On Death Writing In John Steinbeck's Novels

John Steinbeck was one of the most important American writers in the 20 th century.He has worked hard in his life,and he has made great achievements.He has not only achieved outstanding achievements in novel creation,but also made great achievements in drama and prose.He frequently wrote about the death of characters in his works,which formed the theme of death with personal characteristics.The death of his characters has its own unique significance and aesthetic value in different periods of his creation.This paper takes death writing in his novels as the research object,discusses the aesthetic value and practical significance of death writing from the aspects of its specific expression,essence,life experience of the author and the connotation of his works,so as to further understand the value orientation and profound connotation in Steinbeck's novels.The death of Steinbeck written unfolds in various ways.In his literary works,he focuses on the social problems inspired by various contradictions,he describes many people who died because they resisted the oppression of reality,and also describes the death caused by the guilt of individual spirit in special social period.At the same time,Steinbeck is also concerned about natural death.Through some ordinary little people,showing the inevitability of death in the face of aging and disease.and the mysterious objective fate of the destruction of life.The difference of death in Steinbeck's works reflects his meticulous observation and experience of the realistic death phenomenon as well as his deep thinking on the value of life.Steinbeck's life spanned two thirds of the 20 th century,during which his personal experience and social situation deeply influenced his concern and thinking about death,and then prompted him to complete personalized creation on the theme of death.The traumatic memory of childhood and the shadow of serious illness gave him the fear and fear of death,while the experience of going deep into the bottom of society as an adult directly became his creation materials,and the experience of being a journalist fighting for the front line of death gave him a deeper understanding and reflection on death.At the same time,the extremely poor living conditions at the bottom of society as well as the desperate and depressed spiritual atmosphere made Steinbeck focus on death,a common and unusual social phenomenon.Death writing in Steinbeck's novels shows a unique aesthetic value from the perspective of aesthetics.He endow the death of the characters with unique tragic significance,which shows the lofty beauty of the individual will when the right to life is deprived and the dignity and freedom are infringed upon.