The Characters In The Pearl By John Steinbeck

“The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, truly has a great example to the life lesson on greed. A family destroyed and a culture distressed is what one can see in the short story, “The Pearl.” Greed plays an important role in the lesson of “The Pearl,” in which John Steinbeck uses imagery and foreshadowing to highlight this theme and he utilizes personification and similes/metaphors to explain the theme easily.

A pearl is conventionally associated with wealth and prosperity. Like a philosopher’s stone, the pearl is believed to convert sorrows into happiness. Kino, a pearl diver and his wife, Juana, along with their son, Coyotito, are a poverty-stricken family until they discover “the greatest pearl in the world.” (19) With hopes and dreams for themselves and their son’s future, Kino and Juana perceive this pearl to be a resolution for all of their troubles. After finding “the Pearl of the World,” (22) Kino is plagued with vexation. His benevolence and good intentions are soon overcome by his greed. The collective rapacity of Kino and other people precipitates misfortune and violence around Kino. This eventually leads to Coyotito 's death. The

In the beginning, Kino was encapsulated in his dreams and put his family at risk several times to try to fulfill the destiny contained in the pearl. In the middle of the story, Kino took many chances and was unconcerned about how it would affect his family, and in the end, Kino’s actions caused him to lose his entire life. Slowly the pearl killed him inside, though Kino was not attentive to see.This novel portrays how desire over family can cause chaos. Just like in the myth of King Midas, his greed for gold overpowered his family, so when he lost everything he was helpless. In conclusion, Kino, who was once a regular native, changed his entire life just to follow him imagination of the wealth a pearl could

First, Kino’s call to adventure with Coyotito being savagely stung by a scorpion and Kino having to find money for the doctor to pay for Coyotito’s medical treatment, second,Kino’s allies that will be by his side no matter what and lastly the examples of how Kino is truly a tragic hero. In John Steinbeck's novella, The Pearl the text gives many hints and clues that the novel follows the pattern of a Hero's Journey. This essay will cover the 3 main aspects of Kino's Journey which eventually leads to his ultimate sacrifice. My claim is significant and relevant to The Pearl because without the three main aspects to Kino’s Journey, the novel would not be the award winning, captivating book that it

Just like in real life, the characters in literature tend to be faced with very tough decisions in one way or the other. During these times, our decisions can turn us into heroes or make us look like big fools. The choices can thus affect our lives positively or negatively. ‘The Pearl’ is a 1947 novella by John Steinbeck where he tells the story of Kino, a pearl diver. Through the story, he tries to explore the nature of man of evil, greed, and defiance to the norms of society. He tells the story of how Kino found and lost the pearl. In this paper, the argument will be made from the point of Kino as a hero.

Throughout the book you see how the pearl causes Kino’s inner animal to take over which causes him to do irrational things. For example, in the book, it states,” Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared.” (Steinbeck 59). When Kino bares his teeth it shows he is becoming more and more animal like. This shows that Kino is thinking more with emotions than logic and Steinbeck portrays him as a snarling animal. It continues in the next sentence when Steinbeck uses the simile ,”He hissed at her like a snake.” This shows that the pearl is taking away Kino’s and his family’s humanity.

John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, describes a man and his family’s journey through financial setbacks, racism and the discovery of a pearl that changed their lives. The pearl, is the cause directly and indirectly of every troublesome event that occurs throughout the novel. There are three key events that clearly illustrate that the pearl is the cause of all misfortune. At first, Kino proclaims his visions derived from the pearl’s illusory value and his words backfire and result in great loss in the end. This is followed by Kino refusing the pearl buyers’ offer, sparking a chain reaction of unfortunate events. In addition to this, the hunters seeking for the pearl, whilst acting out of greed, end up destroying Kino’s family.

