PULITZER PRIZES of the 1940s

Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck 

1940 Winner

Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California.  Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against hard realities of an American divided into Haves and Have- nots, Steinbeck created a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimatly stirring in its insistence of human digity.  

A Bell for Adano
John Hersey

1945 Winner

An Italian-American major in World War II wins the love and admiration of the local townspeople when he searches for a replacement for the 700 year-old town bell that had been melted down for bullets by the fascists.  Novel by John Hersey, published in 1944 and awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1945. The novel's action takes place during World War II after the occupation of Sicily by Allied forces. Major Victor Joppolo, an American army officer of Italian descent, is part of the Allied military government ruling the town of Adano. In his attempts to reform the town and bring democracy to the people by treating them with respect and decency, Joppolo comes into conflict with his commanding officer, a hard-nosed general who eventually has Joppolo transferred because of his refusal to follow orders. Joppolo's concern for the town is epitomized by his efforts to replace a bell that the fascists had melted down to use for ammunition.

1947 Winner

It is the story of Willie Stark (a fictionalized version of Gov. Long of Louisiana), a southern politicianwho builds support by appealing to the common man and using dirtypolitics. Stark sheds his idealism, but his best friend, Jack Burden the narrator - retains it and becomes a thorn in the newgovernor's side. Stark is a successful leader, but at a high price, whichlater costs him his life. This book is a play of politics, society and personal affairs, all with a basis in history. 

1948 Winner

Enter the exotic world of the South Pacific andmeet the men and women caught up in the drama of a big war (WWII). There's the young Marine who falls madly in love with a beautiful Tonkinese girl. You also meet Nurse Nellie and her French planter, Emile De Becque. The soldiers, sailors, and nurses play at war and wait for love in a tropic paradise.