steinbeck quote

[unclebill]

I have been reading John Steinbeck's novel "Travels With Charley," and happened across this quote, on the topic of men and heroes:

"'Well, you try to root a few out. We need them. I swear to God the only people in this country with any guts seem to be Negroes. Mind you,' he said. 'I don't want to keep Negroes out of the hero business, but I'm damned if I want them to corner the market. You dig me up ten white, able-bodied Americans who aren't afraid to have a conviction, an idea, or an opinion in an unpopular field, and I'll have the major part of a standing army.'"

[unclebill]

i love all of his work
he is one of the very few that can make me get damp eyes.
his sentence structure truly is a work of art.

[richhodg66]

Haven't read Travels with Charley, but Of Mice and Men is one of my favorites. I liked Grapes of Wrath too, but it gets rather depressing and isn't as good as Of Mice and Men in my opinion.

[unclebill]

cannery row

.“Hazel grew up - did four years in grammar school, four years in reform school, and didn't learn a thing in either place. Reform schools are supposed to teach viciousness and criminality but Hazel didn't pay enough attention.”

[wallenba]

Tell me about the quotes George. Sorry couldn't resist.:-P

[gnoahhh]

"Travels with Charlie" is my favorite Steinbeck. I re-read it at least once a year, for the last 40 years. I even call my old Jimmy "Rosinante".

[Charley]

Never could stomach Steinbeck. Too far left for my taste.

[unclebill]

Never could stomach Steinbeck. Too far left for my taste.
no accounting for taste.
especially when it comes to art.

[Farmall]

Read a lot of Steinbeck, and loved it all!
After having gone through a version of Grapes Of Wrath, during the farm crisis of the 1980's, I found I identified quite a bit with that book.
Love the short story "Cannery Row" also.

[MtGun44]

Never could get into Steinbeck, either. Nothing about his politics, just didn't
think the stories were particularly interesting and the writing is OK, but never
grabbed my attention the way it apparently does others.

Bill

[MtGun44]

Never could get into Steinbeck, either. Nothing about his politics, just didn't
think the stories were particularly interesting and the writing is OK, but never
grabbed my attention the way it apparently does others.

For instance, I find the quotes used here as great examples to be entirely pedestrian
and uninteresting, no particular insights or compelling commentary to my way of thinking.

Some folks think Picasso is a genius, I think his stuff is absolute garbage. Tastes
will vary a lot on art.

I'd take any Robert Service poem over any Steinbeck any time. Here's the opening
of "The Shooting of Dan McGrew". Personally, he paints a vivid image in my mind
with his words.

"A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon;
The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a rag-time tune;
Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,
And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that’s known as Lou."

"When out of the night, which was fifty below, and into the din and glare,
There stumbled a miner fresh from the creeks, dog-dirty, and loaded for bear.
He looked like a man with a foot in the grave and scarcely the strength of a louse,
Yet he tilted a poke of dust on the bar, and he called for drinks for the house.
There was none could place the stranger’s face, though we searched ourselves for a clue;
But we drank his health, and the last to drink was Dangerous Dan McGrew. "

Here is a link to the whole thing if you don't know it:

http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/service_r_w/dan_mcgrew.html

I suspect many of the Steinbeck folks think Service is junk, too. No offense
to me - everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have no problem disagreeing
as long as we can avoid being disagreeable. :-)

Bill

[gandydancer]

I read a great deal. and i like all the ones mention here. if I start one and don't like it i don't finish it. I give it away. some one else may enjoy it. Do i criticize it? No. Because someone wrote the book. I am not smart enough to do so. gd

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I read "Travels With Charley" many decades ago and while I thought it was worth reading I didn't read into it any special insight. It was, to me at least a simple story of a man's road trip with his dog. Twain could have done a much better job. As for Picasso, that man could paint. No I am not talking about that **** that art critics swoon over. When he wanted to paint a beautiful picture , he could do it, So could Salvador Dali. I read a quote once attributed to Picasso. He was supposed to have said, "I have made a very good living selling junk to people who knew nothing about art". I too love Robert Service. My favorite is "The Cremation of Sam McGee".

[Charley]

Just toured a local gallery yesterday with some out of town relatives who wanted to go. Realism style is what I like and want to see. Four or five Picasso's on display. Two of his early works in a realist style were great, some of his later stuff looks like he was high when he painted. Same with Matisse, Rivera, and many of the other "greats". If I want to see a vision like that, I'll just get good and drunk, just about the same view.