Kino poses the characteristic of self-pride, which eventually brings him and his family down. ". . . I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We will have our chance. His fist pounded the sleeping mat. No one shall take our good fortune from us. . ." Kino has letten the pearl take control over his life, which is indeed tragic because this beautiful and perfect rounded pearl destroys the most valuable thing that kino owns which is his family, however, as kino has let the pearl take over his life, he no longer sees his family as his most valuable posecion, but the pearl.

Main character Kino embodies the prey-like qualities of the Indian population, experiencing firsthand the power of racism. When his son falls seriously ill, Kino’s lack of knowledge prevents him from treating his son, and he is forced to seek the assistance of a European doctor. Yet as he arrives at the doctor’s lavish home, the recollection of European cruelty surges in his mind and “. . . [rage] [swells] in him . . . his lips [draw] tight against his teeth - but with his left hand he [reaches] to take off his hat”(Steinbeck 9). As anger begins to dominate Kino’s emotions, his instinctual actions grow more primitive and animal-like. His “lips draw tight against his teeth” like an animal at bay, furious yet forced to comply with his indomitable foe. In spite of his anger, Kino must adhere to his plebeian duties, and like a dutiful pet, he resolves to show submission and respect towards the Europeans by taking off his hat. In a sudden turn of events, Kino stumbles upon a pearl of immeasurable value. When the news reaches the doctor, he offers his assistance under the assumption that Kino will repay him with the pearl. At the thought of the Europeans’ harsh

”(Steinbeck, 59). Kino acted in such a way to the woman that he had loved more than anything else in the world because of the pearl. The pearl made him so greedy that he cared more about it than his own

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

In the novella “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, Kino struggles throughout the book with valuing materialistic items over his family. This novella is a Mexican folk tale that originated in La Paz, Bolivia. It is about a pearl diver who is overcome by evil and greed . Kino struggles to let the Pearl of the World go because he believes he is helping his family. Kino ends up valuing the pearl more than his family.

For Kino, the ‘pearl of great price’ initially manifests itself as the opulent catalyst to his elaborate fantasies including new clothes for his family and a proper education for his son. Eventually, these dreams extend to the possession of a rifle as ‘humans are never satisfied’. ‘And the music of the pearl rose like a chorus of trumpets in his ears … It was the wildest day-dreaming.’ Simile associates the pearl’s wealth and its accompanying anthem with victory; the victory of achieving his dreams; of being able to protect and sustain his family. However, the unsuccessful reality of Kino’s ownership of the pearl leads him to alter his reality substantially. ‘For his dream of the future was real and never to be destroyed.’ Confronted by his selfless dreams being greedily denied by others and the pearl’s music exposed to be ‘interwoven with the music of evil’, Kino becomes barbaric and violent. ‘He was an animal now, for hiding, for attacking, and he lived only to preserve himself and his family.’ Metaphor elucidates Kino’s transition to inhumanity due to the overwhelming failure of his family-focussed dreams. The only dream Kino fulfils is his possession of a rifle which he gains through the act of murder. ‘Kino was a terrible machine now. He grasped the rifle even as he wrenched free his knife.’ Depicted as apathetic automaton through metaphor, Kino’s descent into callousness and cruelty by his ambition is further displayed. Steinbeck’s ‘The Pearl’ conveys the psychological consequences that arise from dreams that are within

The pearl has changed Kino from a content man to a man who is unhappy with just the love of his family. Instead he wants “stuff “ to make them happy. For instance when Kino says “ We will have new clothes. “(31). This quote explains that Kino wants to get things he does not need, but what he wants. The pearl has also imported others negatively. The pearl has ruined the life of Kino and his family. “ ‘This pearl is like a sin! It will destroy us…’ “ (43). Juana has noticed that the pearl has become something much more than they can handle. It has destroyed those in its path, especially Kino. “ A dead man in the path and Kino’s knife, dark bladed beside him, convinced her.” (67). At this moment the pearl is pure evil as Kino has taken a human’s life. He and Juana know that life will never be the

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