Symbolism and Impact of The Pearl: A Literary Analysis

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The Pearl Literary Analysis In the book, “The Pearl”, By John Steinbeck, There are many symbols used to express other things such as the pearl itself which starts out as a good luck and fortune, but as the story continues, the pearls meaning changes dramatically. The main character Kino has always had a normal safe life until his son Coyotito got bit by a scorpion. The main symbol in this novella is the pearl because of the good fortune and the evil it brings to the owner of it, Kino. The pearl is important in this novella because it has means so many different things and it brings protection to Kino and Juana and it also brings evil to them. The pearl represents a lot of different things. One of the things the pearl represents is protection …show more content…

It represents this because the pearl is evil in the way where it brings others who are jealous of Kino having a pearl of such riches and then them trying to steal it in any way possible. In The Pearl Juana tells kino after a unknown person come and attacks them Juana says, “It will destroy us all … Even our son”(39). This connects this to the topic because the evil in the pearl will ruin them and will most likely kill them. Another thing that Juana say in the book about the pearl is, “This thing is evil … This pearl is like a sin”(33).This quote connects to the overall topic because the pearl is so evil that it is like a sin(a bad thing done against your god or gods.). The pearl finally represents Greed because of how others are jealous of the pearl and want it so bad they will do whatever it takes to get it. The doctor shows his greed for the pearl when he says, “Perhaps you would like me to put it in my safe”(35) This shows Greed because the doctor will most likely not return the pearl to Kino if Kino give the pearl to him. The doctor also shows that his greed is very high when he says, “It would be a shame to have it stolen before you could sell it”(35-36). This shows how the doctor is so greedy that he will most likely have someone try to come steal the pearl from Kino. So, from the different things that represent the pearl, you can know that the pearl has many representations and some of them are evil. The pearl is a beautiful thing but the evil from greed will make others want it because of its rarity and its

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