ipl-logo

Comparing John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

413 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The pearl theme of greed

While reading John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, I noticed numerous similarities to Of Mice and Men. The first one being the strong emphasis on the importance of family. In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie were basically family, seeing as how George never failed to protect Lennie, even when Lennie got into trouble. For instance, when Lennie caused a commotion in Weed, George stuck by him, helping him escape. In The Pearl, Kino struggles to provide for Juana and Coyotito. I think that Kino was so persistent to keep the pearl because he knew that with it, he would be able to send Coyotito to school and have a real wedding with Juana. With the pearl Kino felt that he could protect his family. In the end, the pearl ended up tearing apart the very thing he was trying to protect, his family. Similarly, in Of Mice and Men, with George’s strong intent to protect Lennie, he was forced to kill Lennie. Contrasting with Of Mice and Men, I do feel that Coyotito’s death was not necessarily caused by a will to protect, but it was …show more content…

For me, In The Pearl, the pearl is equal to George and Lennie’s job in Of Mice and Men. The major difference between George and Kino, is that George would give up his job for Lennie in a heartbeat. However, when Juana tried to get rid of the pearl, Kino went so far as to hit her. Not long after that, did Kino kill someone, and his home was burnt to the ground. When Kino stopped Juana, it wasn’t out of love, it was out of greed. He knew the pearl had already caused problems, and he kept it out of sheer avarice. If George thought Lennie was in any danger whatsoever, he would have destroyed the pearl the first chance he got. To me, the most apparent difference between the two novels, is that in The Pearl, Kino’s love and need to protect his family became obscured with greed. George however, always had Lennie’s best interest in

Show More
Related
951 Words | 4 Pages

Their reason was simple: Kino had found the ‘Pearl of the World”. Kino looks deep into the pearl to see the glories and bright future for him and his family: he properly weds Juana, sends Coyotito to a good school, and lives a successful life. The doctor accepts to treating Coyotito, which gives the couple some worry. Kino repeatedly buries and unearths the pearl which gives Juana some concern. Later Kino sees a person near his hut, assumes it is a thief, attacks, and fails to catch the entity.

Read More
532 Words | 3 Pages

Books have certain details that are edited out or reshaped in the movie versions. Variations between the book and the movie may seem easy for the readers to find these elements. There are three main differences between the book and the movie Of Mice and Men which include setting locations, characters, and ending scenes. There are many differences to the book but one of the main ones is the setting. There are so many differences to the setting for example in the movie they are out in the fields half of the time and in the book they are in the bunkhouse.

Read More
475 Words | 2 Pages

Some may argue, that George made the wrong decision because Lennie was all that George had. This may be true however but george also made the right decision because Lennie didn’t know what he did wrong, so he would probably do it again. On page 82 Lennie says, “ George’s scared I’ll get into trouble.” This proves that Lennie would get into trouble because he

Read More
315 Words | 2 Pages

The reason that Kino and Juana went searching for something of value was because Coyotito needed to be healed by the doctor. Once they found the “wonderful” pearl there was no longer a use for it. Juana’s seaweed cure had worked and now there was no need for the pearl. Kino only wanted to use it for things that weren’t necessary such as a wedding with Juana, with whom he was already married, and a rifle which he didn’t

Read More
900 Words | 4 Pages

Tim is a film directed by Michael Pate is for a target audience of older adolescents and adults and is about a mentally handicapped twenty-year-old, Tim (Mel Gibson), who works for an older woman, Mary Horton (Piper Laurie), by doing her odd jobs. Mary develops a soft spot for Tim and eventually becomes his primary carer and marries him following his mother’s tragic death. Tim is set in Australia during the late nineteen seventies. Of Mice and Men is a book written by John Steinbeck is for a target audience of older adolescents and adults and is about a scrawny but smart young man, George, and his mentally challenged partner, Lennie. The book is set in California during the Great Depression in the nineteen thirties.

Read More
401 Words | 2 Pages

This story is based on events that occurred in the early twentieth century. The story is about King George the VI, and how he came to be the new ruler of England, and overcome his speech impediments. Throughout this process he will undergo changes, and be put in situations he would have never imagined being in. The Duke of York first meets Lionel after his wife, Queen Elizabeth, goes to meet him at his office.

