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Literary essay coming of age
Coming of age themes in literature
Literary essay coming of age
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In Steinbeck’s writing, there is usually change in character. Whether it be losing something or gaining something, the people in Steinbeck’s writing always go through some sort of change, for better or for worse. The two that are most defined are Loss of Innocence and Coming of Age. Loss of Innocence refers to change in a character who was very innocent and pure before something, but lost that innocence and that purity after an event. It usually alludes to someone who is good turning into someone who is bad.. Coming of Age, on the other hand, refers to change in a character who was immature and careless before, but became mature, caring, and thoughtful afterwards. Coming of Age talks about someone who is immature turning into someone who is mature. While both of these topics demonstrate change, they are both …show more content…
Before gaining the pearl, Kino was a kind young man who worked hard to keep his family alive. He was not a criminal, nor did he have bad intentions in life. He loved family, because that’s all he had. But Kino then discovers the pearl and his life is changed, for the worse. We see this when Kino “looked into the [pearl] for his rifle, but he saw only a huddled dark body on the ground with shining blood dripping from its throat...And in the pearl he saw Juana with her beaten face crawling home through the night...And there in the pearl Coyotito’s face, thick and feverish from the medicine” (69). When Kino looks into the pearl, he hopes to see a rifle and other things he wants, but he only sees the body of a man he killed, the body of Juana who he had beaten, and Coyotito, who was sick. All of these bad things that happened to Kino happened because of the pearl and what it brought. Before the pearl, Kino would never kill a man. Before the pearl, Kino would never beat his wife. And before the pearl, Kino would always put his family first. But with the pearl, Kino lost all of his innocence, and changed for the
Kino found one of the most valuable and precious pearls in the world and being convinced of its worth was not going to be cheated by only minimally upgrading his condition of life. Instead he wanted to break the fixed life and role that he and his family had and always would live. Kino refuses the maximum offer of fifteen hundred pesos that would easily ease his and his family’s pain and suffering for the coming months. Kino is then determined to trek to the capital to find a fair and just offer. Kino continues determined through the mountains after an attempt at the pearl, his canoe destroyed and his hut set a blaze. Continuing to put his family’s life on the line. It eventually takes the death of his beloved son Coyotito to make him realize he needs to stop being so greedy, no matter how hard he tries and to shut his mouth and know his role.
Part of aeach human’s experience is about learning who one they isare. The process of making oneself betterbettering yourself as a human being is known as coming of age. The definition of coming of age is to grow or become more mature. Elisa in the story “Chrysanthemums” does not come of age because she is distant from the people around her, can’t experience the world, and can’t control her emotions when a problem deals with her flowers.
When Juana wanted to destroy the pearl, Kino beat her unmercifully: He struck her in the face and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side...He hissed at her like a snake and she stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before a butcher. (742) Juana saw through the outer beauty of the pearl and knew it would destroy them, but Kino's vision was blurred by the possible prosperity the pearl brought. The malignant evil then spread to a secret cult known only as the trackers. This corrupt band of ruffians attacked and destroyed Kino's life. The very night that the trackers learned of Kino's pearl, they tried to steal it. The next night, Kino was attacked twice, which resulted in Kino committing murder. After the final struggle of the night, Juana went back to their home to find more baneful members of the heartless cult rampaging through their belongings to find the pearl. The end result was Kino and Juana's house going up in flames. The trackers then committed the cardinal sin, they destroyed Kino's canoe: This was an evil beyond thinking.
Steinbeck explores lots of real world problems and lessons in his books. He writes about things such as greed, loss, and powerlessness. Through his writing, he shows that everyone is powerless in some way or another. For example, not everyone has power over their own abilities and Steinbeck shows this through Lennie, a mentally disabled character in Of Mice and Men. And in The Pearl, he illustrates that women didn’t always have power over their men counterparts.
