Introduction

In this essay I will be comparing two books. These two books are The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. I will be comparing the characters, the settings, the symbolism, the themes and the plot. I will be showing how both of these books by John Steinbeck are very similar.

Characters

Juan Thomas is a lot like Slim in these two stories. Now here's the reason why. Juan Thomas is Kino's go to go and also he's also looked up to to as the best guy. George goes to Slim when ever he has to choose what to do with Lennie. Kino goes to Juan when he needs help with anything at all. In both cases the superior characters played a big role in the main characters choices.

Of Mice and Men

There are a handful of characters in Of Mice and Men are George, Lennie, Candy, Slim, Carlson, Crooks, The boss, Curly, and Curly’s wife. Slim was a highly liked and respected Character of the story. He knows how to do a lot and he can really do it well. He is befriended by George and is someone that George consults about what to do with Lennie.

The Pearl

The main characters in the pearl are Kino, Juana, Coyotito, Juana Thomas, Apollina, The Doctor, The Priest, The Beggars, The dark figures, and The pearl buyers. Juan thomas is a well respected character in this book. Specifically by Kino. He’s superior to Kino in a very humble way. He’s better, than Kino but he uses it for good. The dark figures are the bad opposers of Kino. They are the people Kino feared, one of the main reason that Kino hid the pearl to start. They are the people that ruin Kinos chance of a good life and giving the world to his children.

Setting

The barn and the ocean are a lot alike. The Ocean in The Pearl is where all the bad things began. It began with kino taking that pearl from the calm and it all ended in that place right there in the ocean. It's very similar in the Of Mice and Men. George and Lennie were introduced there and that is where it all ended for Lennie.

Of Mice and Men

The setting in Of Mice and Men is the river bank. The river bank is a huge part of this story because it's the place where it starts and ends. You are introduced to George and Lennie there and it is where you learn everything about them and it is also the place where Lennie dies. The barn is an interesting setting. This is the place where lennie innocently kills someone, but this is also the same place that you learn about the mysterious crooks and why curley's wife is really on the ranch.

The pearl

The settings in The Pearl is the plaster city. The plaster city is where all the richer people live, like the doctor for example. He is the man who used to live a lavish life in paris, now lives in the plaster city. The people in this plaster city reject and neglect the indigenous people of La Paz. The ocean is the place where the Kino makes his living. It is also the place where the infamous but glorious pearl was found.

Symbolism

In The Pearl the pearl is a symbol is a symbol because it is the root of all evil. It's the reason all of these things happened. It is also a symbol of greed. Everyones dreams could come true and they could have anything they ever wanted with this pearl. The dream farm is Like the pearl. They are a symbol of man's greed and man's selfishness. Candy's dog and foreshadowing of the end of the book. It shows how people look at what your worth and if you're worth something you're valuable. The scorpion is like this in the pearl because is shows a different point but is very much like the dog because is shows the end of the book. It shows you how death is inevitable and just like kino isn't fast enough to kill the scorpion, he isn't fast enough to kill the man that shoot and kills his son.

Of Mice and Men

A symbol in Of Mice and Men is Candy's dog. Candy's dog is a big symbol within the story. The dog is a symbol of worth. The dog wasn't good for anything anymore so the thought it was necessary for it to be put down. This foreshadowed the death of Lennie in the end of the book. Another symbol is the farm that George, Lennie, and Candy were dreaming of. This is a symbol of the desires of the men. This shows that they all want to live a life of bliss and one day own something, one day have the hard work pay off.

The Pearl

One of the symbols in The Pearl is the pearl itself. It within its self was Clearly the main symbol in this book, thats why its called the pearl. The reasoning for this is because the pearl is the instigator of all the bad things that happened in this book. It was the reason that Coyotito ended up dead and it was also the thing which Kino ended up accidentally killing someone over. Another symbol was the dark figures. The dark figures in this story ere never named. They stayed anonymous throughout the whole entire book. These Figures represent the greed of the people in this town. The Scorpion is a strong symbol that you don't get until the end of the book. The scorpion is a symbol because It is Coyotito's death. The scorpion stings coyotito because Kino is just a moment too late to kill it. Same thing the the very end of the book. Kino is just barely too late to kill the man trying to silence the coyote by shooting into the air. In turn the shot from the man killed Coyotito.

Themes

In both of these books the biggest theme of the book is the concept of human existence. Both of these are differently specifically but the same in the sense that they both focus on what humans are and their goal in life.

Of Mice and Men

In Of Mice and Men the main theme of the whole book is this whole concept of human existence. It gets specific in this book. The concept in this book is survival of the fittest. Who ever is the strongest is who will come out on top. They are the most valuable and the very best. Some of the things that determined this are money, physical strength, mental strength, and skill.

The pearl

There is a clear theme in The Pearl. The theme is the concept of human existence specifically the idea of fate and greed. The idea of fate and greed are expressed both at the same time by kinos telling the father in his annual sermon about everyone's place in God's castle. The father's sermon consists of how the loss of the pearl was a curse to those that “left their position” . Greed is hit on hard through the whole book. It is expressed by the doctor's desire for paris, the pearl buyers that cheated the people, the father who wanted kino to “give to the church”. Fate is talked about a lot as well. It is talked about with your station in life and God's plan for your life.

Plot

The plot of both of these books are fairly similar. Both of these books both focus on this concept of human existence. They both make different points about it but they both focus on the large concept. Both books have the same format in the way that the book kind of starts and ends in the same place. There pearl was found and eventually was thrown back into the ocean. Lennie and George were introduced on the river bank and it also ends right there with dead Lennie on the river bank. Another thing is that both books had 6 chapters and the climax in both books was in chapter 5 and ended in chapter 6. They both have parallel structure. In The Pearl the scorpion and the man that killed coyotito were part of that. They both involved the death of Coyotito and in both Kino was just a tad too late. In Of Mice and Men Candy's dog and Lennie was a part of this. They killed the dog because it was no good to itself or anyone else. So carlson shot it in the back of the head as a mercy killing. Just Like George done with Lennie.

Of Mice and Men

Two men named George and Lennie running from Weed california to get a new job on a ranch. Its there they will meet. The new people would not all be good. Lennie and George have a dream one day to get a farm their own someday and while on the way they find a man by the name of candy who wants to help them. Everything is good until lennie is feeling the boss’ sons wife and he gets to rough and shes starts to freak out and in an attempt to keep her calm he accidentally snaps her neck. Lennie knowing what he's done runs to the river bank where george tells him to go to be safe. This is where George kills Lennie to keep him from suffering an asylum.

The Pearl

Kino, His wife, and his son are native of La Paz mexico.Kino is a pearl diver and makes his living from pearls. One day underwater he finds the perfect pearl. He goes to sell it and the pearl buyers try to cheat him. Kino gets mad and decides he will go into the capital city and sell it for more money. That night while kino is sleeping his wife Juana tries to throw the pearl in the ocean and he attacks her. On his way back to the hut he kills a mysterious attacker in self defence and is knocked out. When kino comes to he he realizes what he's done and goes on the run. He is followed by bounty hunters which finally catch up with him. In the final show down man hears a “coyote” crying and shoots up in the air just barely before kino can reach him with his knife. The shot hit his son Coyotito and kills him instantly. Kino and his wife Juana make their way back to La Paz and throw the pearl back in the water.

Conclusion

These two books are written by the same author and it is abundantly clear. They both have similar characters, the plots have the same kind of set up, both storied peak in chapter 5, both books have similar symbols, similar themes. One thing the both share in particular is the fact that the both show a part of human existence.