About the Author

John Steinbeck is the author of The Pearl, but he had more to his life than what is seen on the surface.

John Steinbeck in his early years.
(http://pglibrary.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/steinbeck1.jpg)

This man was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902. He came from a German-Irish descent, and his childhood was not one of luxury- Steinbeck had a father drifting in and out of different jobs. Nevertheless, he enjoyed his three sisters and decided to become a writer at age fourteen. He then enrolled in Stanford University, mainly to please his parents, but dropped out in 1925.

During 1925 Steinbeck traveled to New York to try to become a writer. It didn't work out, and he came back to California. His first wife, Carol, provided support and a paycheck, so that Steinbeck could continue writing. In California, he worked as a manual laborer, then realizing the plight of the people experiencing the Great Depression. This was to become the inspiration to many of John's writings.

John Steinbeck's first novels weren't very popular, but Tortilla Flat got him the California Common Wealth Club's Gold Medal. He continued creating novels, and in 1930 he wrote Grapes of Wrath, his most critically acclaimed novel. After this, he continued writing many novels, The Pearl being one.

Steinbeck became a war correspondent in World War II, for the New York Herald Tribune. He won the Nobel Prize for his entertaining writing. John Steinbeck died on December 20, 1968, of heart disease.

Biography Credits:
"John Ernst Steinbeck Jr." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.
"John Steinbeck." John Steinbeck. FamousAuthors.org, n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.

Photo Credits:
"American Democracy Will Have Disappeared." Letters Of Note. TinyLeter, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.