The Pearl By John Steinbeck

Kino’s desire to gain wealth changes the pearl’s natural beauty and good luck, turning it from a symbol of hope and happiness into a symbol of bad and

“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.

Kino in The Pearl creates the theme of greed and power can make one’s downfall. In the book Juana (Kino’s wife) hears evil music with the pearl and fears it will tear apart the family and the village. So she sneaks out in the early morning with it and tries to get rid of it to free her family from evil but gets caught in the action by her husband who goes savage. “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…”(page 58-59) This shows how greed and power can make one’s downfall because the greed of the pearl and the idea of what riches it could bring to the family and the whole village which makes Kino fill with rage when he sees Juana trying to get rid of

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)

“Perhaps a rifle.” ” (Pg. 30). This quote from the book shows how even though Kino is a good, honest, generous man, the pearl was making him want things even though he didn't need them. Like the rifle, the rifle was always known to be a white man's tool, so when he had a taste of wealth, he started seeing all of these things that he didn't need and just wanted in the pearls reflection. Greed touched the doctor and Kino the same way, although they are two very different people with very different personalities and different desires, greed touched them both. Greed touches every character, big and small, in the book The Pearl. The theme greed brings out everyone's true character and shows what they will do to make their hopes and dreams come true.

"And, as with all retold tales that are in people's hearts, there are only good and bad things and black and white things and good and evil things and no in-between. If this story is a parable, perhaps everyone takes his own meaning from it and reads his own life into it.” The Pearl is a novel written by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is known as one of America’s greatest authors. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature because of his realistic and imaginative writing. Steinbeck had traveled to Mexico, where he took a marine biology course, there he met a group of Indians, who told him the story of the “pearl of great price.” In the Pearl, Steinbeck develops the theme of how evil can bring man’s owns destruction; and can bring out the

“For it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more” (pg 37). This was very true for Kino. Luckily, Juana saw the evil and greediness the pearl created and never got caught up in it herself. Kino tried to sell the pearl, but the purchasers had never seen one so large and could compare it to nothing. Because of this, they tried to cheat Kino out of money.

Kino is acting greedy when fights the pearl thief in the same night he found the pearl. When Juana steals the pearl and night and tries to throw it in the ocean Kino catches her and then, the pearl thief come again and Kino’s “hand is moving symbolic fighting” (72) and kills him. Kino is acting greedy when he kills the thief in the beach. Kino leaves his town and everything behind and leaves with his family to the capital. This is how Kino is acting greedy when he refuses to let the pearl go and fights for it. And his thoughts about his family having a good

In the novella, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, if kino threw the pearl back into the gulf because he feels guilty the pearl represents greed. Before Kino found the pearl he was living a simple life as a pearl diver in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. He was poor but rich with his family. He had a small brush house that he lived in with his eventual wife, Juana, and his baby son, Coyotito. They didn’t have a lot as a family, but they did have hope. One day Kino’s opinions on things changes when he was out in his boat diving for pearls. He found, “the great pearl, perfect as the moon”(19) and his life was forever changed. As soon as Kino had the pearl he started thinking of all the things that he and his family could do “and in the incandescence

The novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is about a poor mexican-indian who has a some money problems, but then he finds a great pearl that can fix everything, but what comes with fortune comes greed. John Steinbeck develops the theme things aren't always the way they seem.

In The Pearl, the author John Steinbeck conveys greed through symbolism,imagery, and irony to illustrate meaning into the text. In The pearl you get to experience first hand that sometimes what you have is all that you need. Greed is a destructive force and will only result in disaster. Steinbeck tells us a story about a poor, struggling Mexican-American family who comes across a pearl that will as he believes solve every problem the family faces. "The pearl of the world" as Steinbeck describes it sets into motion a series of unfortunate events on this roller coaster that only goes down.

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.

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).

Although the past cannot be changed, the future is in your power. But what if power is the reason the future cannot be changed? The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is a timeless story that is filled with metaphors for how avarice takes over humans. Although there is no easy way to get rid of it, Kino goes through many challenges to free himself from the troubles that come with possessing the power the pearl held. Kino went from a loving human to a dehumanized figure because he saw great wealth in the pearl, attacked in order to maintain the power it held and lost the ability to have emotions.

Greed is one of the greatest drivers of the human race. The novella The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, tackles this theme. It tells the tale of a poor young couple and their baby child. The family is soon blessed with the discovery of “the pearl of the world”(21). In the beginning, the pearl is a symbol of hope and new beginnings, but it quickly turns into a basis of avarice. The pearl soon brings many enemies who seek the pearl and it’s extraordinary value, and as a result of this their child, Coyotito dies. The theme of greed for temporal things warps the mind and soul is a recurring statement throughout the story. A “motif” if you will.