The Pearl
“…Kino’s brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound—the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death”(Steinbeck, 1947, p. 87). In the novel, The Pearl, John Steinbeck presented a family of three and a pearl to demonstrate how the power of greed and selfishness from wealth can impact and destroy a once content family. An example of how John Steinbeck became an advocate for the oppressed and social reform by addressing the societal differences and class struggles among the people of La Paz is in a parable he wrote called The Pearl.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in 1902. Enrolled in literature and writing courses, he left Stanford
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Steinbeck (1947) exemplifies the doctor’s wealth by writing, “He poured his second cup of chocolate and crumbled a sweet biscuit in his fingers” (p. 11). During that time period and location, only wealthy people could eat expensive food that consists of chocolate and sugar. Considering he was on his second cup of chocolate and that his biscuits were sweet implies that he was well beyond financially stable, compared to Kino and Juana who had only a corncake and pulque for …show more content…
At first, the pearl symbolized aa amazing providence. With the discovery of the great pearl, Kino began to have hope for Coyotito’s future and thought of the different possibilities that lead before him. However, as the town found out about ‘“the Pearl of the World”’(Steinbeck, 1947, p. 23), it began to have an injurious effect into Kino’s simplistic life (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). Juana and Kino’s brother began to seek the pearl as a threat rather than a blessing as the pearl began to symbolize and associate more materialistic desires. With Kino’s desire to acquire wealth from the pearl, he altered from a happy and content father into a savage criminal. By Kino’s demonstration of the destruction of innocence from greed and desire, the pearl soon became a symbol of human destruction. Kino’s gluttony shortly leads him to violently mistreat his wife and also to the death of his only son, Coyotito (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). SparkNotes Editors (2002) believed that his greed ultimately isolated Kino from his cultural customs and society. Overall, according to Wheeler (2008), the parable’s moral lesson was that “money cannot buy
The novel The Pearl by John Steinbeck is about a young poor man with a family who has found a great source of wealth. The novel was written in third person, or a narrator unknown to the reader. The main characters in my novel was Kino, a young native and farther, Juana, Kino’s girlfriend and mother, and Coyotito, Kino and Juana's young infant son. John Steinbeck's novel starts off with a very dramatic first scene when Kino and Juana’s infant, Coyotito, gets stung by a scorpion. They rush their child to the doctor in town, but they were quickly denied help. The doctor refused to give them his services because they didn’t have a enough money to pay the him properly. That very same day they went out on the sea to go diving for pearls. While Kino was diving Juanna was creating a poultice for Coyotito wound. This made the wound heal a little but definitely not all the way. Kino came up from his di...
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.
John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, in 1902. Steinbeck went to Stanford University in 1919, where he enrolled in literature and writing courses until he left in 1925 empty handed without a degree. During the next five years he supported himself as a laborer and journalist in New York City and then as a caretaker for a Lake Tahoe estate, all the time working on his first novel, Cup of Gold (1929). He published two California fictions, The Pastures of Heaven (1932) and To a God Unknown (1933); he also worked on short stories later collected in The Long Valley (1938). A ceaseless experimenter throughout his career, Steinbeck changed courses regularly. Three powerful novels of the late 1930s focused on the California laboring class: In Dubious Battle (1936), Of Mice and Men (1937), and the book considered by many his finest, The Grape...
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. He had a pretty average childhood with a supportive family and a decent education. While growing up his mother, Olive Hamilton, was a major factor in his education, since she was a schoolteacher and made it her duty to educate him. His mother most likely was the reason he developed a love of reading and literature and ended up going to Stanford. In his child there were only two major events that affected his writing. These were when he worked on a ranch with migrant workers, and when his father’s business failed and the family was temporarily thrust into poverty. These two events most likely sparked his interest in the poor lives of the migrant workers. His experiences on the ranch taught him about the harsh and impoverished lives of the migrant workers and his experience of being in poverty enabled him to understand what life is like when one is poor, as the migrant workers were. This understanding inspired some of his most famous writings such as: Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle and The Grapes of Wrath. These experiences also allowed him to add a sense of realism to the stories. After graduating from his public high school in 1919 Steinbeck went to Stanford. He went there for 5 years before dropping out without a degree and moving to New York. The following years were highly tumultuous for Steinbeck and he held many odd jobs while trying to get his writing published. In 1935 he finally got his first big break when his critically acclaimed novel, Tortilla Flats, was published. After this he became quite successful and well known although the skill in his writing seems to fall after WWII. After researching his life I decided to focus on using his most famous n...
“He who wants everything everytime will lose everything, anytime”- Vikrant Parsai. This famous quote supports the theme of “Greed and materialism left unchecked, can lead to immoral behavior such as violence” in the book, The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Kino and Juana find the pearl of the world while Kino gets a little too obsessed with the pearl. Juana tries to hide it and make everything better, but everything backfires on her . Kino goes crazy about what Juana tries to do to help him and does things no one would ever imagine.With this in mind, all the readers will look at how greed is expressed through characters,and even Kino himself and symbolism.
