The Pearl Greed

The Pearl is a novella by the author, John Steinbeck. The genre of this book is fiction parable. The theme is that greed can lead to a dark ending. The major conflicts in this story are man vs. man, man vs. nature, and man vs. society. The point of view is in third person. The exposition is Kino, Juana, and their son Coyotito lives peacefully with their family and neighbors until Coyotito is bitten by poisonous scorpion which all takes place at the Gulf. The rising action is when Kino finds the the great pearl to pay doctor, but finds out it is worthless. The climax of the story is when Kino kills the man who was trying to steal the pearl. The falling action is when Kino and his family leaves the village to the capital when they were soon followed by trackers. Later that night, Kino goes and attacks the trackers and when he finished, he realized Coyotito is dead. The

John Steinbeck’s The Pearl follows the story of a Mexican-Indian family who lived in a small village on the coast of the Baja peninsula during the colonial era in Mexico. Kino works tirelessly as a pearl diver to provide for his wife, Juana, and Coyotito, his son. Although he was poor, he and his wife were initially satisfied with their lives. However, Coyotito’s scorpion sting and the discovery of the Pearl of the World opened Kino’s eyes to a much larger world. His simple, peaceful life was marred by the violence and conflict that the pearl brought. The pearl, which incited greed in all who come in contact with it, changed from a symbol of hope to that of chaos and misfortune.

In this novella, I developed a thesis statement, which is: The pearl kept Kino moving forward because it represented hope during a period in his life. I chose this thesis statement because one of the aspects that makes this story move forward is Kino’s hope and greed; even if this greed is based on his hope. Steinbeck quotes: “Every man suddenly became related to Kino’s pearl, 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 he became curiously everyman’s enemy” (Steinbeck, 27).

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 is beginning to realize how at first the pearl seemed to have brought fortune and good to his family, but it really had only brought evil to the family. By the end of the story, Kino and Juana have lost their son, Coyotito, and they wish things were back to the way they were before they found the pearl. Kino then throws the pearl back out into the ocean where he had found it: “And the music of the pearl drifted to a whisper and disappeared” (90). The music disappearing as the pearl sink back into the ocean symbolizes the evil leaving the family: now that the pearl has left, so has the evil. Kino now understands that their “wealth” has brought nothing but evil and has destroyed both himself as well as his family. Not only does Steinbeck use the motif of music to express the theme that good fortune, wealth, and prosperity steer even the most innocent of people towards a path of evil and corruption, but he also uses the motif of light and dark imagery.

In a small town called La Paz, a pearl diver named Kino life turns upside down after the promise of imminent wealth is brought to him. The story of The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, is a story that swerves left and right, and revolves around greed. With many examples of foreshadowing, imagery, and characterization, John Steinbeck shows many ways that greed can be influential. Greed is like violence, it’s evil and overtakes anything else. John Steinbeck shows this in many ways whether it be how greed can change someone, in literary techniques, and how greed has changed Kino and his family.

For millions of years, two of man's greatest downfalls have been greed and materialism. Throughout the novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, the themes of greed and materialism are corroborated with the Mexican folktale the author heard after he visited the country of Mexico. The folk story described the life of an indigent young native who discovered “The Pearl of the World” and how the pearl exhibits evil which leads to his downfall, greed. Numerous terrible things began to happen to him, and most importantly to his family after discovering the pearl. The author, John Steinbeck, makes these themes evident by illustrating the elements of conflict and characterization.

In the story “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck the character Kino struggles with greed. The author uses symbolism, motif, and irony. The pearl is the symbol in this story, the irony is the death of Coyotito, and the number three is the motif. All of these techniques lead to the theme or moral of the story.

The pearl is represented as being a precious gem that will bring hope and wealth into Kino’s family. While time passes, Kino becomes anxious. He decides that the best place for the pearl is to bury “... it under the ground…” in fear “...that others, both friends and enemies, have a greed that surposses even the doctor’s” (Meyer).

“Instinct is a marvelous thing. It can neither be explained nor ignored.” -Agatha Christie. In John Steinbeck’s novella The Pearl two native Mexican protagonists, Kino and Juana, reveal the hardships of greed in the small fishing village of La Plaz.

In The Pearl, greed played a major role in how the story developed and in Kino, the main character. John Steinbeck, the author of The Pearl, uses many literary devices such as characterization, symbolism, and foreshadowing to make a fantastic novel and a great story. Kino was consumed by the pearl, and together became one soul. He was so full of greed that the pearl became his life, and in the end it destroyed him, Juana, and Coyotito completely. This story is a prime example of how greed can not only corrupt and change one person but in the process affect multiple people’s lives.

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.

In The Pearl by Steinbeck, “Kino was in mid-leap when the gun crashed and the barrel-flash made a picture on his eyes.” Kino value the pearl more than his wife and son. Humans were raised once you get what you want, you keep wanting more. In the TED talks Paul Pitt did a experiment about a monopoly game about one player has more money than the other and see how they treat each other by playing the game and it's exactly like what happen to Kino. Before he got the pearl he was very caring and helpful but after he got the pearl he started to change, thinking the pearl is the solution to his problems, then he started to hit his own wife and after he realized the pearl is breaking him apart, he throws it away with his wife Juana and that greed can became a destructive force.

Prompt: In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, the main character Kino finds “the pearl of the world,” only to suffer horribly afterwards. Is the pearl evil? Was Kino “greedy” for keeping it? Support your assertions with specific examples from the text.

The Pearl by John Steinbeck has the universal theme of greed throughout the book. It is shown many times and is the most recognizable in the book. From the time Kino finds the pearl to the resolution it sets loose a river of greed from other people trying to get what he has. Even Kino becomes blind from greed and ends up hurting his family. It is shown when the pearl buyers try to undercut the price of Kino’s pearl. It is also shown when everyone is in his hut right after he finds the pearl including the doctor and the priest. Both of these examples are fueled by greed.