The Pearl and Of Mice and Men Comparison

Ran Guo Ms. Johnston 6th English Hopeless Ambitions The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, both parables by John Steinbeck, are stories with different themes. Yet despite the differences in the dreams and ambitions of Steinbeck's protagonists, his characters all share the hardship of having the will of society pitted against them. George and Lenny, from Of Mice and Men, travel from place to place, wandering as vagrants and accepting whatever charity available. They hope …

…as Steinbeck's characters charge blindly against its surface. Sometimes, for its own cruel amusement, as in the case of Steinbeck's two parables, this wall will give the mien of letting opportunity pass, only to close with sound thud when its victims begin to hope. What his characters desire are fantasies in a bleak existence, futilely clashing against a society with no mercy. With no hope of ever succeeding, their dreams can only end in tragedy.