Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The meaning of the novel pearl
Kino from the Pearl Character Analysis
Symbolic significance of the pearl
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The meaning of the novel pearl
The Pearle
In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. Evil was exhibited by the doctor who refused to treat Coyotito because his parents had no money. When the doctor heard of Kino and Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world" (722), he boasted that they were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris. Coyotito was healed when the doctor finally came to their straw hut. He deceived Kino by giving the baby a white powder that made him go into convulsions. An hour later he came and gave Coyotito the remedy and immediately wanted to know when he was getting paid. The evil in the pearl had reached the heart of the doctor. The pearl's evil did not restrict itself to infecting Kino's peers; it also affected Kino himself. He wanted to sell the pearl and use the money to better his family's standard of living. He had dreams and goals that all depended on the pearl.
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.
In John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, the village of La Paz is alive with greed. Everyone wants something from the main character, Kino. The doctor wants money for treating Kino's baby. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The townspeople also wanted money. The village is over come by evil from this one man's good fortune. The doctor’s greed over money is revealed when he would not treat Kino's baby because Kino had nothing to pay him with. When the doctor heard of Kino's sudden wealth, he said Kino was his client. The Pearl and its fortune transformed the town into something full of continual desire and jealousy. Everyone was affected and wanted something from the p...
Kino attacked Juana and took the pearl. Later he went back to see that people were by his hut looking to steal the pearl (pg 59). They take the pearl from Kino and flee the scene. Juana then finds the pearl that the thieves dropped along the trail. Shortly afterward, Kino and Juana go to the Sea shore to get to the boat that they would take to the Capital, to realize it had been destroyed (pg 62). They then return home only to see that their hut it had been burned to the ground. So now Kino, Juana, and Coyotito take refuge from the thieves and any more harm to come to them in Juan Tomas’ house and decide they will go north to get rid of the pearl that has brought more bad than good to their family (pg 64-67). This is Ironic because when Kino first found the pearl he stated he would not let greed take over him. The events afterward look as if the greed has taken over Kino. The narrator makes it seem that once Kino and Juana leave the village for the north I think that no more good will come to them. Such as, Kino attacking Juana again or the thieves finding them and taking the pearl. If the characters were smart, they would get rid of the pearl for it has obviously corrupted Kino’s good will. But they also need the pearl because they care about Coyotito and they want her to
In The Pearl, the pearl was everything to Kino. He thought he would become rich off of it, but instead, it brought evil. It was Kino’s fault that he lost his son to a pearl that he thought was valuable, but it was evil. Juana’s wisdom could of saved Coyotito. Kino was on the journey of escaping the trackers. By examining that Kino is greedy and would rather lose a family member over a pearl. Juana’s wisdom could of saved Coyotito because she wanted to throw the pearl away but Kino stopped her. Also, Kino was on the run from the tracker because they were after his pearl.
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
For example, when Juana argues with Kino about the pearl, she tells Kino, “The pearl is like a sin” (38). The pearl is compared to a sin using a simile and reveals how Juana truly feels about the pearl as it connotes evil, envy, and greed. This supports the fact that the pearl converts Kino and that it isn’t benevolent. In addition, when Juan Tomas tells Kino to leave the pearl, Kino tells Juan, “The pearl has become my soul” (67). Kino is shown to have an obsession with the pearl and that it controls him. His commitment to the pearl connotes obsession, delusion, and compulsion. The pearl and it’s hold on Kino is why he is dehumanized as the book progresses
And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane”(89). There are numerous excellent literary devices in this section of imagery. When Steinbeck metions Kino seeing evil faces in the pearl, he indicates the evil pearl causes dreadful things. A malignant growth is dangerous and fatal, much like the pearl. The author states the pearl is gray and ulcerous and ugly.
John Steinbeck's The Pearl tells the story of a pearl diver named Kino. Kino lives a simple life, and adores his family. At the beginning of the story Steinbeck shows how content Kino’s family is. Everything seems to be going perfect for Kino and his family that is until the discovery of the most wonderful pearl in the world changes his life forever. As the story advances Kino’s newborn, Coyotito gets bitten by a scorpion. Kino’s wife, Juana insists that they take Coyotito to the town’s doctor. Inevitably the doctor refuses to help Coyotito because Kino is unable to make a payment.
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
After Kino found his great pearl bad things started happening, Kino and Juana's lives were in trouble. Two men notified in the book as the "dark ones" tried to steal the pearl, luckily Kino had been prepared and got rid of the enemies but that was not the end of the misery. Coyotito got very sick and the Doctor had deliberately made things worse. When it was time to sell the pearl, the buyers offered prices that Kino thought were too low. Kino was angry with the pearl buyers for what they had said. "I will not make an offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." Kino got angry and decided he wanted to go elsewhere and find a buyer for the pe...
Most of the evil in The Pearl shows up after Kino gets the pearl. Kino goes from being a righteous man to being a murderer and the assaulter of his wife, Juana. She even goes so far as to say, “Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us- let us throw it back to the sea where it belongs. Kino, it is evil, it is evil,” (Steinbeck 56). Kino and his tribe, more particularly Juana, have this misconception that the pearl itself is evil, but an object cannot be evil. No, an object does not possess the power of good and evil morals. It is not the object that it is evil it is the people. It just so happens that the object brought out the true nature of evil that has always existed within man. “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned,” (Romans 5:12 NIV) Kino saw it as wealth and as his one chance to be more than what the people of the town has said he is. It was the love of money that brought out the evil in Kino. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs,” (1 Timothy 6:10 NIV). Unfortunately, it is the love of money that brings out the evil in Kino, because Kino is a good person with a good
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.
From the very beginning of the book you can see that when Kino finds the pearl his townspeople are jealous of him. This starts to get more and more violent throughout the book. For example on page 23 the author says “ Every Man suddenly become related to Kino's pearl, and Kino's pearl went into the dreams, the speculations…” This demonstrated greed and separation from his town members. It shows how his town members are looking down at
Microsoft Encarta defines superstition to be an irrational but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a particular action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it. Religion is defined as people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life.
She can see the evil within the pearl, and all the people like Kino, the priest and the doctor. She stays with Kino throughout their journey, even after he hits her, because kino is “ It meant that he was half insane and half god. It meant that Kino would drive his strength against a mountain and plunge his strength against the sea. Juana, in her woman's soul, knew that the mountain would stand while the man broke himself; that the sea would surge while the man drowned in it." (Steinbeck). she cannot imagine living without a man. Because of her position as a wife in a traditional society, Juana is necessarily subservient to Kino. She must follow what he views as his larger ambitions, even though her good sense cautions against it as their situation becomes increasingly desperate. Which is why she stays faithful to Kino and is with him every step of the way. Juana is the only who does no let the greed control her. She knew that what her and Kino were doing was dangerous, especially once they had gotten out of La Paz. Juana even refuses to leave him when they must hide from the trackers. Juana seems to be the only one who does no let the wealth captivate her. Like Kino, Juana is at first seduced by the greed the pearl awakens, but she is much quicker than Kino to recognize the pearl as a potential
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