The Flight from Childhood Innocence “Flight” by John Steinbeck was published in 1938. Other works created by Steinbeck include “The Grapes of Wrath”, “East of Eden”, “Of Mice and Men, and “The Pearl”. John Steinbeck typically writes about life during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in California. He tends to try to find an organic means of expression though his pieces of literature. Specifically, in “Flight”, Pepé Torres travels into town on a mission from his mother to retrieve supplies. Pepé returns home claiming he had killed a man so he packs his belongings and journeys into the mountains. Steinbeck includes various literary devices, mostly including, characterization, theme, and symbolism. Pepé’s journey symbolizes the growth from a boy into a man. John Steinbeck in “Flight” illustrates the journey…show more content… Pepé had a tall head, pointed at the top, and from its peak coarse black hair grew down like a thatch all around.” From this description that Steinbeck gives the reader, readers can assume Pepé is a paisano, or, “mixture of Spanish, Indian, Mexican, and assorted European bloods” (Johnson). This is noteworthy because these people are, “poor by the Anglo’s materialistic standards, for, by and large, they do not subscribe to the Anglo work ethic but live in a different moral structure, one in which a man’s behavior is much more important than his possessions” (Johnson). Steinbeck can deeply describe Pepé’s views on life just by simply describing his physicality. John Steinbeck also indirectly describes Pepé as being juvenile and thoughtless. The first occurrence of when we see Pepé’s mindlessness is when he stabs a drunk man for calling him “names he cannot allow” (Steinbeck). This action from Pepé shows immaturity and that he is unable to ignore the drunk man making thoughtless