The Pearl Meaning

The loss of innocence John Steinbeck’s book, The Pearl, is about a Mexican pearl diver, Kino, and his family. The story is told through the eyes of an outside narrator about his journey with “The Pearl of the World.” The main character is Kino, who is hardworking and desperate to support his family. In the book, the author uses revealing actions to show that disappointment and greed can make a man forget his purpose. Kino started as a family man, but by the end of the book, he was controlled by the greed he felt in his heart.

Of all the symbols that are in Steinbeck’s story, the pearl of the world is the most important because of its direct impact on Kino, Juana, and Coyotito. The Pearl is about a poor diver, Kino, who gathers pearls for a living. Then, on a day like any other, Kino comes to the surface of the sea with a pearl as large as a seagull’s egg. Kino thought it would be a source of wealth, hope, and comfort, whereas it was actually the evil that destroyed their family.

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

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.

The pearl is no longer a symbol of hope, it has changed to a symbol of his loss. At the end of the story, Kino and Juana are depicted walking back into the town of La Paz. However, they go straight to the Gulf next to each other. There is no supremacy. They have both suffered the same loss and are equals.

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

Kino was attacked by mean trying to steal the pearl. He killed one of them in self-defense but Juana tells him that does not matter. He will still face consequences from the townspeople once the body is found in the morning.

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

In the end of the book, Kino and Juana returned to the village, a dead child in their arms and grief in their hearts. Kino finally realized that he needed to give up the pearl that was taking charge of his mind. He thrusted the pearl back into the ocean, burying it in the sand, hopefully forever. Juana and Kino finally made the right decision and fought evil back with good, only his son dying brought him back to the reality that family was more important, that love was better than

After discovering the pearl, however, Kino begins to dream of possibilities for his family, most importantly an education for his son, which was something he previously never thought of as he considered it absolutely out of reach. His dreams gradually start becoming more and more materialistic as he stares at the pearl’s surface. Consequently, he drifts apart from his culture and family customs, he escapes town and ends up killing a man, being inherently deceived by the pearl. When he returns to the village, wrecked by the death of his son, he first offers Juana the chance to throw the pearl into the sea. This indicates that he has learned to value her sense of judgement and is, in a sense, yielding to her. But she insists on Kinoo throwing the pearl into the sea instead and that shows that she remains faithful to their previous alignment of life and as always, seek and strives s to preserve

Warlin Diaz 11/15/15 English 3 Honors The Pearl “What various things does the pearl symbolize? What does it mean to Kino at different stages of the novel? What does it mean to different members of the community? ” Should all be questions running through your mind, when reading The Pearl by John Steinbeck.

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.

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

     Lastly, the Pearl of the World is hard to grasp for because it is significantly realistic to be true, yet it is as far idealistic as possible. Everyone wanted the same thing, but they knew they all would not be able to have it. The material pearl reveals the irony of good fortune in that what should have been the profession of a lifetime, turns out to be a disaster, producing a great