Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 2000. [Vol. 6.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 26)

Studies - Jason M. Dew: Cold War Reflections in Travels with Charley: Steinbeck's New Americanist Evaluation of Intra-Imperialist America

prophetic aptitude, it is still highly unlikely that the decade first in line to vocalize America's distaste for restrictive values and remaining inability to locate a strong awareness of national self would be anything other than what it was. Perhaps this is the sad irony of good art to edify after the fact. A more pronounced irony, however, comes in the recognition that Americans were curiously both oppressors and Diaspora in their own land. Undoubtedly, this points to the ongoing paradox of American identity manifest panoramically during Steinbeck's trip across the continental United States. That a close analysis of Travels with Charley can produce a singular message is evident. The mutual presence of themes such as, but not limited to, loneliness, anxiety, restlessness, and paranoia in a work by an author known widely for his philanthropy begs an appreciation of this text for how it contributes to an understanding of the human experiment. Similar to the experiences of many of Steinbeck's characters, however, the realization of loving communities remains a matter of choice. The rampant social eruptions re-defining the immediate post-Cold War country seem to indicate that the tendency may already be clear. Whether or not this possibility offers reassurance in regards to the potential of humankind is a consideration left for the individual. In Steinbeck's case, however, his undying efforts answer for him. PRIMARY WORKS Steinbeck, John. A Life in Letters. Ed. Elaine Steinbeck and Robert Wallstein. New York: Viking, 1975. . Travels with Charley. New York: Viking, 1962. WORKS CITED Astro, Richard. "Travels with Steinbeck: The Laws of Thought and the Laws of Things." Steinbeck Quarterly 8:2 (Spring 1975): 3544. Booker, M. Keith. The Post-Utopian Imagination: American Culture in the Long 1950s. Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 2002. 40