What a surprise—Steinbeck is fascinated with writing and books! Okay, we aren't actually surprised; a lot of writers are pretty interested in talking about their craft and musing about art. Steinbeck actually doesn't go overboard on the topic in Travels with Charley, but he does give us some background on why he thinks what he's doing is important for his work as an author, which means we kind of get a read on what he thinks the author's duties toward others and his craft are.
Of course, he's not super-transparent about one of the book's really big writing questions: how much of what he writes is fact, and how much is fiction?
Questions About Literature and Writing
- What are Steinbeck's opinions about writing and truth? Do authors have a duty to tell the truth? Does Steinbeck meet that duty, if so?
- Steinbeck takes the trip to invigorate his writing. Do you get the feeling that he thinks he's achieved his goal toward the end?
- Why do you think he brings up Addison's recommendation that authors tell readers about themselves, when he doesn't really end up telling the reader much about himself? What's that all about?
Chew on This
Even though the story is fictionalized, by making a good faith effort to tap into the spirit of America, Steinbeck ends up telling more "truth" than if the story were totally factually correct.
Steinbeck purposely doesn't tell us a lot himself because he actually wants the reader to focus on the America stuff—he thinks that the public's curiosity about authors is stupid.
As a novelist, Steinbeck is not to be trusted. Even when he claims to be reporting "the facts" of his trip, we should all be on the lookout for fictionalized accounts. Even so, it's nothing to get all huffy about—it's just part of his artistic nature.