Born in Salinas; California; novelist John Steinbeck was best noted for his portrayal of the proletariat. His writing realistically depicted the economically depressed in the U.S.; particularly the itinerant farm laborers of California. Grapes Of Wrath is the novel which best fits this characterization. The subjects of Steinbeck's writing and fascination included the sea; traveling and common people. His fondness for the "unfinished children of nature" was a recurring theme in his novels. Steinbeck won a Pulitzer Prize in 1940 and the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962. Some of his works include; East of Eden; Of Mice and Men; The Pearl; The Red Pony and Cup of Gold.