Wealth can allow people to have many good things in life, however, can also be very destructive if it is abused. Symbolism, imagery, and the characters show how wealth can either be helpful or devastating to people's lives. After the priest discovers Kino's new treasure, the pearl, he talks to him and says that he should donate money to the church to praise God or the Gods on his finding. The priest examined Kino and said, "It has come to me that thou hast found a great fortune, a great pearl." Kino then opened his hand and held it out, and the priest gasped a little at the size and beauty of the pearl. And then he said," I hope thou wilt remember to give thanks, my son, to Him who has given thee this treasure, and to pray for guidance in the future (Steinbeck 24-25). Each man sees in the pearl what they could do if they had the chance to discover the "Pearl of the World." The pearl's immediate and lasting effect on Kino is causing him to dream of better things for himself and his family. Although the pearl attracts intruders and pursuers, Kino determines that his family will rise above it. Most importantly, he expects his son, Coyotito to be at the same education level as the White Europeans. The story characterizes the sympathetic characters, Kino and Juana, as well as the unsympathetic character, the doctor. In the novella, Steinbeck shows that wealth can have
The book the pearl was full with a variety of action and surprising events. The author Steinbeck's moral argument of money doesn't buy happiness is demonstrated in every event occurring in the book. Kino and Juana made the right decision to throw the pearl away because it was an object that brought harm. This novella could have had a variety of different endings.
In conclusion, Steinbeck’s novella demonstrates how innocence and hope is destroyed by greed and ambition. Kino seeks to gain wealth and status through the pearl. As he does so, he transforms from a happy father, who was content with his current life, to a greedy person, who can see no good in anything except for the pearl. The pearl, which originally represented Kino’s hope and innocence, is destroyed by
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.
The pearl begins a myth, no one has ever seen The Pearl before, and therefore, The Pearl is noted as a dream. When news of the finding of the great pearl is heard, the pearl buyers in La Paz attempt to scam Kino by lowering the price. “The essence of pearl mixed with essence of men and a curious dark residue was precipitated. 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” (29). The fisherman are jealous, the doctor, friends, every single person in La Paz wants a ‘taste’ of The Pearl and will go to dangerous ends to acquire it. Greed is evil and corrupts the pure system of La Paz, including Kino. “The news stirred up something infinitely black and evil in the town; the black distillate was like the scorpion, or like hunger in the smell of food, or like loneliness when love
In the parable The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino, a poor pearl diver finds the pearl of the world. He then thinks of all the things that he could do with the pearl. This made him greedy and rely on the pearl for happiness. As greed enters the book, Kino becomes an altogether different person because of his lust for the pearl. Throughout the pearl, Steinbeck wanted to show that greed can make people act in horrible ways.
Christian Balderas English Honors 2 10/24/15 Center 2: Writing “Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts... Perhaps the fear of a loss of power. ”-John
At first, Kino’s friends and family are happy for him for finding the pearl, but once the people started thinking of what they could gain from the wealth of the pearl, it corrupted them with greed. Greediness takes over the town’s people in the village by them realizing what the pearl can do for them. Influential people, like the town doctor, the pearl dealers and even the town's priest all are consumed with greediness for the pearl’s wealth. “The news came early to the beggars in front of the church, and it made them giggle a little with pleasure, for they knew that there is no almsgiver in the world like a poor man who is suddenly lucky” (24). All of these people with high moral values fall victim to greed when they try to steal the pearl from Kino.
“It is the greatest Pearl in he world” (Steinbeck 19). The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, is an intriguing short story about a small family. The poor family consisting of Kino, Juana, and Coyotito live on the small island of La Paz. Coyotito, an infant, was stung by a scorpion, and the doctor does not want to help the poor family. Kino is determined to help his son, so he goes Pearl diving and finds the pearl of the world. He takes the pearl to some appraisers in his town, and he finds out his pearl is essentially worthless. Kino feels cheated so he heads to the capital city. On the journey, he knows he is followed so he carefully hides his family in a cave. At night he tries to attack the men following him, and Coyotito is shot because of this.
