“Go on,” said Lennie. “How is it going to happen? We're going to have a little place. "We'll have a cow," said George. "And maybe we'll have a pig and some chickens...and in the apartment we'll have a...little piece of alfalfa-" "For the rabbits," Lennie cried. “For the rabbits,” George repeated. “And I can take care of the rabbits.” “And you have to take care of the rabbits.” (Steinbeck, 102) This is perhaps one of the most famous quotes in American literature. It shows many different themes at once, including the ambitions of the two characters, Lennie and George. In Of Mice and Men, these two characters are in the Midwest looking for work during the era of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Lennie is often a great example of someone who wants something he can't have. In moments like this that Of Mice and Men shows, it's not that rare. At the time this book is written, the author, John Steinbeck, illustrates through his literature the ambitions of people actually living in this era. In fact, most of the events that happened during the Great Depression era are present in his books. In The Pearl, although it takes place in a rural area of ​​Mexico, it shows the themes and characteristics of the events taking place in the world around John Steinbeck. Many factors contributed to Steinbeck's writing, particularly the socially and politically charged times in which he wrote, and his childhood which was influenced by his parents and by the natural beauty of the Salinas Valley. John Steinbeck was born February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. As a child, he grew up in a farming community and worked on ranches. At the age of fourteen, he decided to become a writer. He went to Stanford University, but middle of paper......most people, including him, were there. California's Salinas Valley, with its fertile soil and beautiful scenery, was the ideal location. that John Steinbeck called home. He developed a strong connection with nature, and in his books the description of the scene and nature was almost as important as the plot itself. John Steinbeck may have drawn inspiration from the people and landscapes around him during his adult years, but one of his biggest influences, in fact that of most people, was his parents. His parents taught him a sense of community and involvement that shines through in all of his novels. The things he experienced during his life, from the nature of the Salinas Valley to the upbringing his parents gave him, to the hardships those around him faced during the Great Depression, all contributed to the themes, motifs, characters and settings of his novels..