Honors English 10-Mr. Hollister

Of Mice and Men & The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Thoughts

Introduction:

The books “Of Mice and Men” and “The Pearl” are written by the same author John Steinbeck, both books are very similar but different from one another.

Setting:

The settings for both books is very similar, both stories take place in the early 1900’s. In Of Mice and Men and The Pearl both take place in small towns, Of mice and men takes place in Soledad a small town towards the middle of California, The Pearl take place in the small town of La Paz a small town in western Mexico.

The Pearl

Kino is a young Mexican-Indian pearl diver married to Juana; they have a baby named Coyotito. Their lives seem rather peaceful, but their tranquility is threatened when a scorpion bites Coyotito.Juana tells Kino to go to town and get the doctor, but Kino and their neighbors tell Juana that the doctor will never come to where they live, so Juana decides to take matters into her own hands and sets off with Coyotito to the doctor.

 Kino accompanies Juana, and many members of the village follow them to see what will happen. At the doctor's house, the doctor's servant tells Kino and Juana that the doctor is not at home — in truth, the doctor is home but will not help Coyotito because Kino cannot pay the doctor as much as the doctor wants, but also because the doctor is prejudiced against Kino's race.

Of Mice and Men

Two migrant workers,Lennie Small and George Milton, are walking on their way to a nearby ranch. They have recently escaped from a farm near Weed where Lennie, a mentally deficient yet gentle man, was wrongly accused of rape when he touched a woman to feel her soft dress.As they walk along, George scolds Lennie for playing with a dead mouse and warns him not to speak when they arrive at their new place of employment.

When Lennie complains about not having ketchup for the beans they eat for dinner, George becomes angry, telling Lennie that he would be better off if he didn't have to take care of him. After they make up, George repeats to Lennie the details of their dream - that he and Lennie will raise enough money to buy a patch of land, where they will have a small farm with a vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch. The rabbit hutch is the only detail of the plan that Lennie consistently remembers. George tells Lennie that, if he gets into trouble as he did in Weed, he should return to the brush near the river and wait for George to find him.

Comparison

Both George and Lennie dream of a future in a small farm of their own. Here they would not have to answer to ranch bosses; they have the dream of security and home. Kino wants the same things for his family. He feels the diamond will give his family a sense of financial security.

Kino dreams of not eking out a living in poverty. Both works have a sense of "elsewhere" to them, a sense of redemption if only they might achieve their goals. Like Lenny, Kino spends much time on the run. People want his diamond. In Mice and Men, people are after Lennie and George must contend with this. We can also extend this metaphor to the novels’ respective endings. As Kino must destroy (or at least toss into the sea) his diamond for a greater good, George must destroy Lenny.

Theme

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men teaches a grim lesson about the nature of human existence. Nearly all of the characters, including George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife, admit, at one time or another, to having a profound sense of loneliness and isolation.

The Pearl

The Pearl  depicts many themes,, but the major one is greed. To put it shortly, greed is what drive Kino to set the  stage for this novella. Kino finds a pearl, and knows that he will make a lot of money with it.

Symbols

Of Mice and Men

Symbols in Of Mice and Men include George and Lennie's Farm, Rabbits, Candy's Dog, Lennie's Puppy.

The Pearl

The light symbolizes good. When the pearl is bright, it is a symbol of hopes and dreams that are good. Yet, when the pearl turns dark, it starts to symbolize greed and evil in the story. The symbolism in the story helps to make us understand Steinbeck's themes about prejudice and greed.