The Pearl Greed

He was once kind, but now he’s a mean man. 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. She knew there was murder in him, and it was all right; she had accepted it, and she would not resist or even protest. And then the rage left him and a sick disgust took its place.

But her joy didn’t last for very long. A few days after the pearl was found, Juana cried, “It will destroy us all,” “even our son.” There was also another incident, where Kino was badly wounded, “There was a long deep cut in his cheek from ear to chin, a deep, bleeding slash.” After this occurred, Juana said, “Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us-let us throw it back into the sea where it belongs. Kino, it is evil, it is evil.

This intruder made Juanna believe the pearl is evil, and they should get rid of it. Kino ignores this remark, and the next day goes to sell the pearl for money. All the salesmen in town give him low of offers that he rejects. During the night Juanna goes out to throw the pearl in the sea, but Kino chases her down. When Kino gets to her, he grabs the pearl and beats her to a crimple. Kino is walking back to the house when he is jumped by a group of men which he quickly scares off by killing one of them. Juana finds him lying next to the dead man when she quickly decides that they leave because Kino will be labeled as a murder. They are about to leave when they realize their canoe has been trashed, and their house has been set up in flames. With the towns people believing that the whole family has passed in the fire, they hide out in Kino’s brother’s house. After a few day of hiding here, they head for the capital to sell their pearl. The family travels in nightfall to keep from being seen, but to their, surprise they are being followed by three trackers. Kino tries to mislead the trackers, but they catch up and set up camp near by. When Kino goes to attack them, Coyotito starts to cry which wakes up the trackers. One of the trackers fires in direction of Coyotito. Then Kino quickly jumps into action and kills the trackers. When he gets back to his camp, he finds that the shot the tracker took hit and killed his son. Kino and Juana finish their travel the

In hopes to save their sick child, parents Juana and Kino rushed into town to see the doctor. All the neighbors heard Coyotito scream in pain which lead them to rush out of their brush houses to see what was wrong. After learning that the baby was stung them all accompanied the family into town. Kino’s brother, Juan Tomas, gave his account of the

When Kino suggests that he goes and Juana hides she refuses. When he commands and says it is his wish she still does not agree. This is the first time she has openly disagreed with Kino and the first time she is taking charge. It shows importance because it is the primary shift of gender roles between the couple even though it is minor. After Coyotito dies in the hands of Juana, Kino is left heartbroken and torn.

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

“ The acquisition of wealth is a work of great labor; its possession, a source of continual fear; its loss, of excessive grief.” This quote can apply in our lives and even some books we read like The Pearl. In the book, The Pearl, the wealth of Kino and his family is the pearl they find. It’s possession caused them great fear and labor from the beginning of the book, and it caused them grief towards the end. This quote applies to all parts of the book, and we will examine into all of the chapters to take a closer look.

9. What can be inferred about Juana and Kino after their dialogue at the end of the chapter?

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.

Juan Tomas who is Kino’s older brother, warns him about the peculiarity about the unusual events that happen to him due to discovering the pearl. He says “ There is a devil in this pearl. You should have sold it and passed on the devil” (Bender 98). This quote shows Juan his happy for his brother and wants him to be wealthy but he is also nervous about how society and his life will change around him because everyone wants the pearl.  He hides Kino and Juana in his house after he finds out Kino had killed someone to protect himself. Apolonia who is Juan’s wife warns Kino as well about the dangers of the pearls discovery. She has four children too and agrees to give Kino and Juana housing if they need it. Those characters are well aware of the strange occurrences that follow the finding of the pearl. Steinbeck has included them in his book to show that greed can come of a situation like as illustrated in the book. Another character the doctor, is represented in the book as selfishness and greed in the society. He does not agree to treat Coyotito after he has been bitten by a scorpion until he finds out Kino has a pearl that is worth great fortune. Most people in the book become close to Kino to be closer to the pearl. This demonstrates the lust for currency, which Steinbeck truly despises. The priest as well tries to get close to Kino in hopes he can receive some money. The trackers and

However, two vibrant changes occur as the story progresses —Coyotito, his son, getting stung by a scorpion and Kino’s discovery of the pearl—broaden Kino’s horizons and outlook on the world. As Kino begins to strive for wealth and education for his son, the simplicity of his life becomes increasingly complicated by greed, conflict, and violence. Kino’s character then falls through a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and disillusionment. The factors promoting this decline are ambition and greed. Thus, when going got tough for Kinoo and he had to escape town he faced a lot of hardships, since he had to go into hiding and the only immediate help he had was from his brother. This had an adverse effect on his personality as he became increasingly negative, given the way he hit his wife shows how the pearl preoccupied his mind to such a great extent that he grew indifferent to everything else as evil and restlessness eloped him. In addition to these social changes, Kinoo, after attaining the pearl was on the move to gain economic sustenance, but not being able to find the right price to sell his pearl got him feeling even more uncertain and disappointed but he continued to strive and was reluctant to give up because he wanted everything in his reach for his son, who he consequently ended up losing in the

-Love your husband, Kino. Juana was astonish and heartbroken. She thought Kino would never ever do this. A few moments later, Coyotito woke up and was crying. Juana immediately fed Coyotito, took the pearl, and began her adventure to find her

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

In the event that Kino was trying to run from trackers Coyotito, Kino and Juana’s young son suffered the consequences from Kino’s actions. Kino had brought a lot of pain to his family at this point in the story when they had to flee from La Paz and take refuge in the mountains. Kino’s brother hinted at the fact that this pearl would bring devastation to his

In a small fishing village by the name of La Paz, live a simple, content, and calm family. The family consists of a child, Coyotito, and husband and wife, Juana and Kino. Kino is a poor fisherman and pearl diver that is simply working to support his family that he cares for very much. In the novel, Kino eventually acquires a pearl that he hopes will change his life around. As a result, the whole of his village despises Kino. They envy him for the rarity that is the pearl. Kino envisions an education for Coyotito, a rifle, and a marriage in a church, but realistically, the pearl shows death and more morbid outcomes such as Juana being beaten, and Coyotito being ill. Throughout the novel, the pearl noticeably has an impact on Kino's