This volume provides in-depth critical discussions of John Steinbeck's novel, which grapples with issues such as gender, racism, disability, and a plethora of other definitive issues, making the perfect introduction to American literature, contemporary style, and the contemporaneous nature of great works of art. Essay topics include: the masculine psyche, feminism, Steinbeck and Sophocles, internationalism, and consideration of why this novel is still in high school curriculum's today.