Editing John Steinbeck (section)

==Death and legacy==
[[File:SteinbeckGrave.jpg|thumb|The Steinbeck family graves in the Hamilton plot at the Salinas Cemetery]]
John Steinbeck died in New York City, where his writing career had begun, on December 20, 1968, during the [[Hong Kong flu|1968 flu pandemic]] of [[heart disease]] and [[congestive heart failure]]. He was 66, and had been a lifelong smoker. An autopsy showed nearly complete [[Stenosis|occlusion]] of the [[Aorta|main coronary arteries]].<ref name="Bio" />

In accordance with his wishes, his body was cremated, and interred on March 4, 1969<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20011213225021/http://www.steinbeck.org/About.html Burial in timeline at this site, taken from "Steinbeck: A Life in Letters"]. Steinbeck.org. Retrieved on August 26, 2011.</ref> at the Hamilton family gravesite in Salinas, with those of his parents and maternal grandparents. His third wife, Elaine, was buried in the plot in 2004. He had written to his doctor that he felt deeply "in his flesh" that he would not survive his physical death, and that the biological end of his life was the final end to it.<ref name="Journey"/>

Steinbeck's incomplete novel based on the [[King Arthur]] legends of Malory and others, ''[[The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights]]'', was  published in 1976.

Many of Steinbeck's works are required reading in American high schools. In England, ''Of Mice and Men'' was one of the key texts used by the examining body [[Assessment and Qualifications Alliance|AQA]] for its [[English Literature]] [[GCSE]] until its removal from the [[General Certificate of Secondary Education#2010s reforms|reformed]] specification that was first examined in June 2018. Following concerns about racist language used in the book, it was also removed from the English Literature GCSE syllabus in Wales, along with ''[[To Kill A Mockingbird]],'' by [[WJEC (exam board)|WJEC]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-22 |title=Of Mice and Men: Classic US novel taken off GCSE course in Wales |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cge922jn1z8o |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> It continues to be studied in Northern Ireland, although calls have also been made for its removal there.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-05-25 |title=Call to remove Of Mice and Men from GCSE course |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-65700288 |access-date=2025-01-14 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> A study by the Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature in the United States found that ''Of Mice and Men'' was one of the ten most frequently read books in public high schools.<ref>[http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9214/book.htm Books taught in Schools] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012164439/http://ericdigests.org/pre-9214/book.htm |date=October 12, 2007 }}, Center for the Learning and Teaching of Literature. Retrieved 2007.</ref> Steinbeck's works have also been banned. ''The Grapes of Wrath'' was [[banned books|banned]] in August 1939 by the [[Kern County]] [[Board of Supervisors]] from the county's publicly funded schools and libraries.<ref name=ban/> It was burned in Salinas on two occasions.<ref name="Bio3" /><ref>[http://www.steinbeck.org/Grapes.html The Grapes of Wrath Burnt in Salinas] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029034443/http://www.steinbeck.org/Grapes.html |date=October 29, 2007 }}, National Steinbeck Centre. Retrieved 2007.</ref> In 2003, a school board in [[Mississippi]] banned it on the grounds of profanity.<ref>[http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2003/january2003/vietnambooks.cfm Steinbecks work banned in Mississippi 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018032239/http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2003/january2003/vietnambooks.cfm |date=October 18, 2007 }}, American Library Association. Retrieved 2007.</ref> According to the [[American Library Association]], Steinbeck was one of the ten most frequently banned authors from 1990 to 2004, with ''Of Mice and Men'' ranking sixth out of 100 such books in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm |title=Steinbeck 10 most banned list |access-date=October 5, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040715050633/http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/challengedbanned/challengedbanned.htm |archive-date=July 15, 2004 }}, American Library Association.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.cfm |title=100 Most Frequently banned books in the U.S. |access-date=July 22, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323063845/http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.cfm |archive-date=March 23, 2008 }}, American Library Association. Retrieved 2007.</ref>

