The Pearl and Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck

In the heart of the passage I found two books The Pearl and Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck similar in many ways almost like telling the same story.

The Settings

The Pearl is set in a small fishing village in Mexico and speaks of the harsh realities of poverty. Of Mice and Men is set in the Great Depression and also brings out the hardships of those times.

Characters with Dreams

These settings bring out the protagonists well on the one hand Kino a humble Pearl diver and George and Lennie two migrant workers. Both stories bring out the dreams the characters have against the backdrop of their grim realities.

The Pearl brings out how greed for material wealth can put one in danger and Of Mice and Men show how their dreams from being free of economic hardship are thwarted by consequences out of their control.

Tragedies

The stories both end tragically and somehow bring out the fact that chasing material wealth can not always mean gaining happiness. That without it one maybe more at peace. Also that it isn’t easy for all to climb out of poverty that circumstances may never change for the better.

In the heart of the passage I found characters living their ordinary lives and trying hard to break away from inequality. All men have the pursuit of a better life, dreams of new beginnings but often stay trapped in their mundane lives. Kino, George and Lennie were all dreamers that their pursuit of their dreams ultimately led to their destruction.

Wouldn’t Kino be all too happy to go back to his life with his family and George and Lennie be happy working on farms but for the fact that they chased their fragile dreams to a tragic end.

In the heart of the passage I found stories of symbolism and hidden within small dreams of ordinary people. The Pearl and Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck have been both engaging stories with a deep meaning.