Summary
This illuminating volume presents a helpful literary guide to one of John Steinbeck’s greatest American novels. Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck’s dramatic tale of two migrant workers pursuing their dream of one day owning their own land turns tragic as Lennie, a good-hearted simpleton who doesn’t know his own strength, is pursued by a lynch mob.
Key features include:
- An introduction by renowned critic Harold Bloom that considers each work and its significance
- A brief biographical sketch that offers insight into John Steinbeck's life
- "The Story Behind the Story" details the circumstances surrounding the inception and development of the work
- Summaries with analysis review that explain key points of the work
- Selections from critical essays by leading scholars provide accessible explorations of the work
- An annotated bibliography that directs readers to additional materials on the subject and explains the importance of each.
Essential for any student of literature looking to enhance his or her reading experience, this volume is highly useful for test preparation, independent scholarship, or book group discussions.
Specifications
Annotated bibliographies. Index.
About the Author(s)
Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University. Educated at Cornell and Yale universities, he is the author of 30 books, including Shelley's Mythmaking (1959), The Visionary Company (1961), Blake's Apocalypse (1963), Yeats (1970), A Map of Misreading (1975), Kabbalah and Criticism (1975), Agon: Toward a Theory of Revisionism (1982), The American Religion (1992), The Western Canon (1994), Omens of Millennium: The Gnosis of Angels, Dreams, and Resurrection (1996), and Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998), a 1998 National Book Award finalist. The Anxiety of Influence (1973) sets forth Professor Bloom's provocative theory of the literary relationships between the great writers and their predecessors. His most recent books include How to Read and Why (2000), Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds (2002), Hamlet: Poem Unlimited (2003), Where Shall Wisdom Be Found? (2004), and Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine (2005). In addition, he is the author of hundreds of articles, reviews, and editorial introductions. In 1999, Professor Bloom received the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism. He has also received the International Prize of Catalonia, the Alfonso Reyes Prize of Mexico, and the Hans Christian Andersen Bicentennial Prize of Denmark.