One of the ‘pearls’ from these two chapters was Part 2 of Chapter 10. I found this important because even if all Social Entrepreneurs work towards changing something positively, when working to find a solution for the same problem, many avoid working with others. Working with others means considering all of their ideas, and for many, possibly giving up their own idea. This is hard for many Social Entrepreneurs and people in general, since everyone thinks their ideas are correct, and not many are opened to modifying them. Also, working towards finding a solution means sharing finances, something many Social Entrepreneurs are not willing to do. I agree with what this section said about Social Entrepreneurs working together. It is not about striving
John Steinbeck’s novella The Pearl displays the work of irony and oppression demonstrating it by Kino’s experience. Kino and his family lives in La Paz, Mexico with “peace” around the seaside with fishermen, some poor and some rich. Despite the criticism Kino receives for being Indian and poor, he is brave and a great family man only wanting better for his son and wife. However, after he discovers the pearl, he becomes more oppressed as well as oppressing others and becomes greedy. The reason behind Kino’s change is because he is trying to treat his son, Coyotito, from the scorpion sting, but also for an education, and a higher rank in the social status. Although Kino is one of the oppressed victims, not long after does he oppress others and
Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction. In the novella, The Pearl by John Steinbeck, Kino lives with his wife, Juana, and his child Coyotito. The family lives in a small village in a town where the Spanish colonized. Coyotito goes through something striking and in order to fix it, Kino finds something life changing. Throughout the story, Steinbeck shows that materialism and greed left unchecked can lead to immoral behavior shown through the unnamed trackers, the doctor, and the main character Kino himself.
In The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, take place in La Paz, Mexico, where a pleasant family composed of Kino, his wife, Juana, and their son, Coyotito. One day, their son is bitten by a scorpion and Juana and Kino go see a local doctor, who refuses to treat Coyotito. Kino, a pearl diver, finds a pearl with immense value which he believes will pay for the treatment. However, the pearl brings great misfortune upon the family. As the novel progresses, Juana disagrees that the pearl will help her family. Here, Steinbeck defies his usual stereotypical portray of women, and takes a compassionate stance of women such as Juana. Juana, whom the author endows with unique wisdom and common sense juxtaposed to the foolishness and competence of Kino. Thus, these qualities make Juana a far more stronger and superior person than her husband in a patriarchal society in which women have no say.
John Steinbeck’s “The Pearl” is a novella about a Mexican Indian named Kino and his family’s simple life. Steinbeck teaches many themes in this novella, but a very major one that stands out is that greed immensely changes people. He uses many writing techniques which can teach the reader a new idea in the story each and every time you read it. In the beginning of chapter 5, Kino goes so far as to killing someone. When his wife takes the pearl, something in Kino changes—he snaps.
John Steinbeck’s novella “The Pearl” discusses many grey-area values that most commonly lie in America. This book revolves around the modern day theme of greed and illusions that are key in the modern world of prosperity. By deeply expressing how greed can lead to many forms of resentment, Steinbeck concludes the novel with an emotionally deterring ending, which causes readers to wonder if there was another option besides that of throwing the pearl into the sea. Steinbeck’s moral argument is complete once Kino loses everything but the pearl. This conveys the terrifying avariciousness of greed. Kino gives up everything for something that was put on a pedestal for being one of the most miraculous things to ever be found. However, Kino realizes its value is worthless when compared to the value of his family and his ancient traditions. The novella could’ve ended in another way, but it wouldn’t have had nearly as much of an impact on the audience and on Kino if it had ended any other way. By ending the story with the loss of everything that truly mattered to Kino most, both he and the audience learn how being blinded by a short-term blessing can severely impact what is important to an individual in the long run. I believe it was wise of Kino to throw the pearl back into the sea, even if he threw it back solely out of spite for what he lost. In searching for another option, Kino would have been constantly reminded of the drastic events that led him to that wretched