He is driven by greed, so much so that he could even see dreams form in the pearl. Kino is the head of a modest household and until he finds the pearl he lives a satisfied life with all he needs for his family to be happy. As soon as Kino finds the pearl he starts to want possessions he never wanted before. He dreams of education for Coyotito, marrying Juana in a Catholic church, purchasing new clothing for his family, and getting a harpoon and a rifle for himself. “It was the rifle that broke down the barriers . . . for it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more” (Steinbeck 32). Located within a small poverty-stricken community, a pearl diver named Kino finds “the Pearl of the World” and becomes suddenly rich, he begins to want items that he thought were impossible before. As Kino thinks more and more of what the pearl can do for him, he starts to think that it will raise his social status as well. This is only the beginning of Kino’s greediness, for the more he gets, the more he will want, and this begins to dehumanize him. Kino focuses on the wealth of the pearl and causes him to change his values about life. In the beginning, Kino is only focused on his family, once Kino finds the pearl he becomes more focused on the pearl, rather than his family. Kino cares a lot more about losing the pearl rather than something bad happening to his loved
"My country is different from the rest of the world. It seems to be one of those pregnant places from which come wonders...I was born to it and my father was. Our bodies come from this soil-our bones come…from the limestone of our mountains and our blood is distilled from the juices of this Earth. I tell you now that my country is hundred miles long and about fifty wide; is unique in the world" (Steinbeck 1933: 17). He spent his early childhood in California and truly, he never left his place as he wrote about it in most of his work. He was a keen observer but often mischievous. In Salinas Valley, he had the most blissful growing up years with his two elder sisters, Beth and Esther. His younger sister, Mary loved him to the extent of adoration. His family was never wealthy but they were reputed citizens of the small town with a population of 3,000 people. His parents often engaged themselves in the community activities. When his father was a treasurer and then his mother, Mrs. Olive Steinbeck was a member of 'the Order of the Eastern Star' club and founder of 'The Wanderers', women's club. Mrs. Olive had to travel vicariously for her social works. In this way, the elder Steinbecks established their identities by spreading roots deep in the
John Steinbeck was born in February of 1902 in the town of Salinas, California. He would be the only son of four children (Millichap). He was an avid reader and writer from a young age, and would attend Salinas Valley High School, where he graduated as the president of his class (Bergquist and Millichap). After high school, he would enroll in
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
In the book “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck the essential questions that works with the story is What is worth the effort, When is a risk worth taking, How can we fight injustice, and What impact will you have on the world. The essential question what is worth the effort because Kino risks his life for the pearl, when he has better things in life to look for. Kino would have been better off just selling the pearl because if he did he could get married in a church, raise his son and send him off to school. Unfortunately it didn’t work out the way Kino wanted it too.
When the doctor gets word that Kino has found the pearl he quickly rushes to their house to care for Coyotito after first turning them away. The doctor decides to help Coyotito because he realizes they now can afford to pay him which makes him start to recall the luxurious life he once lived while in Paris. This shows that the doctor does not care about helping Coyotito; he is merely interested in getting paid so he can live like he once did. The doctor is a good examp...
If you were given a million dollars, what would you do? Spend it in a short amount of time? Or save it responsibly for the future? Many would say the latter, confident that they will accomplish that. But for a few, it doesn’t turn out that way. In the book, The Pearl, a family, Kino, Juana and their child, Coyotito, go through various hardships after they have found a pearl, eventually losing everything they had loved. With three examples from the novel, I will explain what the pearl in the book symbolizes.
The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a classic novella. Steinbeck is a classic author that also wrote The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. “This long story (or short novel) follows five momentous days in the life of an Indian pearl diver living in La Paz, a small port on the Gulf of California,” (Gunn 1) . Kino is the pearl diver, and his son, Coyotito, gets stung by a scorpion, but the doctor will not see him because of race and status. That is until Kino goes pearl diving and finds a pearl the size of a gull’s egg. After that everything changes for Kino, his family, and the whole village. This novella is set up a lot like a parable in which it is an earthly story with an heavenly meaning. This story has many symbols that point to the overlying
In Matthew 26:16 it says, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Truly, the question posed in this quote is one that applies to the main character, Kino, in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. Steinbeck composes a narrative, in which the characters are driven by unrelenting greed, resulting in disastrous consequences. Steinbeck is an exemplary author in the genre of tragic, fictional literature. Indeed, Steinbeck effectively utilizes elements of fiction including characterization, symbolism and conflict in order to convey the theme that misery is inevitable when a person’s insatiable greed precedes it. Steinbeck capably uses characterization to show the reader how the characters evolve as the story progresses, while demonstrating how their insatiable greed led to their downfall. Likewise, Steinbeck utilizes symbolism in the story to give seemingly mundane objects a more profound and substantial meaning, that foreshadow the outcome of the characters’ unquenchable greed. Furthermore, Steinbeck effectively uses different types of conflict, namely internal and external, to communicate to the reader the struggles that follow a greedy heart. Through the use of these elements of fiction, Steinbeck is able to show how greed affects these characters and the unavoidable misery that follows. By reading this essay, the reader will understand how Steinbeck uses various elements of fiction to demonstrate the devastating effects of a person’s greed in a world where the evil in people is often far greater than the goodness in people.
This leads to change and, eventually, downfall. Before he finds the pearl, Kino “was a well-liked man” (43), and adored by all of his neighbors. Everyone looked up to his kindness and sympathy, but when he finds the Pearl, he changes. The pearl takes control over him, and he becomes too obsessed with getting his money. He loses his many things over it: “now it is my misfortune and my life and I will keep it” (66). The neighbors even suspect, “‘what a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all.’” (43) For example, KIno loses his family when he tries to protect the pearl and defies the pearl buying system, and when he mishandles Juana. Loisng his canoe symbolizes thi sloss of his family. He also loses his sanity. he beats Juana and kills four men. He “‘killed a man’” (61) and joins in many fights. For greed, he turns down the salesman`s offer for the pearl and ends with nothing left. Kino has the chance to take the money offered to him and be done, but he is greedy and he wants more. Then, at the end of the book, Kino throws the pearl into the sea, and with it, all the money he could possibly gain. He also lets the doctor treat Coyotito, even with his doubts, and now can not pay him because the pearl is his payment method, which is now gone. He thinks his money is secure, and in his mind, he is a rich man. This is not necessarily true, as readers learn, and because he was so secure, he must now pay for unnecessary