Where Is 'East of Eden’? The Politics of Steinbeck’s Literary Reputation in Slovenia (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Relevance of Ideology in Reading Steinbeck’s East of Eden in Slovenia
Zeitschrift Fur Anglistik Und Amerikanistik, 2016
The article discusses the popularity of John Steinbeck's novel East of Eden in Slovenia, as demonstrated by its presence in virtually every area of public life and the sheer number of Slovene publications. The study also shows that in past decades, when Slovenia was in the grip of communist rule, even this book by Steinbeck, which is characterized by its non-fidelity to the rules imposed by social realism-in contrast to works that largely conformed to the communist regime's ideology-could not escape an ideological burden.
Centennial reflections on Steinbeck's reputation in Slovenia
Acta Neophilologica
Since the late 1920s and his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929), there has been little consensus about John Steinbeck's work, and he has often been praised or dismissed for the wrong reasons. In the wake of the novels with the sweeping reach and social consciousness of In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and despite the prodigious and startlingly diverse output of his career, Steinbeck was generally regarded as one of America's foremost engaged artists. However, the truth is that be was as much a postmodernist and a modernist, as a traditional proletarian writer. And though be made a significant contribution to the perception of the problems of his time by writing with empathy, clarity and a strong sense of justice about the downtrodden, the exploited, and the defenseless, which contributed to his immense public success, Steinbeck's novels lose none of their richness and power when removed from their historical context. With the...
John Steinbeck and East European Critics and Publishers
2018
Because of his uncompromising exposure of social ills in his Depression-era novels, John Steinbeck, American Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1962, had a wide critical appeal in the communist part of divided post-war Europe. His works were manipulated by the communist propaganda and inadvertently served as political tools. This article examines the writer’s fortunes in Eastern Europe and shows how ideological forces fuelled literary discourses and affected the critical reception and circulation of his works.
UDK 821.111(73).03.09 Steinbeck J.=163.6 CENTENNIAL REFLECTIONS ON STEINBECK'S REPUTATION INSLOVENIA
2016
Since the late 1920s and his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929), there has been little consensus about John Steinbeck's work, and he has often been praised or dismissed for the wrong reasons. In the wake of the novels with the sweeping reach and social consciousness of In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and The Grapes of Wrath (1939), and despite the prodigious and startlingly diverse output of his career, Steinbeck was generally regarded as one of America's foremost engaged artists. However, the truth is that be was as much a postmodernist and a modernist, as a traditional proletarian writer. And though be made a significant contribution to the perception of the problems of his time by writing with empathy, clarity and a strong sense of justice about the downtrodden, the exploited, and the defenseless, which contributed to his immense public success, Steinbeck's novels lose none of their richness and power when removed from their historical context. With the...
APPROACHING AN AUTHORITARIAN LITERARY DISCOURSE: THE STALINIST PROCESS IN POLISH PRODUCTION NOVELS
This study explores the Stalinist process in Polish production novels. Produced from 1948 to 1955 through interaction between the political and literary discourses of Stalinism, these novels exemplify the extreme subjugation of literature to politics. This project argues that production literature served to substantiate the political raison d'être of Stalinism in Poland under the slogan of constructing socialism. The thesis examines the Stalinist search for a literary formula structuring the novels according to political demands. Our dominant sociological approach combines discourse analysis with socio-cultural, literary and contemporary feminist perspectives. This interdisciplinarity makes possible a comprehensive investigation of three production novels in relation to documentary and literary sources, both historical and contemporary. The interplay between the discourses is explored within the dynamics of Stalinism: the fictional representation is scrutinised for its cohesion, its compliance with political discourse, and its effectiveness in supporting Stalinism. Expanding the perspective of research, this study fills a gap in existing knowledge of the genre by exploring production literature as a politically determined process. The project is the first to interpret the Stalinist socio-political objective of building socialism as a new literary theme. As well as being governed by the building of socialism, these production novels also argue for it in an attempt to substantiate Stalinism. The study argues that the search for the literary representation of Stalinism developed in three phases: the introduction, reinforcement and sustaining of socialism. The evidence, as seen in the literary representation, shows inconsistencies between the political and literary discourses as well as historical and contemporary facts. This study, therefore, demonstrates that production literature exposes contradictions within Stalinism itself, which unmasks the fallacies and artificiality of the Stalinist socio-political venture in Poland. In so doing, this project not only contributes to an understanding of interrelationships between politics and literature under Stalinism, but also advances our knowledge of Polish Stalinism.
Abstrak Tujuan dari tulisan ini adalah untuk menganalisis sudut padang John Steinbeck tentang situasi pada tahun 1930an di Amerika. Metode yang digunakan adalah studi pustaka dengan mengobservasi buku karya John Steinbeck yaitu In Dubious Battle dan menganalisis buku tersebut dengan textual approach. Di samping itu penulis juga menggunakan sumber lain. Dalam novel ini John Steinbeck membahas tentang penderitaan orang Amerika khususnya pekerja, petani, dan orang-orang biasa. Menurut Steinbeck penderitaan mereka dikarenakan oleh faktor ekonomi dan sistem politik yang mengganggu mereka. Pemetik buah dalam In Dubious Battle melakukan pemogokan kerja untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang lebih baik yang dapat membantu kehidupan mereka. Dengan menganalisis novel In Dubious Battle penulis mengambil kesimpulan bahwa John Steinbeck telah berhasil menuangkan idenya melalui novel ini. John Steinbeck ingin menyampaikan kepada pembaca bahwa selama era depresi dan penderitaan masih terdapat nilai-nilai martabat. Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze John Steinbeck's point of view about the situation happened in the year of 1930 in Amerika. The method that the writer uses is library research to analyze John Steinbeck's book entitled In Dubious Battle by using textual approach. In addition, the writer has also used other sources. In this novel, John Steinbeck talked about the suffering of the American people especially the workers, the farmers, and other common people. According to Steinbeck their suffering was caused by the economic and political system which gnawed them. The fruit-picker In Dubious Battle launched their strike in order to get their better life. By analyzing In Dubious Battle, the writer made a conclusion that John Steinbeck was successful in conveying his ideas through this novel. He wanted to tell the readers that during the depressing and suffering eras there were still values of dignities.
DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM: A MARXIST ANALYSIS OF JOHN STEINBECK'S THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Vidyabharati International Interdisciplinary Research Journal , 2021
The present study focuses on reading the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, in a Marxist perspective. The researchers have emphasised much on Marxian concept of 'dialectic materialism'. Dialectic denotes the contradictory opinions in the debate. Here, the conflict between Capitalist and Proletariat is seen as dialectic. The researchers use Marx's prediction of future history where the society will become socialist society. The research takes John Steinbeck as a socialist writer and perceives the novel as a 'political propaganda'. The researchers have analysed the work with different aspects of Marxism and especially the exploitation of the working-class and their way of resisting the injustice. Here, we see characters, Jim Casey and Tom are highly radical and therefore revolutionary. The novel moves towards a selfless society with humanity. Therefore, the researchers attempt to see a pattern of history which moves from a revolutionary form to a socialist form and eventually ends with a reconstruction, which is 'communist' paradigm.