The Pearl By John Steinbeck

When Kino first finds the pearl, he becomes a different person, and that shows us how ambition can change people. He becomes greedy, and then starts to treat his wife differently. Kino also became very ambitious for the worth of the pearl. When the dealers see the pearl and say it isn’t worth much, Kino ceases to view the pearl with optimistic delight and instead focuses on its sale with determined ambition. From this point on, that ambition continues to hurt him, to the point where his son, Coyotito, dies.

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

Greed is perhaps one of the most destructive forces in this world, it breeds anger, hate, jealousy, and more. The novella “The Pearl” is based on how the finding of a pearl causes greed to be awakened in the hearts of people and cause them to commit evil. During the Novella, Steinbeck develops the theme that greed left unchecked can cause immoral behavior and that is show in the doctor, the attackers, and Kino. All of them are forced by greed to commit sins that they otherwise would not do.

“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

In the book The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, many lessons were to be learned, and also many themes were introduced. The novel started out with introducing the main characters, Kino, Juana, and

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.

Kino faces a difficult decision or change when he finds the pearl for example in the book The Pearl chapter 5 Juana says, “Here is your pearl. I found it in the path. Can you hear me now? Here is your pearl. Can you understand? You have killed a man.” (61). This shows that because of the pearl he does not listen to his wife and he has killed a man because of his greed towards the pearl. Also it says in Chapter 5 (59), it says, “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders…”. This also shows that because of

Him beating up his wife indicated that his greed and the possession of the pearl had completely blinded him from his true purpose of obtaining the pearl- his love for his

In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. It is this evil which moves the story along and adds drama. It causes the beginning of a happy spirit, but the downfall of goodness and humanity.

This quote shows the greed in Kino is getting greater and greater. The reader can tell this because Kino is willing to hurt the person who he loves the most, and who loves him the most, just to keep his pearl safe.

He imagined a better life for his family. Despite everything that went wrong, despite people telling him to throw the pearl away, Kino continued to believe in the value and importance of the pearl. Early on Juana tried to convince Kino to get rid of the pearl, “‘This pearl is a sin! It will destroy us,’ and her voice rose shrilly ‘ throw it away.’”(John Steinbeck 38). Kino would have ordinarily taken into consideration his wife’s concerns and this was out of character. While under the spell of the pearl, It didn’t matter to him that Juana had his best interest in mind when she advised him to get rid of the pearl. Even after Kino was attacked, he was unwavering in his conviction in the value of the pearl, “but Kino’s face was set, and his will was set” Kino was given many chances to throw away the pearl, but yet he was stubborn and continued to believe in the pearl even though his world was falling apart and even though he could lose

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

Over the course of history, women have had a stereotype of being subservient, passive, and deferent. However, John Steinbeck’s novella The Pearl disproves this epithet. The story revolves around a husband and wife, Kino and Juana, and their baby son, Coyotito. The characters experience a meaningful journey and learn a manifold of lessons. Although multiple themes unravel in the story, the author vividly writes about the role and development of women. Steinbeck’s The Pearl depicts various women’s roles and their development, especially in Juana’s words and actions.

Most people would consider finding a piece of jewelry worth large sums of money a wonderful stroke of luck. Kino, the main character of John Steinbeck’s ninety-page novel The Pearl, sure felt this way when he discovered the greatest pearl in the world at the point in his life when he needed it most—his son having just being stung by a scorpion and needing expensive medical treatment. However, when the pearl buyers try to swindle him and then send assassins to kill him, burn his house, and destroy his canoe, his perception of the pearl begins to shift. He decides to flee to the capital and sell the pearl himself, taking a route through the mountains in order to evade his pursuers. When his efforts to hide fall short, he changes tactics and

The way people feel about something or react to it is most of the time not optional or tempted more by their desires or by their nature. “The pearl” is a great example of how people completely turn over into different creatures because of their human characteristic or because of their human desires. Jealousy is a great factor that helped in leading to the climax and the tragedy of the novel, whereas greed was the most important one because of what the pearl represents and what the actual reason behind the people pursuing the main characters was.