Interpretation of the protagonists in the novels by J.Steinbeck and writer's style

John Steinbeck's art and career follow a typically American arc of the mid-twentieth century. The early hard-scrabble years of unadulterated talent giving creative and dignified voice to the downtrodden. The rise to iconic status as the conscience of a new mainstream. And an alcohol-facilitated decline into alienating self-indulgence and general crankiness. But one thing remained constant: he wrote like no one else and he never repeated himself, always trying something new.