===Literary influences===
Steinbeck grew up in California's Salinas Valley, a culturally diverse place with a rich migratory and immigrant history. This upbringing imparted a regionalistic flavor to his writing, giving many of his works a distinct [[sense of place]].<ref name="Biography" /><ref name="Bio" />
Salinas, Monterey and parts of the [[San Joaquin Valley]] were the setting for many of his stories. The area is now sometimes referred to as "Steinbeck Country".<ref name="Journey" /> Most of his early work dealt with subjects familiar to him from his formative years. An exception was his first novel, ''[[Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, With Occasional Reference to History|Cup of Gold]]'', which concerns the pirate/privateer [[Henry Morgan]], whose adventures had captured Steinbeck's imagination as a child.

In his subsequent novels, Steinbeck found a more authentic voice by drawing upon direct memories of his life in California. His childhood friend, [[Max Wagner]], a brother of Jack Wagner and who later became a film actor, served as inspiration for ''The Red Pony''. Later he used actual American conditions and events in the first half of the 20th century, which he had experienced first-hand as a reporter. Steinbeck often populated his stories with struggling characters; his works examined the lives of the working class and [[migrant worker]]s during the [[Dust Bowl]] and the [[Great Depression]].

His later work reflected his wide range of interests, including [[marine biology]], politics, religion, history and [[mythology]]. One of his last published works was ''[[Travels with Charley]]'', a [[Travel literature|travelogue]] of a [[road trip]] he took in 1960 to rediscover America.

===Commemoration===
[[File:MontereyCanneryRow.jpg|thumb|[[Cannery Row]] in Monterey]]
[[File:NationalSteinbeckCentre.jpg|thumb|[[National Steinbeck Center]] in [[Salinas, California]]]]
[[File:John Steinbeck Highway Sign.jpg|thumb|right|U.S. Route 101 is signed as the John Steinbeck Highway through Salinas.]]
Steinbeck's [[John Steinbeck House (Salinas, California)|boyhood home]], a turreted [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] building in downtown Salinas, has been preserved and restored by the Valley Guild, a nonprofit organization. Fixed menu lunches are served Monday through Saturday, and the house is open for [[Walking tour|tours]] on Sunday afternoons during the summer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infopoint.com/mry/orgs/steinbeck/ |title=John Steinbeck's Home and Birthplace |access-date=October 3, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061016102852/http://www.infopoint.com/mry/orgs/steinbeck/ |archive-date=October 16, 2006 }}, Information Point. Retrieved 2007.</ref>

The [[National Steinbeck Center]] is two blocks away at 1 [[Main Street]]. Dana Gioia (chair of the [[National Endowment for the Arts]]) told an audience at the center, "This is really the best modern literary shrine in the country, and I've seen them all."{{citation needed|date=December 2023}} Its "Steinbeckiana" includes "Rocinante", the camper-truck in which Steinbeck made the cross-country trip described in ''Travels with Charley''.

His father's cottage on Eleventh Street in Pacific Grove, where Steinbeck wrote some of his earliest books, also survives.<ref name="Journey" />

In Monterey, [[Pacific Biological Laboratories|Ed Ricketts's laboratory]] survives (though it is not yet open to the public), and at the corner that Steinbeck describes in ''[[Cannery Row (novel)|Cannery Row]]'', also the store that once belonged to Lee Chong and the adjacent vacant lot frequented by the hoboes of Cannery Row. The site of the Hovden [[Sardine]] Cannery next to Doc's laboratory is now occupied by the [[Monterey Bay Aquarium]]. In 1958, the street that Steinbeck described as "Cannery Row" in the novel, once named Ocean View Avenue, was renamed [[Cannery Row]] in honor of the novel. The town of Monterey has commemorated Steinbeck's work with an avenue of flags depicting characters from ''Cannery Row'', historical plaques, and sculptured busts depicting Steinbeck and Ricketts.<ref name="Journey" />

