Beeban Kidron, an English film director, once said, “Whether in cave paintings or the latest uses of the Internet, human beings have always told their histories and truths through parable and fable. We are inveterate storytellers.” This quote includes the novel we have read The Pearl by John Steinbeck which is a parable. After their son was stung by a scorpion, a young couple, whose names are Kino and Juana, go in search f care. When they are rejected due to lack of money, they go in search of a pearl. Kino and Juana find one but little do they know that their great pearl comes with many hardships. In the end, the evil pearl wins and takes the young couple’s son. In this essay we will be describing the difference between a parable and fable, and two reasons why The Pearl is not a fable: it has morals, symbols, and no talking animals.
A parable is a short story used to illustrate a
…show more content…
The canoe symbolizes Kino’s heritage and his family. It and how to care for the wood had been passed down for generations. When the pearl is brought into Kino and Juana’s life the canoe became broken which shows that there was conflictions within the family. The scorpion shows that bad things happen to the purest things and we don’t really have control over what happens. The scorpion stings Coyotito, the son of Kino, who injects him with its poisonous venom. The couple does everything they could to save their son’s life but in the end, Coyotito’s life is still taken even though it is not taken by the scorpion. Kino’s dreams and the great pearl are things that were too good to be true. The night Kino finds the great pearl, he dreams of many wonderful things that he could do with the money he would get from the pearl. A rifle, a wedding for him and Juana, and an education for Coyotito, but instead of these wonderful things, the pearl brings nothing but havoc into the lives of Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. The pearl did teach the family valuable
Set during the colonial era in Mexico, the story reveals the subjugation that the natives had to face and it shows the protagonist’s, Kino’s, attempt to go against the norms of the society and ask for something that was frankly unrealistic. This part of the story is related to the creative lens because Kino tried very hard to secure a future for his family but because the circumstances were not in his favor, he failed. It wasn’t socially accepted to ask for an education or a court marriage at that time for the natives because a native cannot desire to have what the colonists have. In this part of the story, the author uses the literary element of conflict to convey the message that even though Kino had the means to secure a future for himself, because he is a native and because he is aspiring to go against the social norms, he will eventually fail. As a result, it is clearly proven in The Pearl that humans will try to achieve something farfetched and will be unsuccessful in doing
John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, is written as a parable, which allows the reader to interpret its themes in their own way. It can take place in any time period, with any setting, and using any protagonist. The themes Steinbeck used throughout his book are universal and can applied to anyone’s lives. Its contrasting portrayal of good and evil creates a clear understanding of themes such as greed, illusions, and humanity and reason versus animalism and instinct.
Throughout The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, the themes of greed and prejudice are greatly expressed, from the beginning with the unjust doctor to the suspenseful end of the supposed ‘Pearl of the World.’ It is amazing, that even in a timeless story as this one, these harsh realities still haunt their world. It could take place yesterday, today, or tomorrow, but the point is that one cannot revert the world to one way of thinking, that is why greed and prejudice still exist. One can try as hard as they want but there are going to be those who are stubborn, of hard will, and those who believe their thoughts are right. I want to show that these themes go far beyond this parable and apply to the world we live in.
To begin, Kino, a brush house Mexican-Indian was poor but satisfied with his life before he found the pearl. Kino lived with his wife and son, which was all he needed. Living off of ancient traditions, when Kino has his pearl the greed begins to creep into him and the music of evil plays in his head and foreshadows what the pearl will lead to. “He smelled the breeze and he listened for any foreign sound of secrecy or creeping, and his eyes searched the darkness, for the music of evil was sounding in his head and he was fierce and afraid”(Steinbeck 35). The pearl, a small yet powerful token, puts Kino on a rollercoaster, that drags his whole family along with him.
