Humanity's Struggle with Greed Depicted in John Steinbeck's The Pearl

When kino had to pay the doctor, the doctor wanted the pearl. But, in chapter three, Kino said, “When I have sold my pearl I will pay you.” The doctor seemed surprised although he already knew about the pearl. Because Kino decided to sell it first, he missed out on the chance of getting rid of it. Although he didn’t know it would lead him to bad luck.

One of the greediest and meanest characters in the book is the doctor. “‘Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for ‘little indians’? I am a doctor, not a veterinary’”(11). In this quote of The Pearl, the doctor makes it clear that Kino will not be treated because of Kino’s race and doesn’t even regard Kino as a human. A lower class in people’s minds are regarded as intellectually lower, and Kino is not different.

After confronting the scorpion, Kino and Juana encounter the doctor- the ultimate embodiment of evil in The Pearl. When the doctor’s servant explains Coyotito’s scorpion bite to the doctor, he claims “I am a doctor, not a veterinary,” and leaves the family, miserably, at his

John Steinbeck’s The Pearl follows the story of a Mexican-Indian family who lived in a small village on the coast of the Baja peninsula during the colonial era in Mexico. Kino works tirelessly as a pearl diver to provide for his wife, Juana, and Coyotito, his son. Although he was poor, he and his wife were initially satisfied with their lives. However, Coyotito’s scorpion sting and the discovery of the Pearl of the World opened Kino’s eyes to a much larger world. His simple, peaceful life was marred by the violence and conflict that the pearl brought. The pearl, which incited greed in all who come in contact with it, changed from a symbol of hope to that of chaos and misfortune.

“Kino could see Juana in a shawl, stiff with newness and a new skirt, he could see himself dressed in new white clothes with a new hat, holding a new harpoon better than the one he had previously broken. He could see Coyotito, he wore a blue sailor suit from the United States and a little yachting cap, these are all things he wanted, that he could now have.” Kino states everything he wants and can now get in life which makes him more arrogant, leading him on a path of destruction. This also gives Kino something to look back on after it's too late. “In the moonlight he could see the frantic, frightened eyes, and Kino aimed and fired between the eyes. Suddenly he heard the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death. He hastily scaled the mountain and entered the cave to bear the sight of a small limp heavy bundle. The shawl was dried with blood, and the bundle swayed a little swayed a little as it was held.” Kino has sacrificed the one thing he cares most in the world about for a simple pearl which again proves the point that Kino is truly a tragic hero. Kino believes that if he can come out safely with both his family and the pearl intact that he can live happily ever after, but with the pearl comes evil and death. Later in the novel when Kino is forced to choose between his family and

Originally, Kino and Juana had went to the doctor to see if he could treat Coyotito’s scorpion wound. He declines because he is discriminating of Kino’s race and that he does not have enough money. Later, when he learns that Kino has found ‘the pearl of the world,’ he decides to go back to Kino’s village and treat Coyotito. He did so out of greed for the riches of the pearl. He knew when he reached Kino’s brush house that Coyotito was already healed, but out of greed, poisoned him with a ‘medicine’ that he have the infant so that he would gain the riches of the pearl. He also offered to keep the pearl safe with him, and knowing that Kino would probably look at the hiding place of the pearl, he watched greedily. This greed is shown when the doctor is having a conversation with Kino after ‘saving Coyotito’s life’, “The doctor shrugged, and his wet eyes never left Kino's eyes. He knew the pearl would be buried in the house, and he thought Kino might look toward the place where it was buried. "It would be a shame to have it stolen before you could sell it," the doctor said, and he saw Kino's eyes flick involuntarily to the floor near the side post of the brush house.” Whether it was the doctor who assembled the attacks on Kino’s home, we do not

The Pearl The Pearl is a story of a believable parable written to teach us a valuable lesson, and to help us learn and prioritize the important things in our lives. In the following paragraphs it will explain and answer the key questions that arise throughout the novel. Interpretation #3: Is the story of The Pearl believable? Why or why not?

Another point to point to support this would be that Kino’s family could not afford a doctor. Moreover, they were so poor that there was not even a doctor in their town. This is proved in “Of

Kino and his town are Indian people who have been conquered by the Spaniards, and they considered Kino and his people to be animals. Kino describes, “This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race.”(15). This quote shows us how cruel the Spaniards. Also, the doctor complains, “Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for 'little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a veterinary.”(17). This explains how the doctor really felt about the town. Even though Kino and the town have suffered through almost every oppression in the world, they still have hope.

Evil is shown by the doctor many times during the story. At first, he refuses to treat Coyotito because his parents have no money. When the doctor heard of Kino and Juana's fortune in finding "the pearl of the world", the doctor boasts that they were patients of his while thinking of a better life for himself in Paris. This greed and lust cause him to plot ways to gain wealth. Coyotito is healed by the time the doctor comes to Kino's straw

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

family's grass hut. Once there, he makes Coyotito sick so that he may cure the

The music in Kino?s head represents his conscience in the real world. It warns him of bad by the Song of Evil, it makes him feel good by the Song of the Family, and the Song of the Pearl reminds him of all the things the pearl brought him. In the end, the irony of the story is that even a good person can be lead off course by his feeling of inner responsibility to provide for his family. Kino?s actions are being motivated to raise Coyotito in greatness, which eventually leads to the death of Coyotito (Kino?s greatest loss). Many desires in life can lead to disaster.

The doctor told the servant to lie to Kino and say he was busy with an elder. When the servant came outside and announced that the doctor was busy, everyone was disappointed and everyone started to go and do their own things again.

All of the village people suddenly sparked an interest in Kino once he discovered the pearl, “people with things to sell and people with favors to ask. Kino had found the Pearl of the World. . . .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, so that he became curiously every man's enemy” (Steinbeck 23). The pearl does not result in an immediate change in Kino’s personality, but rather how others view him. The pearl symbolizes hope, a trait that Kino previously possessed, but somewhat lost after the incident involving Coyotito’s illness. Kino’s “eyes and voice [became] hard and cold and a brooding hate was growing in him” (Steinbeck 38). At the beginning of the novel, Kino is very optimistic and positive. Therefore, when this hate begins to consume him, it is very unusual, leading us to believe that the pearl has an influence on Kino.