Introduction

After reading of Mice and Men and The Pearl, I think they are very similar. They are two different books with characters, settings, themes, symbols, plots that are very much alike. Both are different but the same and the underlying details can back this up.

characters

Both, Of Mice and Men and The Pearl, consisted of strong main characters. The characters had a goal, and they went through many tasks to try to achieve said goals. Most of the people in the books were loyal and cared about on another but in some cases their greed got in the way.

Of mice and men

Of Mice and Men introduces both weak and strong characters such as: Lennie, Candy, and, George. George is a small man with a big heart but he can also be a bit greedy. Greedy by wishing that he could have a life without Lennie but though he wanted said life he never left Lennie behind. Lennie puts a lot of strain on George. He constantly has to keep an eye on Lennie in fear that he’ll get into trouble. Lennie isn’t the strongest mentally but physically he’s extremely tough. He surprised everyone on the ranch with his strength. Candy is a brittle, old man. He isn’t very useful for labor, but he’s wise and he’s good at figuring out solutions to the many problems the men face on the ranch.

The pearl

The Pearl introduced characters including: Juana, Kino, and Juan Tomas. Juana was a strong, and extremely loyal woman. She knew the pearl was evil and begged for Kino to get rid of it. Even when he refused and slapped her when she took it upon herself to throw it in the ocean, she stood by Kino without no doubt in her heart. Juan Tomas was also loyal. He had been loyal to his brother, Kino, by harboring him in a time of distress. Juan Tomas knew that Kino had gotten himself and his family into trouble but the love and trust for his brother never wavered. Kino had good intentions. He wanted his family to prosper, but that desire turned into greed. This greed put his family into great ganger and got his son killed.

setting

These books contain settings that give off a calm aurora. The village by the sea and the place by the pond were very serene. They had some differences but they are similar as well. I think these places gave a sense of home to the people occupying them and made them feel relaxed.

Of mice and men

The village by the sea was a calm place. Though the people didn’t have much, but they all stuck together. They were very family oriented and helped one another in times of distress.

The pearl

The area by the pond was a haven for both George and Lennie. George even told Lennie that if something bad happened he needed to go there and hide in the bushes. The men shared good and bad times there. They fought, and the told tales. The pond was a place that held a variety of memories.

Themes

A variety of themes can be drawn from both books but, the two that I thought were important are loneliness and obsession. Two very different words but the author portrayed them in similar ways. The characters in Of Mice and Men dealt with loneliness and the characters in The Pearl had an uncontrollable obsession.

Of mice and men

Curley’s wife was alone, or at least she felt alone. She had her whole life planned out but things didn’t quite go her way. Instead of being an actress she was a farm wife. Loneliness is something most men on the farm endure. I think they wanted families, but their lives didn’t play out like they wanted them to.

The pearl

Some of the people in The Pearl tended to be a little obsessive. Kino was a good man but when he obtained the pearl he became overly obsessed with it, and making his family into something. The doctor also had an obsession. He was in love with money. He didn’t care what he had to do when it came to making a little bit of cash.

symbolism

An evil is present in both books. Coyotito’s evil is the scorpion and Lennie’s evil was anything soft. The difference between them was that Lennie could choose to touch soft things whereas Coyotito got stung and nothing could have prevented it.

Of mice and men

The scorpion was evil and Coyotito was a sweet, innocent child. When Coyotito got stung by the scorpion, his innocence was destroyed. He was touched by an evil that would forever change his life and it did.

The pearl

Lennie was an adult with the mind of a child. Things that would tempt a three year old gets his attention. Things such as soft materials, fur, and hair. These soft things can be treated as an evil. They tempt Lennie to touch them and when he does he gets into some sort of trouble.

Plot

Of Mice and Men and The pearl are both written by John Steinbeck. They have two very different plots but there are some underlying details that were similar. Both consisted of a dream that was suddenly crushed by an unsuspected tragedy.

Of mice and men

George and Lennie had been alongside one another for awhile. Lennie has the mental stability of a child and that gets him into trouble often. Both men have a dream of getting their own place together where they can live a stable life. This dream is soon ruined when Lennie gets into trouble and drags George down with him.

The pearl

Kino was a pearl diver and one day he got lucky. Kino found a pearl and when he brought it home, his son was healed from his previous scorpion bite. All the people that knew about Kino's pearl judged him. After the doctor refused to treat Kino's son, Kino decided to sell the pearl. He refused many offers and in doing so he made a lot of people angry with him. He was attacked by trackers so he had to take his family somewhere safe. The trackers caught up to them and Kino ended up killing two trackers and got his son, Coyotito, killed.

Conclusion

John Steinbeck wrote these two books and took them in separate paths, but yet they are similar in some cases. The characters had the same goal and they didn't quite accomplish that goal. They went through different hardships but in the end it ended in death.

John Steinbeck wrote two separate books, but yet they show so many of the same features. The books have different plots and somehow they tell the same story. People trying to achieve their goals, and the way they try to achieve them ends up hurting them. These books are different but very much so the same.