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
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito go back to the beach and row out to an oyster bed, where he begins to search for the pearl. As Kino continues to search, Juana takes things into her own hands after being refused by the doctor and sucks the poison out of Coyotito and then puts seaweed on the wound, unknowingly healing him. Meanwhile Kino gathers several small oysters but suddenly comes across a particularly large oyster. He picks the oyster up and returns to the surface. When Kino opens the oyster he discovers the pearl. Word that the pearl has been discovered travel through the town quickly. People in the town became jealous of Kino and his family which eventually leads to a great deal of harm.
There are many characteristics in a person that reflects on one’s leadership skills. Not everyone is cut out to be a quality leader, it all depends on the individual. Many leaders must be able to have the patience to listen to what others have to say. Leaders must acquire communication and social skills in order to be able to make an effort with the populace. Being able to get along with many different types of people is extremely important to becoming a leader. In the short novel, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino does not have the leadership qualities to be a leader within his tribal village community for the reasons that he has a short temper and does not communicate well.
At the beginning of the book Kino and Juana lived a happy good life until their first and only child Coyotito got stung by a scorpion. The one-second that it took the scorpion to bite Coyotito changed the rest of Kino and Juana's life forever. Kino could not afford to pay for the medical attention Coyotito needed. Kino was determined to find a great pearl that could pay the doctor to save his son. "Kino in his pride and youth and strength, could remain down over two minutes without strain, so that he worked deliberately, selecting the largest shells."(Pg. 18)
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
The pearl in The Pearl by John Steinbeck shows traits of the characters in their worst moments, but the pearl mostly showed the trait “greed” in Kino because of how his life was before he almost got wealthy. The greed and coveting overtook his mind and personality and changed him who he was as a person. The author showed this throughout the book in many different ways. Steinbeck uses the symbol of the pearl to show the power of greed through Kino’s constant list of desires, his hunger for money, and his constant violence.
On the other hand, there are people who believe that bacha posh is strictly a negative practice. By practicing bacha posh girls are not able to enjoy the best part of the youth, which is to fall in love with a boy. Even Rahima, who did enjoy playing the role of a boy fell in love with one of the boys she went to school with and the negative effects were profound. In the book The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, Hashimi states, “Abdullah and I stayed close together, in our circle of friends, we had something different. Something a little more. His arms across my shoulder, he would lean past me and tease Asharaf. I was a bacha posh but it had gone on too long, like a guest who had grown too comfortable to leave.” (Hashimi 85). This quote proves that even Rahima was enjoying being a boy, at this point Rahima wanted to end with the practice of bacha posh and became a girl, and have the opportunity to fall in love with
In 1947, The Pearl was published by John Steinbeck. This book is about immigration, poverty, and wealth. In this book Kino, Juana and Coyotito live in La Paz, Baja California Sur. This family is in deep poverty. During the middle of a peaceful sleep, their son get stung by a scorpion.
...een stones. Let us bury it and forget the place. Let us throw it back into the sea. It had brought evil. Kino my husband, it will destroy us” (38). The pearl brought greed to the forefront of the community; everyone wanted the pearl for him or herself. Juana, who was at one time thanking God for the pearl, was now telling Kino to throw it away because the greed that it was causing woul eventually destroy them.
Juana, the wife to fisherman Kino, is one of the main characters in The Pearl. Coming from poverty, Juana and her husband live a minimalist life, as her simple clothes show (a battered blue head shawl and skirt, and a green ribbon knotted in her braids). Many themes in the story revolve around her. Although Juana understands her role to be a subservient and passive wife, she is smart, brave, and determined throughout the novella. Symbolizing the power and strength of women, Juana gradually becomes dominant over her husband. Juana’s second role in The Pearl is to be the protective mother of her son, Coyotito. Last, she is wise and logical in troubling times and acts as the voice of reason. Juana’s words and actions emphasize her various roles in The Pearl.
One example of this universal theme of humanity’s struggle with violence that occurred in this novel happened when Kino violently attacked his wife to keep her from throwing his “precious” pearl into the sea. “ . . . he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with ...