Dreams of Greed: John Steinbeck Explores the Pitfalls of Material Desire in The Pearl

“ The acquisition of wealth is a work of great labor; its possession, a source of continual fear; its loss, of excessive grief.” This quote can apply in our lives and even some books we read like The Pearl. In the book, The Pearl, the wealth of Kino and his family is the pearl they find. It’s possession caused them great fear and labor from the beginning of the book, and it caused them grief towards the end. This quote applies to all parts of the book, and we will examine into all of the chapters to take a closer look.

Throughout the book there are many themes and the one I chose to use was greed. Greed was present in many instances like; the doctor didn't want to help Coyotito because Kino and Juana couldn’t pay him what he wanted. He finally decided to help after he heard that they had found a perfect pearl and he wanted it for himself. The priest wanted it to help repair and make changes for the church. “It came to the priest walking in his garden, and it put a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church”(Steinbeck 34). The pearl buyers also demonstrated greed because they tried telling Kino that it was worth nothing and that it was too big. Kino was a happy and hardworking father until he had found the pearl. The pearl changed him and it turned mean and greedy. When Juana tried throwing it back Kino fought her for the pearl back left her on the beach. Also, the many attackers who tried taking the pearl away from them, which made it to where they were trying to kill Kino, Juana, and Coyotito so they can get the pearl. The biggest symbol that represents greed was the pearl.(Symbolism in the Pearl)

The Pearl written by John Steinbeck is a parable, a story that teaches a moral lesson. The focus of this novel is on a poor Indian family. The family consists of three members: Kino, a husband, father, and fisherman, Juana, his wife and loving mother; and Coyotito their infant son. This indigent family lives in a small brush hut along the Gulf of Mexico by the town of La Paz. One day Coyotito, is bitten by a scorpion; a scorpion sting can be deadly to a baby. Kino and Juana are very worried over the health of their baby; therefore, they hope to find a pearl worthy enough for the doctor’s payment to the doctor to treat Coyotito. With luck on their side, Kino finds a pearl the size of a seagull’s egg; he calls it “The Pearl of the

In the novella “The Pearl” Kino’s view towards what the pearl could offer him changed throughout the story, altering Kino’s thoughts and means in a malignant way, transforming him from a loving father to a bloodthirsty man. Kino’s addiction towards the pearl cost him to lose himself and get carried away from what he had first in mind, to provide for his family, nonetheless it isn't until the end that Kino finally learns that the pearl was truly evil and all the misfortunes it had cost him, one of them including losing his son, Coyotito. “He looked into its surface and it was gray and ulcerous, like a malignant growth” (89) Accepting the pearl for what it legitimately was, Kino comes to his senses after arriving back home. Deciding to fling the pearl into the sea, Kino lets go of the past of which he had first said was a part of his soul, but now it was only but an object of tragedy and misguidance. Therefore though conviction can sometimes be pleasing, in this case Kino’s faith was put in the wrong

After a while, Coyotito had mostly healed and Kino needed some more money so he and Juana and decided to go on his special canoe and go hunt for pearls. His boat was special because it was well taken care of and had lots of coating on the boat. When they went out to sea, Kino dived into the ocean and started to look for good oysters that hadn’t been opened yet. He had collected about a bucket when he spotted a massive oyster that wasn’t with the others. He was very anxious to get to the canoe and open the oyster to see if there was a pearl. When Kino was able to get back on the canoe, he showed Juana the massive oyster and her eyes popped at the size of it. They start to open the pearl and they see this massive pearl in the inside of it. Kino knew this was the pearl of the world that everyone was

In the novella, The Pearl, Kino is faced with many decisions that later impact his life in ways that he could never image. The Pearl tells the tale of a great pearl that could change the life of any man. Kino happened to be this man, but this great pearl caused nothing but havoc and harm to come upon his family. When they were running from all of the trouble the pearl had caused them, Kino’s son died, their hut burned down in the attempt to get away, and Kino had become a man of anger and violence.

John Steinbeck's fiction novella, The Pearl, takes place in a small village in La Paz, on the coast of the Baja Peninsula. Kino, the protagonist, is a pearl diver. One day, when Kino is pearl diving, he finds a large pearl that he knows can sell for lots of money. When Kino finds the pearl he realizes that he can treat his son, Coyotito who is stung by a scorpion. Before Kino finds the Pearl, he is a nice, family man who treats his family with great respect. However, the pearl leads to immoral behavior, which disconnects Kino from his family. A moral developing throughout The Pearl is that greed can destroy a person’s life.

