Norwegians under the Nazis. His immediate postwar work -Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), and The Wayward Bus (1947) - reflected a bitterness against the greedy elements of society that had made the war possible.
             Steinbeck's later writings were slight works of entertainment and journalism interspersed with three attempts to reassert his stature as a major novelist: Burning Bright (1950), East of Eden (1952), and The Winter of Our Discontent. In critical opinion, none equaled his earlier achievement. His modernization of the Arthurian legends, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, was published posthumously in 1976.
             Steinbeck also wrote the scripts for the film versions of The Pearl (1948) and The Red Pony (1949), and the scripts for the motion pictures Forgotten Village (1941) and Viva Zapata! (1952). John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "...for his realistic as well as imaginative writings, distinguished by a sympathetic humor and a keen social perception."
             The Pearl, which takes place in La Paz, Mexico, begins with a description of the seemingly idyllic family life of Kino, his wife Juana and their infant son, Coyotito. Kino watches as Coyotito sleeps, but sees a scorpion crawl down the rope that holds the hanging box where Coyotito lies. Kino attempts to catch the scorpion, but Coyotito bumps the rope and the scorpion falls on him. Although Kino kills the scorpion, it still stings Coyotito. Juana and Kino, accompanied by their neighbors, go to see the local doctor, who refuses to treat Coyotito because Kino cannot pay.
             Kino and Juana leave the doctors and take Coyotito down near the sea, where Juana uses a seaweed poultice on Coyotito's shoulder, which is now swollen. Kino dives for oysters from his canoe, attempting to find pearls. He finds a very large oyster which, when Kino opens, yields an immense pearl. Kino puts back his head and howls, causing the other pearl divers to look...