Of Mice and Men vs. Cannery Row

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John Steinbeck is an intriguing and intelligent author native to the grapevine-woven and sun-soaked Salinas, California. Many of his works, including Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row, have striking similarities such as similar characters, and setting , seeing as they ‘took place’ near each other in real life. As any good book, both of these novels have many ideas that are in fact complete opposites, like the overall story progression and the plot, or absence of one in the case of Cannery Row. To understand these two books clearly, this essay will compare and contrast the setting, characters, plot, and the themes present in both books. Like Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row is about people trying to fit in. Both books are “evocative, beautifully rendered portraits of ‘outsiders’ struggling to understand their own unique places in the world” (Stephan 1). But unlike Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row shows a community of people whereas in Of Mice and Men, the main focus is on George and Lennie. In Cannery Row, the environment of the Row is shaped just as much by the characters inhabiting it as the characters are shaped by the Row. In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie must adapt to their surroundings immediately. To focus on two characters in specific, take Lennie from Of Mice and Men and Frankie from Cannery Row. Frankie is described as a mentally handicapped boy who, “...couldn’t learn and there was something a little wrong with his coordination.” (Steinbeck, Cannery Row, 58) Frankie resembles our dear friend Lennie, who was always a little off. Both Lennie and Frankie were rejected and forced to find someone to care for them. In Frankie’s case, it was Doc, and for Lennie, of course, there was George, These two caretaker characters are ve... ... middle of paper ... ...quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses.” (Steinbeck, Cannery Row, 1) In a very unique way of describing the Row, Steinbeck has captured every concept that makes it up. But for every different person who reads it will have a very real yet very different understanding of what the Row is like. As for Of Mice and Men, the setting is a little more fathomable, taking place east of Monterey, so presumably alike in aspects such as weather or terrain. For both, however, setting is a very crucial part of their respective stories. Setting in general is very important to Steinbeck as well.

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