Similarities Between Of Mice And Men And The Pearl By John Steinbeck

Lots of works of literature are interconnected through similar themes. Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are both written by John Steinbeck and show themes from the poem “To A Mouse” by Robert Burns. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men, Lennie and George. This story takes place in the 1930s during the Great Depression and presents George and Lennie’s struggles through the time period. George believes he can keep Lennie under control but it is soon found out that Lennie is extremely unpredictable. The Pearl is a story based around a man named Kino and his family. His family is extremely poor so when he finds a pearl that can make his family have a better life, he does everything to protect it, not realizing he can’t control the consequences.

In the three works of literature the theme that is presented is, fate is inevitable and nothing can be changed when it’s already set in stone.

Of Mice and Men and The Pearl are both novels written by John Steinbeck. Being written by the same author there are obvious implications of them sharing the same theme. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck showcases the character Lennie. Lennie does not realize his own strength or emotions, a child in a man's body. Lennie gets in “trouble” causing George and him to move around. George tries to change his fate at the new farm but it seems it was inevitable. Lennie ends up killing Curley’s Wife. In chapter 2 on page 32 George tells Lennie “Listen to me, you crazy bastard… Don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.” George is trying to stop Lennie from interacting with Curley’s wife because he knows she would bring him trouble, which would cause them to move again. Lennie’s fate was inevitable as it is seen in chapter 5 on page 91 with Lennie realizing his actions “He lifted her arm and let it drop.

In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie have a dream. A dream to own a farm of their very own where no one can tell them what to do. They planned this out after an old man Candy who worked on the farm, and also wanted to join their dream. It is shown in chapter 3 from page 59-60 with Candy and George saying “Well I could get it for six hundred bucks… S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in…We got ten bucks between us… Look if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could wing her for that… I’d get a job an’ make up the res’ an’ you could sell eggs an’ stuff like that.” Their words clearly highlight their plans for the future. They all wish to get out of the farm and live a better life on their own farm. To have somewhere to go and not have to worry about anything but keeping the farm intact. Later on in chapter 5 it is revealed that it could have never been the case. Though they have planned out their future, George could have never predicted that Lennie would take it so far to kill Curley’s wife. In chapter 5 on page 94 Candy expresses his concerns about not being to have the future and George responds to his concerns with these words “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking