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John SteinbeckA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
In the opening pages of Travels With Charley, Steinbeck describes his lifelong desire to wander. When he was young, he assumed that maturity would cure him, but writing the book as a middle-aged man, he realizes that he’ll always be a “bum” and always long for the unpredictability and adventure of long trips to new places. He warns against trying too hard to control the trajectory of a journey. In his mind, meticulous planning is fruitless. Once travelers accept that they don’t have full control over what will happen on their trip, they can go with the flow and accept whatever the trip has to offer.
In this way, Steinbeck prefaces the trip that frames Travels With Charley. He realizes that he’s getting old, and though he has traveled the world, he knows little about his native US beyond the coastal areas where he has lived. As someone famed for writing about the many aspects of American life, he’s embarrassed that he knows so little about the reality of his chosen subject. Worse, he recently received a serious, age-related medical diagnosis. He realizes that he has a choice: He can continue to live life to the fullest or settle into becoming a sedentary old man.
By John Steinbeck
Cannery Row
Cannery Row
John Steinbeck
East of Eden
East of Eden
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Flight
Flight
John Steinbeck
In Dubious Battle
In Dubious Battle
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Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
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Sweet Thursday
Sweet Thursday
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The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights
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The Chrysanthemums
The Chrysanthemums
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The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
The Harvest Gypsies
The Harvest Gypsies: On the Road to the Grapes of Wrath
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The Log From The Sea of Cortez
The Log From The Sea of Cortez
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The Long Valley
The Long Valley
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The Moon Is Down
The Moon Is Down
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The Pearl
The Pearl
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The Red Pony
The Red Pony
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The Wayward Bus
The Wayward Bus
John Steinbeck
The Winter Of Our Discontent
The Winter Of Our Discontent
John Steinbeck
To a God Unknown
To a God Unknown
John Steinbeck
Tortilla Flat
Tortilla Flat
John Steinbeck
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