John Steinbeck Articulates a Standard of Artistic Integrity and Independence: “No writer should go against his own instincts”
"He explains that he was asked to, but refused, to change the ending of "Grapes of Wrath".
The Grapes of Wrath is an iconic book in American literature. It depicts the Joads, an Oklahoma family forced by agricultural changes and the great Dust Bowl to move West to California looking for work and sustenance. It is a literary masterpiece, but also speaks to the hardships of an era, when...
The Grapes of Wrath is an iconic book in American literature. It depicts the Joads, an Oklahoma family forced by agricultural changes and the great Dust Bowl to move West to California looking for work and sustenance. It is a literary masterpiece, but also speaks to the hardships of an era, when that portion of the country went through poverty, drought, and famine. The author, John Steinbeck, aimed to capture that in his book, and its success has been enduring. The end of the book captures both hardship and hope, when the Joads' daughter selflessly nurses back to health a stranger the family encounters.
Pascal Covici was a book publisher who convinced John Steinbeck to publish "Grapes of Wrath" with his company, Viking Press. In January of 1939, just four months before the official publication date, Covici wrote to Steinbeck suggesting he change the ending of the book to perhaps introduce the stranger earlier or integrate him more into the book's fabric. Steinbeck responded, "I am sorry but I cannot change the ending… To build this stranger into the structure of the book would be to warp the whole meaning of the book. The fact that the Joads don't know him, don't care about him, have no ties to him – that is the emphasis."
Reflecting back on this incident, Steinbeck here identifies it as the moment when he had to choose whether to change his work against his better instincts, or stand fast to his artistic integrity and refuse, potentially angering his publisher. Writing to another author who underwent a similar event, Steinbeck gives advice and advocates a principle applicable to any creative intellect, pointing to the artistic instinct as what should be the guiding force.
Typed letter signed, no date, on his Sag Harbor, NY card stock (so between 1955-1968 when he lived there). "Dear Bill, Thank you for your letter. In my case, the publishers wanted me to change the ending of The Grapes of Wrath. They could not understand that the Joads should have no ties to the starved stranger. They wanted me to build it up. But no writer go should against his own instincts, so like you I flatly refused. Thank you again for writing. Yours very sincerely, John Steinbeck."
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