The situations in The Pearl relate to my own life and I understand what the main character, Kino, is going through in the book. I understand because he has to make difficult decisions when he finds the pearl. “‘What will you do now that you have become a rich man?’”(Steinbeck 24). Kino’s brother asks him this after he hears the news about Kino finding the Pearl of the World. Afterwards, Kino started talking about the things he wanted. He said that he wanted to get married to his partner, Juana. Also, Kino says that he wants a new harpoon, a rifle, and he wants his son, Coyotito, to go to school. I understand where Kino is coming from because he wants all these new things and wants his son to go to school, but he has other responsibilities. …show more content…
My responsibilities were to pay for my school fees and pay for extra classes that I wanted to take. So, I fully understand where Kino is coming from. “And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away.”(89). This situation is what the Pearl of the World caused. Juana told Kino earlier in the book that the pearl was evil and it was causing madness. This certain situation is similar to my own that I have had in my life. When I started to do sports, I thought that I was better at it than everyone else. I tried to tell others that they were not doing the sports right. This caused me not to listen to anyone else and I did not listen to what they tried to tell me. In The Pearl, Kino thought because he was rich and he had the Pearl of the World that he was more superior and he did not realize the harm and destruction it was bringing towards his family. “ He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.”(59). In this final quote from The Pearl, Kino is abusing Juana when she tries to throw the pearl in the
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.
He should have known that the pearl was bad news and to have thrown it back in the ocean. When everything was good in Kino’s life he only heard good songs which made sense and he knew that the good songs were going to bring good things to him and his family. The song he heard when he got the pearl were evil so he should have listened to Juana and thrown the pearl back in the ocean.
Juana showed greed in the beginning quote “Juana’s eyes were on him and she could not wait, she put her hand on Coyotito’s covered head. Open it, she said softly” (p.19). Later on she realized what the pearl had been doing to Kino, turning him into an evil man. She also saw that everyone was going to try to steal the pearl from Kino and knew what would happen to the family if they held onto the it, for example when she said “Kino, the pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before ti destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs” (p.56-57). This made Juana want to throw away the pearl and return to the old way of life where Kino and herself appreciated the little, enjoyable parts of life.
“Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face… He heard the rush, got his knife out and lunged at one dark figure and felt his knife go home,”pg 59. In the previous quote, Kino’s wife Juana steals the pearl and tries to throw it into the ocean but is beaten and punished by Kino. Soon after this two mysterious figures try to steal the pearl from Kino and he violently stabs one of them. The only reason that this happens is because humans love attention, and if somebody has something that you do not have you want it. Juana wishes that Kino would quit worrying about the pearl so much, and focus more on his family. This pushes her to try to steal the pearl and return it back to its rightful home. Whereas, the unknown figures are jealous of Kino’s pearl and they wish that they had it for themselves, this is why they try murdering Kino, and stealing the pearl. This is not the only instinct shown through this quote though, humans are very protective of there stuff and often times violence can ensue if people try stealing what is rightfully yours. Kino is very protective of his pearl and when everybody tries taking it from him he becomes violent and chaos comes soon after. Being protective is why you have to teach babies how to share, and why many wars break out.
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
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
And in the pearl he saw Juana with her beaten face crawling home through the night... And there in the pearl Coyotito’s face, thick and feverish from the medicine” (69). When Kino looks into the pearl, he hopes to see a rifle and other things he wants, but he only sees the body of a man he killed, the body of Juana who he had beaten, and Coyotito, who was sick. All of these bad things that happened to Kino happened because of the pearl and what it brought. Before the pearl, Kino would never kill a man.
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
He is captivated by its beauty and lets himself be consumed by its promise of power. This is shown several times throughout the story. One example of his obsession with the pearl occurs when his brother suggests getting rid of the pearl, where Kino replied, “If I give it up, I will lose my soul” (Steinbeck 67). It truly shows how far gone Kino really is. Another example of Kino’s obsession with the pearl is when he beat Juana when she tried to throw the pearl back out to sea. Overall, the pearl’s illusion of grandeur combined with Kino’s obsession for a better life caused his strive for improvement to become out of control
The discovery of the "magnificent" pearl changed the lives of Kino and Juana severely because they were not used to this kind of wealth. Before they found the pearl, Kino and Juana lived a happy, humble and quiet life. "Kino heard the little splash of the morning waves on the beach. It was very good - Kino closed his eyes again to listen to his music."(Pg. 1-2) Kino loved the simple life; nevertheless whenever things were beginning to look good and simple something went wrong.
The pearl turns the hearts of people toward greed because they hope it could help them. “Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, and Kino’s pearl went into the dreams, the speculations, the schemes, the plans, the futures, the wishes, the needs the lusts, the hungers, of everyone, and only one person stood in the way and that was Kino…” (23). With greed comes jealousy, the people became jealous Kino. The people looked at Kino as the enemy and had hate toward him. “...so that he became curiously every man’s enemy.”
In the beginning, it seemed to bring good fortune to Kino, Juana and Coyotito. Kino had numerous plans for what he would do with the money made off of “The Pearl of the World” (Steinbeck 23). “We will be married-in the church… We will have new clothes… A rifle, perhaps a rifle… My son will go to school” (Steinbeck 24-25). Kino had expected great things from the pearl, but throughout the novella, all his plans seemed to backfire. When he tried to sell the pearl, he was offered low prices, ones he refused to accept. “I will offer five hundred pesos”(Steinbeck 52) Kino was furious. “I am cheated, my pearl is not for sale here. I will go, perhaps even to the capital” (Steinbeck 52). He was under the impression that he had found the greatest pearl known to man, and that he was becoming a victim of fraud. The family’s perspective of the pearl changed drastically by the end of the book. At first, the saw a bright future and their entire life as positive, in the end, they saw danger and
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