John steinbeck The Red Pony

Biography John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, on February 27, 1902 , of German and Irish ancestry. His father, John Steinbeck, Sr., was the County Treasurer and his mother, Olive (Hamilton) Steinbeck, was a former school teacher. Young Steinbeck learned about ranch life as a teen during summers. Later, these experiences would help him create rich characters and beautiful descriptions of the land. After graduating from Salinas High School in 1919, Steinbeck attended Stanford University.

Biography , He left Stanford permanently in 1925 and moved to New York City to follow his dream of becoming a writer. His first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929, but was not well received. Steinbeck married his first wife, Carol Henning, in 1930. She was Steinbeck’s unofficial editor. Tortilla Flat (1935) marked the turning point in Steinbeck's literary career. It received the California Commonwealth Club's Gold Medal for best novel by a California author.

Biography Steinbeck continued writing, using a lot of research, personal experiences, and observations about people and their hopes, sorrows, and dreams. The Grapes of Wrath (1939) won the Pulitzer Prize. Steinbeck married two more times: To Gwyn Conger (1942) and Elaine Scott (1950). During World War II, Steinbeck was a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune. John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 “...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception” (Nobel Prize citation speech). . Steinbeck died December 20, 1968, in New York City and is survived by his son, Thomas.   

The Red Pony

The Red Pony The Red Pony is actually not a novel but four short stories written by Steinbeck in the 1930s and compiled as a single collection in 1945. The four stories do read like a novel as each share similar themes and characters. MAIN CHARACTERS: Jody Tiflin -  Jody is the protagonist of the novel. He is the only child of Carl and Ruth Tiflin. In the first story of the novel, he is about ten years old. He grows from story to story, but is still a young boy at the end of the book.

The Red Pony Billy Buck -  Billy Buck is the single hired hand on Carl Tiflin's farm. An experienced middle-aged man, he is very good with horses, and Carl trusts him deeply. Carl Tiflin  -  Carl Tiflin and Mrs. Tiflin are Jody's parents. Carl runs a tight ranch, but he is by no means rich. He can be stern and cold at times but is generally a good father.

The Red Pony Mrs. Tiflin -  Mrs. Tiflin usually stays in the house, cooking meals and keeping house for the men of the ranch. Grandfather  -  Mrs. Tiflin's father, Jody's Grandfather, is an old man who lives in Monterey and sometimes visits the Tiflin ranch. When he was a younger man, he led a wagon train across the Great Plains to California.

The Red Pony Gitano -  Gitano is an old paisano man; in other words, a man of Hispanic descent. He was born in a small adobe house that stood on what is now the Tiflin ranch. Gabilan  -  A horse, the red pony is a young colt. He belongs to Jody and is Jody's responsibility.

National Steinbeck Center—Salinas

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

The Red Pony Photos(Courtesy of The Steinbeck Institute)

1930s Great Depression Era Photos Unemployed men vying for jobs at the American Legion Employment Bureau in Los Angeles during the Great Depression.

1930s Hooverville Squatter's Camp, Route 70, Arkansas, October 1935 1930s Hooverville Squatter's Camp, Route 70, Arkansas, October 1935. Photographer: Ben Shahn

1930s Salinas Valley Lettuce Pickers Philipinos cutting lettuce, Salinas, California, 1935. Photographer: Dorothea Lange.

1930s Dust Bowl Farmer and sons, dust storm, Cimarron County, Oklahoma, 1936. Photographer: Arthur Rothstein.

1930s California Migrant Camp Migrant pea pickers camp in the rain 1930s California Migrant Camp Migrant pea pickers camp in the rain. California, February 1936. Photographer: Dorothea Lange.

1930s Migrant Family The photograph that has become known as "Migrant Mother" is one of a series of photographs that Dorothea Lange made in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California.

The Most Famous Photo of the DepressionDorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother," destitute in a pea picker's camp, because of the failure of the early pea crop.

The Red Pony: Themes Themes to Consider as we Read: Death The Cruelty of Nature Sacrifice Fallibility Disappointment Adventure Frustration Responsibility