The Pearl Greed

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.

Steinbeck writes, “And then Kino’s brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound--the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death” (87). At this point, Kino has lost everything: his sanity, his respect for human nature, his son. As Kino denies the pearl buyer’s deals, he is setting himself on the path to self destruction, and is blind at what is yet to come. Little did he know that he was going to lose his whole world, but he just had to keep the pearl. Because of Kino’s greediness, his son was the victim of

To wrap it all up, the type of Good and Evil presented in The Pearl, is not one positive one compared to other situations. Kino could have avoided many problems if it wasn’t for his ignorance. Instead of thinking of reality, he was focused on the future which caused him a big loss and

The Pearl is a story that is relatively easy to believe. first off there are no events in the story that could not take place, you could find a pearl, you could get robbed and you could be tracked or stalked in other words. These events could easily happen today or could happen a hundred years ago. The one thing that may make you think it is unbelieveable would be the magic or curse of the pearl. In my opinion the pearl itself does not bring the evil to the story, to me it is the decisions made because of the pearl that brought the evil and crime of it all. Of course if something were very valuable more likely than not people would try to steal it, it just will happen. But it’s because kino was trying to change the way of life, that’s really what made it go down hill.

Although Kino performed many heroic acts, he also acted foolishly in various circumstances. He lives with his wife Juana and his son Coyotito. The novel tells his story when he happens to find a large pearl in the beach that has the capacity to either bring him death or happiness. After finding this big pearl, he believes that this is going to the beginning of a new chapter for him and his family because poverty was eventually going to leave them. His foolishness was first seen when he announced the pearl that he had found making everyone to try to steal it from him. Knowing the worth of the pearl, he should have kept the information to himself and sold it later. After seeing what people were able to do to him because of the pearl, he should have just sold it at the price the buyers said because it eventually led to the death of his son. The buyers only referred to it as a ‘fool’s gold’ and that it was not worth anything. Kino’s greed put his family in danger and caused the death of his only son. Even after he was convinced that the pearl was evil by his wife, he says, "The pearl has become my soul. If I shall give it up, I

He had good intentions, but things didn’t always work out so well for the

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.

Steinbeck uses the Pearl as a symbol to communicate the theme greed is not a good thing by making it almost corrupt Kino, making him very greedy for wealth. Throughout the book The Pearl, Kino is doing things that are influenced by the pearl, starting with heading to the capital to eventually killing a man, all for is greed. Right before Kino attempts to sell the pearl in his hometown, he is not blinded by anger at being cheated. When his brother indirectly suggests he go to other places to know the true price of the pearl, Kino refuses. “’How can we know what is a fair price, if we do not know what the pearl buyer gets for the pearl in another place.’

In the Novel, The Pearl, Kino’s greed leads to his downfall because he does not sell the pearl, he fights for the pearl, and he believes that the pearl can change his family’s life.

He steals the rifle and “struck the head of the seated man like a melon.” The third man tries to get away and climb back up the mountain. Kino then fires the rifle at him and missed so he goes closer up to him, right between his eyes, shoots the gun and kills the third and final man. Those three attacks Kino performed never would have had to happen if he would have just been done with the pearl. The pearl caused him and others a lot of greed.

“Greed-always wanting more - is the chief evil of the modern world” - Ralph Wood. In the pearl by John Steinbeck Kino and Juana find a pearl of a lot of value. They prayed for this pearl after their son coyotito gets stung by a scorpion. The doctor and Kino are very greedy and jealous. Greed and jealousy tear apart relationships but family love brings them back.

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.

In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, there are many uses of theme. This book is about a man named Kino who finds the pearl of the world and wants to sell it to help out his family. Sadly, the pearl was meant to help out the family, but ends up destroying it because of greed. Steinbeck shows that materialism and greed can lead to immoral behavior through three main characters in the book: the doctor, the robbers, and the town as a whole. When the town hears that Kino found the pearl of the world, they all think of what they could do if they had the money.

In the novella, The Pearl, Kino is faced with many decisions that later impact his life in ways that he could never image. The Pearl tells the tale of a great pearl that could change the life of any man. Kino happened to be this man, but this great pearl caused nothing but havoc and harm to come upon his family. When they were running from all of the trouble the pearl had caused them, Kino’s son died, their hut burned down in the attempt to get away, and Kino had become a man of anger and violence.

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.