Comparison Between Two Steinbeck Novels

John Steinbeck was a talented writer who wrote many short novels throughout his lifetime. Two of those novels are The Pearl and The Red Pony. These two stories are very different. There are, however, some similarities.

The Red Pony describes the circle of life and death.
‘The pony dies, but another is born. The mare dies while her colt lives’ (The Red Pony).
Steinbeck’s story is all a matter of life and death. The Pearl is about the effect money has on a person’s life. The way it can drive people to do evil and makes life more stressful.
‘Kino ends up killing a man because someone wants to steal the pearl. This killing frightens Kino and they must hide and run away’ (The Pearl).

These are both important lessons to learn. Steinbeck also shows great emotion in both stories, especially the emotions of sadness and anger.
‘Jody is so sad over the pony’s death that he smashes the vultures head and mopes around for days’ (The Red Pony).

‘Kino is so angry that his child has been shot that he attacks those that killed him’ (The Pearl).

There are some events in this story that are quite similar.
‘Jody is given a beautiful red pony. He love is and can’t wait to show everyone. He takes very good care of the pony and trains it well’ (The Red Pony).

‘Kino finds a very valuable pearl. He keeps it safe’ (The Pearl).
Both people gain something and take great pride in what they have found. They make sure to take extremely good care of it.
‘Jody’s beloved pony dies. This causes Jody a great deal of sadness and drive him to smash the head of a vulture’ (The Red Pony).
‘Coyotito head is shot off. Kino attacks his killer’ (The Pearl).
In both these events an important character dies. This causes the other character to react in extreme matters. These are some events that are similar.

The settings are two completely different places. The Red Pony is in California and The Pearl is in Mexico. There are mountains near Jody’s farm. Kino lives by the ocean. However, both these places do have warm climates and are found in North America. That’s how the settings are alike and different.

Last but certainly not least, the characters in both of these tales are similar. Jody and Kino, deep down, are good, peaceful people. They are caring and try to do what’s best. Both have experienced a grave loss, endured hard times, and were determined to reach their goals. Jody is only a young boy though. Kino is a man and father. Mrs. Tiflin and Juana are also both caring people. They are very good at taking care of their families and love to do so, because they love their families very dearly. They are understanding people. Mrs. Tiflin leaves most decisions to Carl, her husband, but Juana does take part in many decisions in her marriage. Billy Buck and Juan Thomas both help out in the story. Juan is the brother of Kino, Billy Buck is just the hired help. They are both important to the other characters. John Steinbeck created some wonderful characters that share great characteristics.

These two Steinbeck novels were very powerful. They both had great messages. Both stories were very different, but they did have some interesting similarities. Steinbeck portrays much emotion and has similar characters. Some of the events were the same and the settings had minor similarities. Steinbeck is a great author and has written many books that have stood the test of time.