In the book The Pearl by John Steinbeck, there is a character that goes by they name of Kino. I will be explaining my views on how Kino’s mind works and what he can change to make himself a better character. While I was reading The Pearl I noticed many actions he did and thoughts he said to himself. According to the 12 Intellectual Indicators, I have made my decision that Kino is an Intellectual character, but also there was some times when Kino put forth bad actions and thoughts. This made me think he wasn't an intellectual character. I looked at his overall character and he is an intellectual character. I'm going to start with the major bad choices he made. While reading I noted where he did they specific indicator and why. In they first …show more content…
Kino was awake and watching what she was doing. In the story it says “Kino saw Juana arise silently from beside him.....And then like a shadow she glided toward the door. She paused for a moment beside the hanging box where Coyotito lay, then for a second she was black in the doorway, and then she was gone and rage surged in Kino........She burst clear out of the brush line and stumbled over the little boulders toward the water, and then she heard him coming and she broke into a run. 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 with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.........Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared. He hissed at her like a snake, and Juana stared at him with wide unfrightened eyes, like a sheep before the butcher.” I took note and said it was another example of negative impulsivity. I said this because instead of thinking about the actions he does, he smacked Juana, his wife, because she was going to throw his pearl into the ocean. Now being Kino, you can put yourself in his shoes and you would be pretty mad because your wife took something from you in secret without telling you. Kino shouldn’t had done that because Juana is supporting him and telling what to do and what not to do. Back in the beginning he …show more content…
I found another indicator. “Kino moved cautiously so that the water would not be obscured with mud or sand......Kino, in his pride and youth and strength, could remain down over two minutes without strain, so that he worked deliberately, selecting the largest shells. Because they were disturbed, the oyster shells were tightly closed. A little to his right a hummock of rubbly rock stuck up, covered with young oysters not ready to take......The shell was partly open, for the overhang protected this ancient oyster, and in the lip-like muscle Kino saw a ghostly gleam, and then the shell closed down. His heart beat out a heavy rhythm and the melody of the maybe pearl shrilled in his ears.” I imdentified this part of the story as Using all the senses. I said because he was being really careful and trying not to destroy everything. When Kino was underwater, he was looking for a pearl to pay the doctor and he desperately when to the ocean or a bed he knew about, tried to find a pearl and pay the doctor with it but when he was down in the water, his chances of finding a pearl were actually pretty low. Anyway he used his sight to see where the pearls were and his touch to feel around in the sand. Another great example is when he was out in the desert fleeing from the enemies he had made. “Kino stirred in a dream, and he cried out in a guttural voice, and his hand moved in symbolic fighting. And then he moaned and sat up suddenly, his eyes wide and his nostrils
At the beginning of the story Kino believed the pearl was a great treasure because it, “was as large as a sea-gull’s egg. It was the greatest pearl in the world. ” (pg.19) At the end of the story it was no treasure. It brought great amounts of greed to Kino making him do anything to protect and try to sell the pearl.
If they knew what was to engulf them into a fury of sadness and anger. After Kino found the pearl, at first, he knew exactly what to do with the pearl, but after many arguments with Juana he became overwhelmed with greed. No one is able to stop even Jauan. He believed he was top dog this was proved when he said “‘I am a man,’ he said and that meant certain things to Juana. It meant that he was half insane and half god.”
I believe that is because Kino thinks that the pearl is worth a lot of money. Therefore, even if Kino had an evil feeling and bad things were happening to him, he still kept moving forward. For example, Steinbeck quotes: “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 with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.” (Steinbeck, 59). This quote is related to my thesis statement because Kino is trying to stop Juana from throwing the pearl away in order to move
Before Kino found the pearl, he wasn’t exposed to great hardship or struggle. When he found the pearl, Kino became very greedy and he experienced immense pain and loss. Furthermore, the pearl also caused Kino to lose his innocence. When Kino allowed evil and pain to take over his perspective of life he became angry. The first time Kino killed someone was when a man broke into Kino’s house in attempt to steal the pearl. Later in the book, Kino and his family we being shadowed by trackers in pursuit to kill him and his family and steal the pearl. After the trackers fired upon Kino’s child, Kino became filled with rage and the pearl grew gray and he let evil take him over: "And 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. And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane” (pg. 89). Kino then killed those who were in pursuit of him and shot at
As soon as everyone found out, he found a huge pearl, the doctor came hoping to get it or get payed (Steinbeck 702). Kino was anger he had never felt that kinda anger before; after everything that happened to his son now he is willing to help because they will be rich. The doctor some how convinced Kino to let him help by; getting him sick again to then heal him (Steinbeck 701). Later one once Kino goes to the capital to trade his pearl once he left, after turning down there offers, a man tried to jump him and steal the pearl. Kino then stabbed a man out of rage and self defence (Steinbeck 704). This was just the beginning of Kino’s anger and and bad luck. Then his wife Juana tried to take the pearl away from him and drop it into the ocean, but Kino pushed her to the ground and beat her. Kino had all the anger and rage in the world right now, and he took it out on his wife that he loved (Steinbeck 708). Once the family arrived home; they realized there house was on fire and they had to hide hoping to get away from everyone that wants the pearl. They hide once the people new where they were they ran and so did
Another example of greed is shown when Juana takes the pearl from Kino to throw back into the sea. Kino realizes what she is doing and goes after her. Just as Juana is about to discard the pearl, Kino grabs her arm and wrenches the pearl from her. He punches her in the face and when she falls on the boulders, he kicks her in the side. The following quote establishes the violence that Kino unleases on his wife in order to protect his precious pearl from harm, due to his greediness of what the pearl will bring to him and his family: “…Rage surged in Kino. He leaped at Juana and wrenched the pearl from her…with clenched fists, struck her in the face…kicked her in the side…Greedy fingers went through his clothes” (58-59).
However, Kino was enraged with anger at Juana for trying to throw away his pearl. The pearl had changed him for the worse, it had become part of him he loved the pearl. Kino would do anything to make sure that nothing would happen to it, even if it meant beating up his wife in order to save his pearl.
Kino thought he could beat everyone because he was a man. She was not consoled. In the morning she snuck out and tried to throw it away but he found her before she could and hit her. Steinbeck tells the story like this, “Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wretched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face…she fell among the boulders…he kicked her in the side.
Kino overall symbolizes clearly good and innocent. Kino is thought of as 'a wise, primitive man' who is hungry for fortune because of the great pearl, which he discovers and later in the story he becomes 'an angry, frightened, but resolute man, determined to keep what he has earned'. He is a young diver who lives in a small village on the coastline of
At the beginning of the story they both felt content and happy as show in this quote “Sometimes it rose to an aching chord that caught the throat, saying this is safety, this is warmth, this is the Whole.”. They did not even speak because their understanding was so great. But after Kino found the pearl his relationship steadily deteriorates as shown in this quote “"Kino," she said huskily, "I am afraid. A man can be killed. Let us throw the pearl back into the sea." "Hush," he said fiercely. "I am a man. Hush.”. That shows that as time goes by Kino is acting ruder and harshly to Juana all because of the greed the pearl caused. Another example is "This thing is evil," she cried harshly. "This pearl is like a sin! It will destroy us," and her voice rose shrilly. "Throw it away, Kino. Let us break it between stones. Let us bury it and forget the place. Let us throw it back into the sea. It has brought evil. Kino, my husband, it will destroy us." And in the firelight her lips and her eyes were alive with her fear. But Kino's face was set, and his mind and his will were set” this quote shows that Juana is becoming increasingly fearful yet Kino is sure this is the way and is willing to do whatever is necessary to become wealthy. This causes a strain between their relation. Finally the worst thing Kino commits is the act of attacked Juana. He is described as a snake hissing at her and hitting her that makes her fall. He even continues to kick her after she has fallen and she accepts it and knows he may even murder her. This shows that Kino has broken all limits of humanity and is being consumed by
He represents the theme by taking matters too far with his wife and taking down three men who are hunting him down. First, Kino realizes that Juana has tried to sneak out of their home to go throw the pearl back into the ocean. He sprints down to the beach and starts to abuse her. During his attack on Juana, it is said that, “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side… Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared.
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
The pearl plays a big part in the story. It brings down the family, changes Kinos way of thinking, and his priorities. When Kino first find the pearl it brings him hope which is shown through the quote “In the surface of the great pearl he could see dream forms.” (Steinbeck 19) this shows how his hope that things will get better for his family. The hope that he has is also shown when he is talking to everyone. He starts to talk about his dreams and there are four of them “We will be married- in the church. He spoke softly.” (24) This is the first of his hopes. The second
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
Kino, the novel's main character was content with his life before discovering the pearl. Kino changed dramatically from the beginning of the story to the end. To Kino the pearl meant wealth and change for both himself and his family. Before the scorpion bite Kino had no need for change or power in his life. He lived a simple life with his family and worked as a pearl diver. When the doctor denied his son treatment because Kino could not pay the fee, was when Kino realized the power the upper-class had over people like him. After discovering the pearl, Kino’s ambition to escape and protect himself from the persecution grew. Kino wanted to improve his life quickly, and the pearl was the answer to all his goals. In the pearl he saw a rifle, marriage and education for his son Coyotito. His thoughts on what to do with the pearl, were first based off his family’s needs. That slowly changed when the