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An essay on the pearl
Themes and motifs in the pearl by john steinbeck
Theme of greed in the pearl
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More handpicked essays just for you.
An essay on the pearl
Themes and motifs in the pearl by john steinbeck
Theme of greed in the pearl
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Recommended: An essay on the pearl
The novella ‘of Mice and Men’ was written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s. It is set in a difficult period of time when America was sunk in deep depression. However, themes of loyalty shine brightly throughout the novella. He shows that even though Americas economy is in tatters, loyalty can still be as prominent. There were also distinct themes of disloyalty, mainly between characters.
Of Mice and Men is a short novel written by John Steinbeck in 1937. The book takes place in southern California during the time of the dust bowl, and focuses on 2 migrant workers, George and Lennie. Throughout the book, there is many belittling of others. Steinbeck uses various scenes involving the discrimination of minority people and character development to show people have an inherent need to make others feel powerless in order to feel more power themselves. One of the main ideas of the novel is the deprecation of others in order to feel more powerful.
America is often perceived as a country that values human rights. But on many occasions, this has been invalidated through the objectification of people of all genders, races, and backgrounds. Objectification is the act of treating a person as though they are not human but much rather an object or thing. For instance, Frederick Douglass’s aunt Hester in Narrative of the Life of a Slave by Frederick Douglass and Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Objectification has caused human suffering, not just in the past but today as well.
The definition of a sympathetic character is one whom the writer expects the reader to identify with and care about, though not necessarily admire. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife, a main character in the book is blatantly portrayed as an unsympathetic character. This is because they only see her through the men's eyes, who only see her as a tiresome object, owned by her husband. Steinbeck’s portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair and misogynistic because he only displays her as unintelligent and promiscuous, never has a character have a turning point where they realize she’s more than an object, and he never reveals her true name. The first reason that Steinbeck's portrayal of Curley’s wife is unfair is that he never gives Curley any redeeming personality traits, he only depicts her as unintelligent and promiscuous.
The novel follows the story of Kino, an indigent pearl diver who finds a valuable pearl and falls victim to the evils that come with it. In The Pearl, John Steinbeck uses pathetic fallacy to illustrate the progression of Kino’s fluctuating mood as the pearl slowly darkens his mind and mental
The book, Of Mice and Men, features many different types of people that are seen in today’s society. Each character has their own set of disadvantages that makes their life a little more difficult. Some characters have true struggles that cause them to have a more challenging life than others. Curley, Crooks, and Lennie cause readers to feel compassion towards them because of their disadvantages in society. Everyone has witnessed bullying at least once in their life.
Curley and his wife really do not deserve any sympathy. Curley is conceited, rude, and disrespectful. When he first met Lennie and George he was rude to them both getting especially mad with Lennie for not speaking back when spoken to. Lennie did not know any better he was just obeying George because he had informed him to not say anything. But I do feel sympathy for him because he did get his hand crushed by a mammoth of a man
This is not to say that an outsider cannot value religious truth claims. As discussed, the nature of the outsider can vary greatly, and their background will play a large role in their ability to do so. For example, a person who left a religious tradition, despite technically being an outsider, would have full contextualisation for truth claims, and have experience of the value of truth claims. Anthony Kenny in his book A Path from Rome recounts both his training to become a Catholic Priest, and his gradual withdrawal from Catholicism. Even as a religious outsider, Kenny recognises the emotional value of the religious tradition he used to belong to, and writes that nothing he has ever seen compared to religious ceremonies at the Vatican in ‘dramatic impact’, a feeling that remains true ‘from a secular and agnostic standpoint’ that he now occupies.
Do you think people are simply cruel or do they have a reasoning to be cruel? In the book of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many characters show a cruel side of them that was a bit misunderstanding but had their own personal reasons why they acted cruel. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, with a very intense storyline is about two best friends named Lennie Small and George Milton who are always on the road looking for work on farms, since they’re planning to own their own farm someday. When luck hits them and find work at a ranch they meet many people at the ranch but everyone doesn’t get along. Sadly in the end when George finds out they wanted to kill Lennie, George ended up killing Lennie himself.
“Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’s pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs, the lusts, the hungers of everyone, and the only person that stood in the way and that was Kino, so that he became curiously every man’s enemy.” (page 23). This quote states that everyone envies Kino and wants the pearl’s wealth for himself or herself. Later in the book, one of these people will try to take the pearl. This will cause Kino to try to protect the pearl at all costs.
Of Mice and Men is John Steinbeck’s most successful early novel containing elements of social criticism shaped by this real life experience. Steinbeck drew his inspiration for the work from his experience living and working as a “bindlestiff” during the 1920’s. Instead of graduating from Stanford University, Steinbeck chose to support himself through manual labour whilst writing. His experience amongst the working classes in California lent authenticity to his depiction of the lives of the workers - who are the central characters of this novel; and the social issues that ensue. To further emphasize the loneliness of the itinerant worker Steinbeck then decides to set the novel near Soledad, California, a town name that means “Solitude” in Spanish.
In Of Mice and Men violence is extremely prevalent and also a major theme. Each character is so accustomed to their misfortune and failure, which results in them becoming agitated and more frustrated with each other. Violence and bullying are used as outlets for their stress and misery. An example of a character that suffers from this violence is Crooks. He decides to torment Lennie by touching on the idea about George’s safety being in danger, however crooks intentions came from the discrimination and isolation he felt unlike some of the other workers, Crooks wasn't just passing by.
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’ ”
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.
John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a short novel that packs a punch and really looks back at America’s past and mistakes. Steinbeck paints a picture of the late 1920s and early 1930s through two men, George and Lennie. George looks after the mentally challenged Lennie and must take action by soon ending Lennie’s life. The characters in the novel all struggle with heartbreaking conflicts but, no one else suffers more than Lennie and George. These conflicts are often supported imagery in the text.