John Steinbeck had contact with leftist authors, journalists, and labor unions that caused him to be a part of The League Of American Writers. The group was a communist party in the United States. Communists in the Unites States were not looked upon as good people at the time. Because Steinbeck was considered “red” or communist by the United States government, Steinbeck would get harassed by having his taxes audited every year. Steinbeck talks about characters being harassed by the government in some of his books.