Introduction

In this essay, I’ll be talking about the similarities and differences between Of Mice and Men and The Pearl. There were many of them that I found while reading the two books. I’ll show you those here in this essay. I’ll also be talking about how both were somewhat the same.

Setting

The settings in Of Mice and Men and The Pearl that I thought were similar were the village on the beach and the ranch. They both had people who had roles and jobs to do each and every day. They both had a leader of the land that lived in a nice big house.

Of Mice and Men

One of the settings was Weed which was their home town. But George and Lennie were ran out of it because Lennie grabbed a woman’s dress. Then they traveled to a ranch for work and shelter.This ranch is hot, sandy and just your typical ranch.

The Pearl

Kino and his family lived in a village on a beach. But the doctor lived in a nice big house. Now the doctor was very wealthy so he was able to have a nice house; Kino and them were poor people. The sea was one because that’s where Kino worked and found the pearl.

Themes

Fate seemed to be a theme for both books because it was fate for George and Lennie to work at the ranch, and Kino to find the pearl while working. In both books, the characters found

Of Mice and Men

The themes for this book were fate and isolation. A fate was that George and Lennie were meant to be on that farm. Some examples of isolation were the farm was isolated, it was in the middle of nowhere. Some people were isolated like Crooks, he slept in the barn by himself and had no one to talk to.

The Pearl

The themes I found for this book were greed and fate. Like the doctor was greedy because he wanted money and refused to help anyone who didn’t have any. The priest was greedy because he wanted the pearl for himself. For fate it was destined for Kino to find the pearl because it was at his station or work post.

Symbols

He symbol soft things showed as the beauty in things but also violence because soft things got Curley’s wife and Lennie killed in the end of the book.

Of Mice and Men

Some symbols I found for this book was soft things. Like when Lennie grabbed women’s dress in Weed. Another was Slim gave him the puppy from his dog. Another symbol was Hands, for instance Candy did not have a hand. Curley kept his hand in a glove full of vaseline for his wife.

The Pearl

The symbols I found for this book were the pearl and the scorpion. The pearl was beautiful but at the same time it brought violence to the world. The scorpion was dangerous and it started the chain of bad events. Then there were the beggars, they knew everyone’s secrets and were very poor.

Characters

Two characters I thought were similar were The Boss and The Doctor. The Boss was above everyone and I feel that the doctor was too. Plus The Doctor was rich and The Boss could’ve been also. Then George and Kino match each other they were the leaders of their groups. And had to hurt the one they loved most.

Of Mice and Men

One of the characters was George, he was a short, tan man. He is a long time friend of Lennie. Lennie was a very tall, strong guy, he was also dumb. Lennie was a great worker but he wasn’t smart at all. Candy was an older man who worked on the ranch for years, but had to stop because he lost his hand. Then there was the boss, he was in control of the ranch and Curley’s father.

The Pearl

Kino was a very poor man, but had a dream to give his family a great home. He was a pearl diver and the one who found the Pearl of the World. The doctor was a large man who was greedy with money. He also refused to help Kino’s kid when he was stung by a scorpion. Coyotito was the son of Kino. He was a chunky baby. The pearl healed him of the sting from the scorpion.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men are very similar because they both talk about people who find something good in their workplace. But towards the end of the book someone dies from the group, like Lennie dies in the end and so does Coyotito. Exploring this, i found that death was a main role in the books. It seemed to me that whoever someone loved often was the one to die. Lennie loved the mouse and puppy and killed them both by accident. Lennie also killed Curley’s wife whom he love a lot. Finally Candy’s dog was shot and killed by Carlson, which Candy could not bear.