Steinbeck has been described as having "a keen social perception". What do you think this means?

He has a very good idea of how people interact with each other. He knows what they will do when confronted with something that's pretty awful like war, or how they will react with the love they feel when a child is born if they love each other.

He understands clearly what a society will do threatened or what a union will do when rewarded with a fair settlement or what they will do if it is not a fair settlement.

He understands the good and the evil in everyone. His answers are not trivial nor are his observations ones that favor one side of an argument or another unless he is trying to uncover a social wrong.