Many people in the world today grow crazy and mad when surrounded by even the slightest bit of wealth and good fortune. Even a strong person who recognizes their priorities can still become corrupt with too much power. There is no better example of a person falling into the path of evil and corruption than in a novel written by John Steinbeck. In the novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, the author writes about a poor Indian man named Kino who becomes corrupt from the wealth of a magnificent pearl. Steinbeck uses the motifs of music, light and dark imagery, and values to develop the theme that good fortune, wealth, and prosperity steer even the most innocent of people towards a path of evil and corruption. The reader learns that one

After fighting battles with himself, Kino began to lose his ability to control himself because he was set on his plan for his family that he once saw in the pearl. “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders and he kicked her in the side.” (Steinbeck 59). Multiple instances have occured since Kino first got the pearl, including two attacks to steal it during the night, as well as thousands of eyes that have stared through him and looked into his soul full of secrets, making him feel scared throughout the day and night, worried that those eyes would turn into attacks on his pearl, which holds the future for his family. After Juana, Kino’s wife had enough jealous stares and greedy attacks, she took the pearl and boldly planned to throw it into the water, for it to drown with the wealth and the struggles attached to it. But, as Kino was constantly aware of everything occurring with the pearl, he didn't care whether it was his wife or a stranger, because he knew he had to attack and prevent the loss of the pearl, especially since he has such a close connection to it. “The pearl has become my soul. If I give it up, I shall lose my soul.” (Steinbeck 67). Kino cannot live without the pearl and as everyday goes by, his connection with the pearl grows stronger, and his

Materialism. Greed. Something everyone faces at least once in their life. Will you let it consume you? In the novella The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, we meet a Mexican native named Kino.

In “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, the theme of “greed as a destructive force” has been shaped strongly throughout the entire book. My thesis statement is that if Kino had the ability to change himself, his life could have also been changed. As written in the book, “The sun was behind them and their long shadows stalked ahead, and they seemed to carry two towers of darkness with them.” (Steinbeck, 88). Being a parable, “The Pearl” provides examples of greed and the role of fate in a human’s life.

After discovering the pearl, however, Kino begins to dream of possibilities for his family, most importantly an education for his son, which was something he previously never thought of as he considered it absolutely out of reach. His dreams gradually start becoming more and more materialistic as he stares at the pearl’s surface. Consequently, he drifts apart from his culture and family customs, he escapes town and ends up killing a man, being inherently deceived by the pearl. When he returns to the village, wrecked by the death of his son, he first offers Juana the chance to throw the pearl into the sea. This indicates that he has learned to value her sense of judgement and is, in a sense, yielding to her. But she insists on Kinoo throwing the pearl into the sea instead and that shows that she remains faithful to their previous alignment of life and as always, seek and strives s to preserve

The pearl then makes Kino impatient and desperate for good luck, therefore he resorts to violence. He “strike[s] [Juana] in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side” (Steinbeck 59). These violent outbursts of anger are unlike Kino. He has resorted to beating his wife, who he

The pearl's evil infects Kino like a ravaged disease and consumes his mind. He starts off with good intentions, but they become twisted. He wants to sell the pearl and use the money to better his family's lifestyle. He has dreams and goals that each depends on the pearl selling for a good price. Juana sensing the evil and greed coming from Kino attempts to destroy it. Kino beats 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." Juana sees through the outer beauty of the pearl and knew it would destroy Kino and herself. Kino's vision from the soul becomes blurred by the possible prosperity the pearl will bring. The evil invades Kino's life as well as everyone he knows and loves.

A pearl...is it worth $1,000, $100,000, or the risk of the death of your valuable family’s lives? John Steinbeck answers this question with the novella, The Pearl. Kino was an impecunious man. He lived with his wife Juana, and his very young son Coyotito. Together, they lived buoyantly as a family. One day, he uncovered a small yet bijou pearl that affected the whole family and even the entire town! Will the pearl eventually bring wealth and happiness to his family, or will it make the family feel miserable and targeted?