Date of Award
1989
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
Coyle, William
Abstract
As a child, John Steinbeck developed what would be a lifelong interest in the stories of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. As an adult during the 1930s, he recreated the Arthurian brotherhood cycle--its formation, flowering, and dissolution--in three of his novels: Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, and The Grapes of Wrath. Each brotherhood novel is characterized by the following Arthurian elements: a leader is chosen by the people and dies during the dissolution of the brotherhood; a cause is worked for; quests are undertaken; and a social code of behavior is followed. Steinbeck used the Arthurian brotherhood cycle to show how the problems of the 1930s in America could be solved, although he knew that ultimately the brotherhood solution would not work.
Extent
96 p.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Marilyn Fritz, "John Steinbeck's quest for brotherhood" (1989). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 1980 - 1989. 744.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_3/744
Identifier
FADT14555
Comments
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1989.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters