Of Mice and Men vs. The Pearl

Honors English 10 Mr. Hollister

Of Mice and Men & The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Comparison of The Pearl & Of Mice and Men

Introduction

Of  Mice and Men, and The Pearl are both very eventful and interesting books. There is a lot of things happening in both but they tie in at certain parts. main characters are getting in trouble and trying to fix the problem themselves or,  trying to avoid fixing it in fear of making it worse. The plots are pretty interesting and the main characters may present themselves as the innocent people. These people may not mean to do what they do or just don’t realize they are doing it.

Characters

The Pearl

Kino is the main character in The Pearl, it starts off saying what a beautiful morning  it is. But then it gets bad, two minutes after it talks about the beautiful morning there is already trouble. Kino’s son who keeps coming up repetitively in every chapter is in danger. Coyotito is a baby, his name rhymes with coyote. He is almost always in danger during the whole book.  Kino doesn’t realize it is his fault because he thinks he is doing what is best for his family.

Of Mice and Men

Lennie is the main character in Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the main antagonist in this book as well. George is Lennie’s best friend after his aunt Clara died. George and Lennie travel together and they work together on a farm. Lennie is the muscle and George is the brains of the operation.

Setting

The Pearl

The town in The pearl is the main place everyone is at. The doctor, the priest, the townspeople, the beggars, everyone lives here. Kino and his family along with their little community live just outside the town in little thatch houses with thin walls. The people who live in the town are mostly the pearl buyers and the rich people. Kino and all the fishermen live outside of town because they aren’t necessarily good enough in some people’s standards.

Of Mice and Men

The bunkhouse in Of Mice and Men is one of at least five main settings in the book. Everything happens in the bunkhouse Lennie gets in a fight and George plays cards with everyone. Curly comes in looking for his wife a couple times and then she comes in looking for him. Candy meets Lennie and George in the bunkhouse and plays cards with them. Everyone lives in the bunkhouse besides the Boss, Curly, Curly’s Wife, and Crooks. They live in houses away from the bunkhouse and the barn.

Symbolism

The Pearl

Coyotes in The Pearl are big symbols because the baby's name is Coyotito. While Kino, Juana, and Coyotito are running away from the bounty hunters. When Coyotito cries one bounty hunter thinks he is a coyote pup crying for its mother. While, taking a break Kino and Juana hear a coyote howl in the distance.

Of Mice and Men

Hands in Of Mice and Men are big symbols throughout the whole book. When George and Lennie get to the bunkhouse and get acquainted curly comes in and has a glove on his hand filled with vaseline. Candy is missing a hand from his wrist to his fingertips. Lennie has strong big hands while George has small weak hands.

Theme

The Pearl

In The Pearl greed and fate are the themes that I mostly recognized and saw. The people of the town were greedy and wanted Kino’s pearl for themselves. They didn’t care how many people got hurt trying to get it from him either. Kino wanted a better price for his pearl so he could make sure his son got a good education. Kino wanted a rifle, and he wanted a wedding for his wife because they didn't get to have one. He wants to be able to provide for his family and give them what they want but he is greedy when he wants all of this stuff for his family.

Of Mice and Men

In Of Mice and Men, strength is a big theme, everyone is talking about their own strengths and weaknesses. Lennie is very strong he can toss a bag of barley over his head. Slim is a strong figure in everyone's eyes he is a strong leader. Curly is strong he wrestles as a profession. The boss is a strong figurehead because he runs the farm. George can’t be considered strong physically because he is smart so he is strong mentally. Crooks isn't strong because his back is hurt.

Plot

The Pearl

In The Pearl the plot is a little hard to find, but you can find one. The plot is If something comes to you too easy it might not be good for you. Kino finds a pearl he really just happens to see it he doesn’t work hard to find it at all. After he finds the pearl things start to go upside down, he starts getting aggressive, people start attacking him. His family is afraid he ends up killing people because they are coming after him for his pearl. Juana, Kino’s wife, recognizes that things are happening because of the pearl that he has found and keeps telling him. She keeps telling him that it's bad and evil things will happen but he doesn't listen.

Of Mice and Men

In Of Mice and Men the plot is a lot easier to find it fairly presents itself in the second and third chapter. The plot is, objects you might like or people you might like may not always like or appreciate you back. Lennie likes soft things, curly likes his wife, George likes to solve problems. People like a lot of things but that doesn’t always mean we will necessarily be happy or that the people we like will like us back. People use their own preferences like when Carlson shot Candy’s dog because the smell was bad and he didn’t like smelling it and seeing it suffer. Candy’s dog could have lived several more years if he was taken good care of but no Carlson had to get what he wanted. People want things they like or want to see happening and if it doesn't happen how they want it to happen they get upset. When things do happen and other people get upset because it happened the people who wanted it to be that way don't care because they like it. It's a vicious cycle that goes on and on and no one can stop what is happening.