Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of John Steinbeck
Analysis of John Steinbeck
Analysis of John Steinbeck
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Analysis of John Steinbeck
The pearl destroys Kino’s life. How can one object be so powerful? The Pearl is about a man named Kino with a family. Kino finds a pearl that hides his values. Kino’s greed disrupts his and shrouds his values with greed. People, Kino, and the doctor all share motivators that shape their life.
Kino is motivated by his desire for education, there are many reasons for this. First, he wants education so his son can have a better life. Kino wants Coyotito to be able to read, write, and do math.” My son will go to school,” he said . . .” (pg.25). Kino also wants an education because he believes that through education he will earn the respect of others. He will be able to get a better job and earn more money and through Kino’s eyes the more money
…show more content…
There are many signs of the Doctors greediness in the book. One example of his greediness is when he tries to steal the pearl. “ He knew the pearl would be buried in the house and thought Kino might look toward the place where it was buried.” (Page 35). The doctor also thinks he deserves money. For example ‘ “Has he any money?” the doctor demanded. “ No, they never have any money. I, I alone in the world am supposed to work for nothing - and I am tired of it. See if he has any money.” ’(page 11) Finally just to top it of the doctor tries to trick Kino into thinking Coyotito was still sick from the scorpion. Just to get Kino to pay more money. The doctor is just a very greedy man.
I am alike to both these characters. I have a desire for education and I am sometimes greedy. I am greedy when I don’t share my supplies(pens,pencils,markers, etc.) with others. I can also be greedy when I don’t think about what others want to do. I want an education because I want a job that requires a lot of math and science and Kino wants a better job than he already has. Also, I want an education because without one I would be unable to function in society. I would be illiterate and would have no math skills. My parents would have to provide for me for life. In these ways I share motivators with both the doctor and Kino.
Mankind and The Pearl character all share motivators that push them along and craft their lives. Kino wants an education and the doctor is greedy
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.
For all of these reasons, Kino is a fool. The death of his son, the destruction of his house and canoe, and the loss of his pearl is all his fault. He easily could have avoided all 3 of those things by never even taking that pearl and just throwing back into the ocean when he knew and could sense that it was evil. If I was in Kino’s place I would have sold the pearl as soon as I could to have to the highest bidder just to get rid of it and to make some money since the pearl was evil. THat way my family would still be alive and my canoe and house would still be
Through his fear of dark and the devils that haunt the night, there came a rush of exhilaration; some animal thing was moving in him so that he was cautious and wary and dangerous; some ancient thing out of the past of his people was alive in him. The wind was at his back and the stars guided him” (Steinbeck 69). This occurs after Kino’s kills all the men, during the death of Coyotito. This is when realizes what he has done. Kino now a savage, which has caused him to do things that can never be taken lightly. As you can see, when the passage tells us about the animal thing being dangerous, you now know that Kino felt as an animal until he has come to the conclusion of his
To begin with, we see that the doctor is one of the main characters of greed. The doctor’s personality throughout the book is selfish and especially greedy. This doctor is like no other other doctor, he is the exact opposite of what people would expect a doctor to be like. He only cares about is himself. This is shown when he says, “Has he any money” the doctor demanded “no,they never have any
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
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
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...
The pearl symbolizes many different things. To Kino, at first it symbolized happiness and hope. On page 39 in chapter 3, it has stated, "So lovely it was, so soft, and its own music came from it- its music of promise and delight, its guarantee of the future, of comfort and security. Its warm lucence promised a poultice against illness and a wall against insult. It closed a door on hunger." Kino sought happiness and riches, and as he was desperate he was blind to the greed that was enveloping him. All he saw was impossible hopes and dreams in the pearl. In other words, to him, the pearl guaranteed money and the comfort of a tranquil life.
When Kino discovered the Pearl he thought that it would take him out of poverty and into a life of happiness. “But the pearls were accidents, and the finding of one was luck, a little pat on the
... speaking of Morris Townsend's selfishness, both the doctor and Mrs. Montgomery admit that everyone is selfish. But the doctor proceeds to admit that he does not hide it well (one assumes the doctor does a much better job hiding his selfishness), and Dr. Sloper then admits to looking past Morris as a person: "You see I am helped by a habit I have of dividing people into classes, into types. I may easily be mistaken about your brother as an individual, but his type is written on his whole person" (James 87).
... at a high price. For instance, by buying a rifle, Kino can show that he has the same goods that the rich have, and so could limit the difference between the two social classes (Johnson 184). However, Kino and Juana have one main dream, and that is to give Coyotito an education. This is important at that time because it would remove the family’s ignorance, and Coyotito would be able to survive in the changing world using that knowledge (Johnson 184).
The middle born child your schema may be coming from your older siblings friends as well. This can both motivate you positively and negatively to go to college. If your older brother plants in your head that college is a waste of time you might think that and change your schema that college is useless. This changes your behavior to not do as well in school and just get a job after high school since your expectation is a waste of time. This can positively impact behavior as well in that your brother could tell you it’s the best time he’s ever had. Telling you about all the cool knowledge he’s acquired. This schema changes your behavior to do just as well you’re doing now or motivate you to better than him at college.
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
pearl is so big that it has no value. Kino has to hide the pearl, but while he sleeps a thief tries to steal it. The doctor who would not treat Coyotito's scorpion bite when they had no money now comes to them offering the best medical care he can provide.As the story of Kino's situation unfolds, Kino is forced to kill three men, and worst of all, Kino accidentally shoots Coyotito in the head while he is trying to shoot his pursuers. Finally, at Juana's urging, Kino throws the pearl back into the sea. He has made nothing from his fin...