Comparing Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

A composer’s context and perspectives are present in their own work. This concept of how a composer uses ones surroundings and views to shape their own work becomes representative in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck explores the themes of dreams and how one’s dreams can never be reached in Of Mice and Men. A similar exploration can be seen in The Pearl. Even though the texts share similarities thematically, both texts differ from each other. In The Pearl there is a greater emphasis on how greed is such a destructive force where Of Mice and Men focuses on the theme of friendship especially of the friendship between Lennie and George. Hence, Steinbeck uses The Pearl and Of Mice and Men to reflect his own context

Steinbeck uses the theme of futility in both texts through the dreams of the protagonists. Lennie and George aspire to have there own farm “living off the fat of the land”. The death of Lennie becomes foreshadowed by the death of Candy’s dog. The unmistakable thematic parallels between the dog and Candy in implied in Carlson’s argument for killing the “smelly, old” dog, which he views pragmatically as no good to himself or to any one else. Similarly, through George shooting Lennie serves the utilitarian purposes where he rids himself of a cumbersome burden and society of a potential menace. Lennie’s death represents a matter of cold hard necessity imposing itself upon the frail hopes of man. In The Pearl Kino pursues a futile dream. Similar to in Of Mice and Men, Kino’s son is killed which disintegrates their dreams. Steinbeck depicts the natural world, which parallels or mirrors the human world. In Kino’s pursuit of his dreams he experiences hardships, which are reinforced by Steinbeck’s typical style of drawing on nature. The symbolism used in the ant lion trap foreshadows Kino’s fate where he will be consumed by

In The Pearl John Steinbeck places a greater emphasis on the idea of greed and how it is a destructive force whereas Of Mice and Men centers on the friendship between Lennie and George. The characterization of Kino presents himself as a materialistic individual by the end of the novella where he transforms from one of innocence to one of being corrupting and contaminated by greed. Kino’s canoe symbolized his link to his tradition and culture however with the destruction of the canoe reinforces Kino’s detachment from his culture as he has become perverted by his pursuit of wealth. The motif of the animalistic imagery of Kino reinforces in how man changes because of greed. Kino’s people seem poised for a similar destruction, as the materialism inherent in colonial capitalism implants a love of profit into the simple piety of the native people. On the other hand, in Of Mice and Men explores the dynamics of the male friendship between Lennie and George. When Lennie asks George to tell him why they're not like other ranchers, George explains that they're different because they have each other. Usually ranchers have no family, no friends, and, therefore, no future. George and Lennie's friendship strikes the other ranch workers as odd: their dependence on each other makes the boss and Curley suspicious; and Slim observes that ranch workers rarely travel together because they're scared of each other. Although most of