Read More
769 Words | 4 Pages

The stranger attacks Kino in an attempt to find the pearl and steal it. Kino’s actions are described as follows, “His right hand went into his shirt and felt his knife… he stood up and walked to the doorway” (55) Kino is attacked and Steinbeck tells the reader how Juana reacts. “Kino lay on the ground, struggling to ride… Juana dropped her stone, and she put her arms around Kino and helped him to his feet… blood oozed down…”

Read More
511 Words | 3 Pages

The power of greed can destroy people and their wonderful and simple lives. It is not a physical power that physically kills you but rather a power that gets in your soul and destroys you from the inside. Greed is shown throughout The Pearl. The author showed greed throughout the book by using foreshadowing, symbolism, and characterization. John Steinbeck, the author, used all of these devices to show that greed was able to take over people 's souls and change their state of minds because of the pearl’s ability to change people.

Read More
570 Words | 3 Pages

The pearl becomes Kino’s soul and Coyotito becoming forgot. She paused for a moment beside the hanging box where Coyotito lay, then for a second she was black in the doorway, and then she was gone. And rage surged in Kino. He rolled up to his feet and followed her as silently as she had gone. When Juana sneaks out of the house to dispose of the pearl Kino goes after her and leaves coyotito alone in the house because of this he is exposed and more at risk of being killed.

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

At the beginning of the novel, Kino is represented as an honest man who chooses to do what is right over doing what is wrong, but by possessing the pearl he changes. “Oh, my brother, an insult has been put on me that is deeper than my life. For on the beach my canoe broken, my house is burned, and in the brush dead man lies. Every escape is cut off. You must hide us, my brother’ ”

Read More
498 Words | 2 Pages

Who do you think is responsible for the tragedy of Kino’s family? The novel is filled with consequences and selfishness of other people. It all started when the pearl was found, there were devastating consequences for the family. Some consider that Kino is most responsible for what occurred, while others might blame something supernatural and claim that the Pearl was to blame. It may seem clear to know that it was Kino who caused it, but it was the pearl because the pearl wasn’t meant to be in that part of the ocean, and the pearl is a way for evil to rise and take control for people to have jealousy and do sins.

Read More
899 Words | 4 Pages

The pearl became evil through all the greed in humanity; therefore, bringing bad luck to anyone who touches it. Throughout the course of the story, I felt annoyed at Kino’s greed and selfishness. After I read the book, I learned that too much greed can lead to suffering, violence, and one’s downfall. Before, I never really knew the consequences of excess greed, but after reading “The Pearl" by John Steinbeck, now I know that I should never let greed take control over me. “He looked into his pearl to find his vision.

Read More
1156 Words | 5 Pages

Because of this, they are trapped in a cycle of poverty, which could be broken if one of their kind was to go to school -- which is the reason why Kino puts faith in Coyotito. Therefore, when many, especially the Europeans, repeatedly assault Kino to acquire the Pearl of the World, Kino “[makes] a hard skin for himself against the world”(38), preparing for a fight despite the fact that he “would drive himself against a mountain… [and] the mountain would stand while [he breaks] himself”(77). The significance of this is that Kino, to follow through with the plan of freeing his people, willingly turns against his superiors. Yet, the Europeans, like a mountain, are formidable, whereas Kino is tenuous, and has only his persistence that propels him to move forward -- such persistence for this “dream of the future” which he claims “[is] real,” and so, it being “real,” he believes it is

Read More
1524 Words | 7 Pages

Now, Kino is ready to kill for his precious pearl, and it really angered him that someone would have even thought to steal his pearl. It’s almost like he preschool skills of “MINE!!” are back at it again. Moreover, Juana had said that the pearl was evil and that they should throw it away. The next morning, before Kino awakened, Juana unburied the pearl and went to the beach to throw it away into the ocean.

Read More
584 Words | 3 Pages

Greed, Possession and Money Later in the day when the family found the wonderful pearl neighbors gathered at the couple’s house to witness its beauty and power. Those in need began to ask Kino for help but Kino believed the pearl should be used in providing his son with the schooling he never got as a young boy. Juana saw that the pearl brought out the worst in Kino and brought it upon

Read More

More about Comparing John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Related Topics

Open Document