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100 Top Quotes By John Steinbeck, The Author Of East Of Eden

Famous As: American Writer and Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature
Born On: 1902
Died On: 1968
Born In: Salinas, California, United States
Died At Age: 66

They say, it is very easy to make people cry but very difficult to make them smile. There have been abundant of writers who have made their readers emotional with their content but only a handful who have chuckled the deepest and hidden laughter from within. And John Steinbeck is one amongst them. A master in his own rights, Steinbeck’s works is a part of the American literary cannon. His comic novels ‘Tortilla Flat’, ‘Cannery Row’, ‘East of Eden’, ‘Mice and Men’ and ‘The Red Pony’ are considered legendary work in comic fiction today. Though Steinbeck gained popularity in most of his works, his best bit or the magnum opus of his career came with the novel, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’. It earned him the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. In his lifetime, John Steinbeck wrote more than twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories. In 1962, Steinbeck was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature. Over the years, he earned the reputation of ‘a giant of American letters’. His works are widely read abroad and many of his works are considered classics of Western literature. Just as his works that frequently explored the themes of fate and injustice, the same is seen in his quotes that stress a lot on life values and social themes. Explore this section and find out some of the best quotes by John Steinbeck.

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I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen.

I wonder how many people I've looked at all my life and never seen.

John Steinbeck
Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.

Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.

John Steinbeck
There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do.

There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do.

John Steinbeck
I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.

I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man, particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible.

John Steinbeck
All great and precious things are lonely.

All great and precious things are lonely.

John Steinbeck
I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's
why.

I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why.

John Steinbeck
It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.

It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.

John Steinbeck
And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.

And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.

John Steinbeck
All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.

All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.

John Steinbeck
Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.

John Steinbeck
And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.

And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.

John Steinbeck
What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.

John Steinbeck
I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.

I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.

John Steinbeck
Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.

John Steinbeck
I guess there are never enough books.

I guess there are never enough books.

John Steinbeck
There's more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.

There's more beauty in truth, even if it is dreadful beauty.

John Steinbeck
When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people.

When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you've got two new people.

John Steinbeck
To be alive at all is to have scars.

To be alive at all is to have scars.

John Steinbeck
Anything that just costs money is cheap.

Anything that just costs money is cheap.

John Steinbeck
My imagination will get me a passport to hell one day.

My imagination will get me a passport to hell one day.

John Steinbeck
Do you take pride in your hurt? Does it make you seem large and tragic? ...Well, think about it. Maybe you're playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.

Do you take pride in your hurt? Does it make you seem large and tragic? ...Well, think about it. Maybe you're playing a part on a great stage with only yourself as audience.

John Steinbeck
No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.

No man really knows about other human beings. The best he can do is to suppose that they are like himself.

John Steinbeck
It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.

It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world.

John Steinbeck
A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.

A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.

John Steinbeck
As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.

As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.

John Steinbeck
People like you to be something, preferably what they are.

People like you to be something, preferably what they are.

John Steinbeck
Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do a thing his cleverness forbids.

Sometimes a man wants to be stupid if it lets him do a thing his cleverness forbids.

John Steinbeck
A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.

A man so painfully in love is capable of self-torture beyond belief.

John Steinbeck
I shall revenge myself in the cruelest way you can imagine. I shall forget it.

I shall revenge myself in the cruelest way you can imagine. I shall forget it.

John Steinbeck
If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones.

If you're in trouble, or hurt or need - go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help - the only ones.

John Steinbeck