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How Does Steinbeck Use Social Inequality In The Pearl

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Writing, Steinbeck includes social inequality and symbolism in his pieces. Social inequality is the difference in social classes. In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino and Juana’s child get bitten by a scorpion, but they cannot afford the treatment because of how poor they are. The doctor said,”Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little Indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary...they never have any money”(11). This passage shows the doctor looks down upon Kino and his family because they are in poverty, but the doctor is filthy rich. This is important for it shows the inequality in social classes or pyramids. Ultimately the reader learns people were divided based on their race and money. John shows symbolism in
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How can someone avoid social privilege, or privilege in general that restricts people? In the material Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates examples of how the majority is constricted of how far they progress in life due to social advantages and relations. With the characters in Of Mice and Men, readers get a wide variety of diverse negative and positive benefits across the palate of struggling people. Privilege is a harsh reality defined by social status and molds humans into a predetermined way of living. Women are generally less privileged due to the gender barrier and roles.

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Both Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are literary pieces from the author John Steinbeck. One (OMAM) contains two main characters, George and Lennie who are two people living in the Great Depression just trying to make a little money by working on a farm. Lennie is big in stature but due to a mental disability, needs assistance from George just to do basic tasks. On the other hand, George is a small, skinny man who took it upon himself to take care of Lennie after his aunt died.

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In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks behaves the way he does because of the discrimination he has faced throughout his life. In chapter four, we get a description of his belongs, which includes, “ a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of California civil code for 1905” (66). Since his copy of the civil codes is so worn, it demonstrates how often Crooks is flipping through the pages and frequently checking what his rights are. The date, 1905, shows how long he has had this book in his possession. Crooks has had to debate and battle for his rights so that others don’t get an unfair advantage because of their race, or he gets taken advantage.

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In 1920 when the 19th amendment was passed allowing women to vote, many women thought that Gender Inequality was coming to an end. Soon after, the Great Depression happened, and everyone was focused on that. Life for women was especially hard then because they had to live in a world full of poverty and discrimination. Throughout Of Mice and Men we see this through Curley’s Wife. She just wants to fit in and talk to the men without thinking she wants something, or being called rude names.

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“The Pearl”, written by John Steinbeck is the story of a man who lives in the town of La Paz in the state of Baja California, Mexico, during the 1900s, a period of colonialism. Within the context of the story, the author uses themes of power and corruption to show the capability and dishonesty caused by power. The Spanish descendants use their power to subjugate the indigenous. The story shows how the character Kino goes from a state of powerless poverty to controlling power. Kino is corrupted by the pearl making him ultimately responsible for his family’s plight.

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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.

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In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.

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Social inequality is overlooked by many. It affects so many of us, though we have yet to realize how extreme it is. Lee argues in this novel how much stress social inequalities put on the black and white races throughout the 1930s. Although, social inequalities did not just affect different races, it also affected poor people and family backgrounds. These are proven in the novel multiple times through Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the Cunninghams when the book is looked at more in

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