Coming of Age is when a character in a story goes through a life-changing event they learn a life lesson from. There are many types of books and short stories that are based on Coming of Age, "The Flowers" by Alice Walker is one of them. In the story the main character, Myop, is wandering through the woods. However, she later decides to shorten her walk, after she starts to feel uncomfortable and fearful, of her surroundings. Soon she decides later to find her way back home until she stumbles across something... a dead body. At first Myop was astonished of what she had uncovered . It was something she had never encountered before. After examining the body she began to realize that it was actually something very interesting. Seeing the lifeless
Kino response saying "no”(Peral53). This shows he is beginning to become greedy. Also, this shows again that he makes the big decision in the moment. A PDF on the Internet says a tragic hero shows many different flaws and one is “ he has to face very serious decisions that he has to make”. Kino many times in The Pearl has decisions that he has to make.
Readers can tell from the statement that many of the people Kino encounters after finding the pearl become bitter “friends”. At this point, Kino and Juana begin to realize that the pearl is bringing bad luck upon them. They are taken advantage of by the doctor and he decides to visit them after knowing they have the pearl. “This pearl is like a sin”(56). Juana begins to realize the pearl is bringing them bad luck, but Kino still trusts that it’s a gift. Readers can also assume that people are trying to take the pearl when Kino is suddenly attacked during the night. “Blood oozed down from his scalp and there was a long…”(56). Readers can now confirm that the pearl has changed and now represents evil. The pearl also begins to destroy Kino and Juana’s relationship as they have different opinions on what to do with the pearl. After Kino wakes up and follows Juana when she wakes up and walks out, readers know he has started to lose full trust in her. “He rolled up to his feet and followed her silently as she had gone” (58). Through the symbolism of the pearl and what it brings upon Kino and Juana, the author emphasizes how the pearl is not what it first appears to be, which was
He wanted a rifle, a bow and arrow to hunt, and protect his family with it. Kino started to get agitated and angry with his wife when he started changing. When his son died, he saw the pearl as ugly and he felt nothing, just the same way as his wife.
Kino’s insanity furthers when he stabs and murders a man who was trying to steal his pearl, “A dead man in the path and Kino’s knife, dark-bladed beside him.” (59). The original Kino is certainly gone at this point in the novella; he’s committed a crime in an attempt to safeguard his pearl. He has gone through a very clear character change when compared to how he acted at the beginning of the story. The pearl has caused irreversible damage and Kino’s greed only deepens because of
To him, the money that comes from the Pearl is of higher value more than a fellow man’s life; something he never would have considered before he found it. Greed brought out the worst in Kino, and his understanding of himself died as greed took over his
Throughout the story, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the pearl acts as a symbol of various things to Kino. When Kino initially found the pearl it symbolizes his future and hopes. When he found the pearl he was able to visualize the future that his family will have after he sell the pearl. Through the pearl he saw “ Juana and Coyotito and himself standing and kneeling at the high altar, and they were being married now that they could pay.” This validated the fact that Kino was to foresee his family's bright future through the pearl.
First viewed as a beautiful and valuable prize, Kino’s pearl is used as a device for Steinbeck to drive the parable in The Pearl. Kino saw “the great pearl, perfect as the moon,” (Steinbeck 19). Kino saw the value in the pearl, and thus he wanted to get the most money he can out of it. The greed that was inside Kino took control of his actions until he sees Coyotito shot and killed, snapping Kino back to reality. As a result of what happened to his son, he sees that, “[the pearl] was gray and ulcerous,” (Steinbeck 89).
This single event, drastically changed Kino’s perspective of the pearl. His envisioned dream of a new beginning, a new life for himself, juana and coyotito changed to a nightmare that was unforeseeable in the eyes of Kino. “And Kino thrust the pearl back into his clothing, and the music of the pearl had become sinister in his ears, and it was interwoven with the music of evil.” This event, finally made Kino stop, to rethink his choices, to rethink the dark path that he has entered and rework back to the path of safety. However this change in thought was only because of the death of the son, Coyotito.
On page 89 it states, "He looked into its surface and it was gray and ulcerous. Evil faces peered from it into his eyes, and he saw the light of burning. And in the surface of the pearl he saw the frantic eyes of the man in the pool. In the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away. And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth." In the end, Kino had finally realized that the pearl was nothing but a waste. Nothing good has come out of his journey to the rich life. He just suffered. The pearl held nothing but horrible memories. Now the pearl meant evil and
Kino wanted good for his family but he didn’t realize that the great evil power of the pearl was driving him away from that, and therefore he is responsible for what happened to his