Phat+Cat+Dream+Team

**Phat Cat Dream Team** Nicole Wesley, Kelly Pettit, Sabrina Williams, Natasha Sanchez

In many ways Steinbeck painted a similar picture in our minds for both settings. First, the decade of the 1930s is apporximately when each story took place. However, I found this was difficult to tell because in each book the plots never came across world events or modern conveniences, which does add to the timelessness of both stories. Although the exact locations of the settings are not identical (//The Pearl// in La Paz, Mexico and //Of Mice and Men// in Soledad, California) the terrain the characters come across are similar. When Kino, Juana, and Coyotito must go to the capital to sell the pearl, Junana and Coyotito try to escape the trackers by hiding in a cave in the mountains. Similarly, when George mentions how much easier his life would be without Lennie, Lennie tries to compensate that he can go live (and hide) in the hills nearby. Another element that is also alike in the setting is the sense of community between each book. In George and Lennie's case their community is their close-knit ranch with tight living arrangements. Similar to this is Kino and Junana's village communtiy where everyone hears about news in a matter of minutes and are there for every occasion. I think John Steinbeck's portrayal of each characters' surroundings was very accurate and added to the mood of the story as a whole. - Nicole Wesley Of Mice and Men ranch setting The Pearl village setting
 * Comparing the Settings of //The Pearl// and //Of Mice and Men//**

The author of __Of Mice and Men__ and __The Pearl:__ John Steinbeck

**John Steinbeck's Writing Style:** John Steinbeck used a similar writing style in __Of Mice and Men__ and __The Pearl__. He used a omniscient point of view, that lets you see how all the characters really felt. It makes you feel closer to the characters because you had more insight on how they felt. For example, even though Lennie killed the little puppy and Curley's wife, in __Of Mice and Men__, I still felt empathy for him because I knew what he was thinking. Steinbeck used similar characters in his books, as well. They usually came from poor backgrounds and were suppressed my their wealthier counterparts. Kino, from __The Pearl__, was looked down upon by the wealthy doctor and the priest just because of his social status. Similarly, Lennie and George were undermined by the boss of the ranch. Steinbeck often started his chapters with extremely detailed descriptions of the setting. For example, one chapter of __Of Mice and Men__ went in this fashion this for almost a full page; "Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. On one side of the little room there was a square four-paned window, and on he other, a narrow plank door leading into the barn..." Each chapter started in a similar fashion in both __Of Mice and Men__ and __The Pearl.__ Another clever device Steinbeck used was his ability to use dialect that enhanced the character development. It was the surprising lack dialect the developed Kino at first as a calm, considerate man. In __Of Mice and Men,__ Steinbeck used a great deal of slang such as, "tend 'em" instead of "tend them" and "gotta" instead of "got to." Foreshadowing in another common theme in Steinbeck books. He used it in __The Pearl__ with Kino's son Coyotito's name, which foreshadowed to him sounding like a Coyote at he end of the story. He used it in __Of Mice and Men__ as well when Candy regretted not shooting his dog himself, which led George to shooting Lennie himself. Symbols often appear in Steinbeck books, as well. In __Of Mice and Men__ Lennie and George's farm represented freedom and safety. In __The Pearl__, the pearl represented wealth and greed.

-Sabrina Williams

Like his father and grandfather before him, Kino is a poor diver, gathering pearls <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">from the Gulf beds that once brought great wealth to Kings of Spain and now provide <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Kino, Juana, and their infant son with meager subsistence. Then, on a day like any other, <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Kino emerges from the sea with a pearl as large as a sea gull's egg, as "perfect as the moon." <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">With the pearl comes hope, the promise of comfort and security...
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__The Pearl:__ **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Clinging to each other in their loneliness and alienation, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">dream, as drifters will, of a place to call their own. But after they come to work on a ranch in the Salinas <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Valley, their hopes, like "the best laid schemes o' mice an' men," begin to go awry... media type="youtube" key="LmH_MnLPrHk" height="315" width="420"
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Of Mice and Men: __**