On February 27, 1979 (the 77th anniversary of the writer's birth), the [[United States Postal Service]] issued a stamp featuring Steinbeck, starting the Postal Service's Literary Arts series honoring American writers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008/sr08_015.htm |title=Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author Gets 'Stamp of Approval' |publisher=United States Postal Service |date=February 21, 2008 |access-date=March 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326095700/http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008/sr08_015.htm |archive-date=March 26, 2008 }}</ref>

Steinbeck was inducted into the [[DeMolay International]] Hall of Fame in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://demolay.org/halloffame/bio.php?id=45 |title=John Steinbeck |access-date=July 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710174757/https://demolay.org/halloffame/bio.php?id=45 |archive-date=July 10, 2017 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

On December 5, 2007, California Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] and First Lady [[Maria Shriver]] inducted Steinbeck into the [[California Hall of Fame]], located at [[the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts]].<ref>[http://www.californiamuseum.org/Exhibits/Hall-of-Fame/inductees.html Steinbeck inducted into California Hall of Fame]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928015726/http://www.californiamuseum.org/Exhibits/Hall-of-Fame/inductees.html |date=September 28, 2008 }}, California Museum. Retrieved 2007.</ref> His son, author [[Thomas Steinbeck]], accepted the award on his behalf.

[[Monterey Bay Roller Derby]] was founded in 2010. Their team names over the years have referenced Steinbeck, including Beasts of Eden, Cannery Rollers, Steinwreckers and Babes of Wrath. Their juniors league was known as the Dread Ponies.

To commemorate the 112th anniversary of Steinbeck's birthday on February 27, 2014, Google displayed an interactive doodle utilizing animation which included illustrations portraying scenes and quotes from several novels by the author.<ref>{{cite news|title=Google Doodle Celebrates John Steinbeck|url=https://time.com/#10346/john-steinbeck-google-doodle/|author=Laura Stampler|publisher=Time Inc.|date=February 27, 2014|access-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827191323/http://time.com/#10346/john-steinbeck-google-doodle/|archive-date=August 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=John Steinbeck: Google Doodle pays tribute to author on 112th anniversary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/27/john-steinbeck-google-doodle-tribute|author=Alison Flood|newspaper=The Guardian|date=February 27, 2014|access-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304013627/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/27/john-steinbeck-google-doodle-tribute|archive-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Google Doodle celebrates the work of John Steinbeck|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-google-doodle-john-steinbeck-20140227,0,6115494.story|author=Carolyn Kellogg|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 27, 2014|access-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308000725/http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-google-doodle-john-steinbeck-20140227,0,6115494.story|archive-date=March 8, 2014}}</ref>

Steinbeck and his friend Ed Ricketts appear as fictionalized characters in the 2016 novel ''Monterey Bay'', about the founding of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, by Lindsay Hatton (Penguin Press).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thepenguinpress.com/book/monterey-bay/ |title=Penguin Press – Penguin Books USA |access-date=December 6, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220085101/http://thepenguinpress.com/book/monterey-bay/ |archive-date=December 20, 2016 }}</ref>

In February 2016, [[California Department of Transportation|Caltrans]] installed signage to identify a five-mile segment of [[U.S. Route 101]] in Salinas as the John Steinbeck Highway, in accordance with a 2014 state legislative resolution.<ref name="Zentz">{{cite news |last1=Zentz |first1=Rachel |title=Signs up marking 'John Steinbeck Highway' |url=https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2016/02/26/signs-up-marking-john-steinbeck-highway/81004170/ |access-date=October 1, 2022 |work=The Salinas Californian |date=February 26, 2016 |archive-date=October 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001201107/https://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/2016/02/26/signs-up-marking-john-steinbeck-highway/81004170/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:JohnSteinbeck waterfront park 20201004 091700.jpg|thumb|left|John Steinbeck Waterfront Park]]

In 2019 the Sag Harbor town board approved the creation of the John Steinbeck Waterfront Park across from the iconic town windmill. The structures on the parcel were demolished and park benches installed near the beach. The Beebe windmill replica already had a plaque memorializing the author who wrote from a small hut overlooking the cove during his sojourn in the literary haven.