create their own alienation rather than with those who are merely helpless victims.

Diss.--Mainz.

Steinbeck's use of allegory in East of Eden has caused much critical resistance, but recent work in allegory theory offers ways of rereading the novel that help mediate much of this criticism. The approach to allegory forwarded here, which allows for multiple bodies of referents and fluidity between text and referents, empowers readers with greater autonomy and individual authorship. In the case of East of Eden such an approach moves the novel beyond a simple retelling of the Cain-Abel narrative to establish a flexible mythic framework for use in an ever-changing world. By challenging dualistic thinking, narrow vision, and cultural inheritance, this framework seeks to order the world in ways that allow for a greater range of humanity and agency. A consideration of early 1950s America demonstrates the relevance of such a framework in a given historical moment.

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