The Pearl Motivation

In every person’s life, they have motivation. This is something that drives them, pushes them to greater heights and goals. It can be the goal of having a certain career, the want for financial stability, or maybe it’s just the want to provide for their family. These things may all be different, but in one specific way they are the same. Those goals and wants are what they believe will make them happy. Happiness is the concept in which all humans, including the main characters of “The Pearl,” strive to achieve, but most times will never get. In the beginning of “The Pearl,” the main characters Kino and Juana are waking up to a beautiful morning. They start their day by making breakfast and waking their baby Coyotito. At this moment, Kino has an abundance of feelings, which when all combined, result in his happiness. He has his loyal wife Juana at his side, a small child in her arms, and a house in which they can call home. “In Kino’s head there was a song now, clear and soft, and if he had been able to speak of it, he would have called it the Song of the Family” (1). He heard this every time he thought upon

“In his mind a new song had come, the Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage, secret, dangerous melody, and underneath, the Song of the Family cried plaintively” (3). His happiness was changed into worry as the evil crept in. If he lost his child, their lives would be ruined and any chance at having happiness would be gone. In that moment, he knew he had to go to the doctor for help. Even though the doctor was a cruel man, who viewed Kino’s people as inferior animals not worthy of his time, Kino had to try. The doctor refused to attend to the poor family because they would not be able to pay him what he thought he deserved. Kino then had to figure out a way to come up with money to pay the doctor for treatment because Coyotito’s life was in