100 Top Most Popular John Steinbeck Quotes

1. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
2. “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
3. “I have never seen a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted, they travel about as far as we do.”
4. “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
5. “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.”
6. “The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.”
7. “A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.”
8. “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
9. “A book is like a man-clever and dull, brave and cowardly, beautiful and ugly. For every flowering thought there will be a page like a wet and mangy mongrel, and for every looping flight a tap on the wing and a reminder that wax cannot hold the feathers firm too near the sun.”
10. “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
11. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
12. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
13. “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe.”
14. “The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.”
15. “I guess the trouble was that we didn’t have any self-admitted proletarians. Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist.”
16. “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
17. “I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen.”
18. “Man, unlike anything organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments.”
19. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
20. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
21. “The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.”
22. “The nation doesn’t simply need what we have. It needs what we are.”
23. “We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.”
24. “The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk much.”

25. “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.”
26. “I believe that there is one story in the world, and only one. . . . Humans are caught—in their lives, in their thoughts, in their hungers and ambitions, in their avarice and cruelty, and in their kindness and generosity too—in a net of good and evil. . . . There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well—or ill?”
27. “All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”
28. “The writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid.”
29. “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
30. “I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen.”
31. “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.”
32. “People don’t take trips, trips take people.”
33. “We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story, begging the listener to say — and to feel — ‘Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.’”
34. “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.”
35. “No one wants advice — only corroboration.”
36. “The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.”
37. “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
38. “Don’t worry about losing. If it is right, it happens – The main thing is not to hurry. Nothing good gets away.”
39. “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”
40. “It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task.”
41. “There are no ugly questions except those clothed in condescension.”
42. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
43. “There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I.”
44. “The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.”
45. “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
46. “We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.”
47. “The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.”

48. “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
49. “We value virtue but do not discuss it. The honest bookkeeper, the faithful wife, the earnest scholar get little of our attention compared to the embezzler, the tramp, the cheat.”
50. “The writer who loses his self-doubt, who gives way as he grows old to a sudden euphoria, to prolixity, should stop writing immediately: the time has come for him to lay aside his pen.”
51. “I wonder how many times people give up just before a breakthrough — when they are on the very brink of success.”
52. “A sad soul can kill quicker than a germ.”
53. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
54. “The profession of writing is horribly crowded and competitive, and it is also financially unremunerative.”
55. “A great lasting story is about everyone or it will not last. The strange and foreign is not interesting-only the deeply personal and familiar.”
56. “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”
57. “The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. The sword is more important than the shield, and skill is more important than either. The final weapon is the brain. All else is supplemental.”
58. “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
59. “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.”
60. “I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature.”
61. “It is good to collect things, but it is better to go on walks.”
62. “All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.”
63. “We do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
64. “I am convinced that a light supper, a good night’s sleep, and a fine morning have sometimes made a hero of the same man who, by an indigestible breakfast and an insomnia the night before, has proved himself to be a coward.”
65. “Man is the only kind of varmint sets his own trap, baits it, then steps in it.”
66. “A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us.”
67. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
68. “Time is the only critic without ambition.”
69. “I am impelled, not to squeak like a grateful and apologetic mouse, but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.”
70. “The writer must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid.”
71. “I have never smuggled anything in my life. Why, then, do I feel an uneasy sense of guilt on approaching a customs barrier?”

73. “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
74. “To be alive at all is to have scars.”
75. “There are darknesses in life and there are lights, and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.”
76. “It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.”
77. “We spend our time searching for security and hate it when we get it.”
78. “I guess there are never enough books.”
79. “There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I.”
80. “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
81. “The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.”
82. “All the goodness and the heroisms will rise up again, then be cut down again and rise up. It isn’t that the evil thing wins — it never will — but that it doesn’t die.”
83. “A kind of light spread out from her. And everything changed color. And the world opened out. And a day was good to awaken to. And there were no limits to anything. And the people of the world were good and handsome. And I was not afraid any more.”
84. “The writer must be a participant in the scene… like a film director who writes his own scripts, does his own camera work, and somehow manages to film himself in action, as the protagonist or at least the main character.”
85. “There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I.”
86. “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. No one has ever successfully painted or photographed a redwood tree. The feeling they produce is not transferable. From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”
87. “When two people meet, each one is changed by the other so you’ve got two new people.”
88. “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
89. “The writer must always leave room for the characters to grow and change. If you move your characters from plot point to plot point, like painting by the numbers, they often remain stick figures. They will never take on a life of their own. The most exciting thing is when you find a character doing something surprising or unplanned. Like a character saying to me: ‘Hey, Richard, you may think I work for you, but I don’t. I’m my own person.'”
90. “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”
91. “It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.”
92. “I guess the things that scare me are the very things that feed my writing.”
93. “The discipline of the written word punishes both stupidity and dishonesty.”
94. “I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me.

95. “We are lonesome animals. We spend all our life trying to be less lonesome. One of our ancient methods is to tell a story begging the listener to say — and to feel — ‘Yes, that’s the way it is, or at least that’s the way I feel it. You’re not as alone as you thought.'”
96. “We are all immigrants to the future; none of us is a native in that land.”
97. “The free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.”
98. “I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of man has no dedication nor any membership in literature.”
99. “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.”
100. “I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.”

FAQs:

Who was John Steinbeck?

John Steinbeck was an American author who lived from 1902 to 1968. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century and is known for his realistic and compassionate portrayals of working-class people.

What were some of John Steinbeck’s most famous works?

Some of John Steinbeck’s most famous works include “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Of Mice and Men,” “East of Eden,” “Cannery Row,” and “Travels with Charley.”

What were some of the major themes in John Steinbeck’s writing?

John Steinbeck’s writing often focused on themes such as social injustice, the struggle for survival, and the importance of community. He also explored the complexities of human relationships and the search for meaning in life.

What was John Steinbeck’s background?

John Steinbeck was born in California and grew up in a family of modest means. He attended Stanford University but did not graduate. He worked a variety of jobs before becoming a full-time writer.

What was John Steinbeck’s impact on American literature?

John Steinbeck’s writing had a significant impact on American literature, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s. His realistic portrayals of working-class people and his exploration of social and political issues helped to shape the literary landscape of the time.

Was John Steinbeck involved in any controversies?

John Steinbeck’s writing was sometimes controversial, particularly his depictions of poverty and the struggles of working-class people. He was also criticized for his political views and his association with left-wing causes.

Did John Steinbeck receive any major awards or honours?

John Steinbeck received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “The Grapes of Wrath” and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

What was John Steinbeck’s writing process?

John Steinbeck was known for his meticulous research and his attention to detail. He often spent months or even years researching and gathering material before beginning to write. He also believed in the importance of rewriting and revising his work extensively.

Did John Steinbeck have any major influences on his writing?

John Steinbeck was influenced by a wide range of writers, including the naturalist writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such as Jack London and Theodore Dreiser, as well as the modernist writers of his own time, such as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

What is the legacy of John Steinbeck?

John Steinbeck’s writing continues to be widely read and studied today, and his portrayal of working-class people and his exploration of social and political issues continue to resonate with readers around the world. He is remembered as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.