The Pearl Quote Analysis

His family was really close and they loved each other without money. His obsession with the pearl caused his son Coyotito to die. Kinos tends to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something he does not have but appreciating and recognizing what he does have. Throughout the pearl” Kino and his family learned this the hard way. The pearl demonstrates Kino was already making a hard skin for himself against the world”(29). Kino changes his character throughout the story by his thoughts and actions. In the first chapter of the novel kino is presented as a loving protect her husband who wants nothing more than support for his family. Furthermore to know was cruel to his wife after he found the pearl. Having a lot of money but not being happy is worse than being happy and not having money. Perhaps, people should learn the having a lot of money is not as important as

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.

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

Before Kino found the pearl, he wasn’t exposed to great hardship or struggle. When he found the pearl, Kino became very greedy and he experienced immense pain and loss. Furthermore, the pearl also caused Kino to lose his innocence. When Kino allowed evil and pain to take over his perspective of life he became angry. The first time Kino killed someone was when a man broke into Kino’s house in attempt to steal the pearl. Later in the book, Kino and his family we being shadowed by trackers in pursuit to kill him and his family and steal the pearl. After the trackers fired upon Kino’s child, Kino became filled with rage and the pearl grew gray and he let evil take him over: "And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away. And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth. And Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane” (pg. 89). Kino then killed those who were in pursuit of him and shot at

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.

Being exposed to social classes, greed and the unfair qualities of life has made the real world grow. Because of social classes we are able to balance and achieve more for our societies (and taxes). Kinos town was perfectly balanced until the rumor was in the air of a stir in the social classes. Once the townspeople found out that a person of lower class now has the potential to be one of them or higher, the townspeople were at Kino and Juanas throats to procure their beacon of wealth. Juana and Kino being exposed to envy and greed at such a rapid pace exposed them to paranoia, the loss of their greatest treasure, not being the pearl, and to the reality of not wanting what they thought they needed. Once they lose their precious son, Kino hurls

At first it was just him protecting his family, self defense, but then something horrible came over him, as John Steinbeck phrases it, “Kino was a terrible machine now” (Chapter 6. Location 196). He was greedy. Ever since Kino got the pearl he didn't appreciate the little things. He didn't feed the hungry dog, or wait outside to watch the sunrise. He didn't hear the family song any more. He loved his pearl and his pearl only, he didn't care so much for people. He bashed the head of the first tracker and shot the second and third, in the mix of it all he somehow managed kill his child. He tried to resist evil with evil and he became the evil.

Kino dives to the very bottom and sees a glimmer coming from an oyster, grabs it, comes up to the boat to open it and finds the pearl of the world. The news that Kino has found an immense pearl travels fast through La Paz. The doctor who refused to treat Coyotito decides to visit Kino. Kino's neighbors begin to feel bitter toward him for his good fortune, but neither Kino nor Juana realize this feeling they have engendered. Kino has no idea what to do with all the new money he has earned, but wants to send Coyotito to school.

Kino poses the characteristic of self-pride, which eventually brings him and his family down. ". . . I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We will have our chance. His fist pounded the sleeping mat. No one shall take our good fortune from us. . ." Kino has letten the pearl take control over his life, which is indeed tragic because this beautiful and perfect rounded pearl destroys the most valuable thing that kino owns which is his family, however, as kino has let the pearl take over his life, he no longer sees his family as his most valuable posecion, but the pearl.

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.

The discovery of the great pearl influences Kino to be more animalistic. “...Kino’s fist closed over the pearl and his emotion broke over him. He put back his head and howled. His eyes rolled up and he screamed and his body was rigid” (Steinbeck 11). Kino’s excitement of this discovery leads to his an impulsive wolf-like behavior, howling, which shows the power of the pearl in triggering man’s impulsiveness. The pearl also installs paranoia in Kino, as he fears others stealing his prized possession. “...a wild fear surged in Kino’s breast, and on the fear came rage...he sprang like an angry cat, leaped striking and spitting for the dark thing he knew was in the corner of

His son, Coyotito is stung by scorpions. Kino and his wife are confused seeking help, until they come to the city to ask to the doctor there, but get rejected. Kino then tries to look for extra money by looking for pearls in the middle of the sea. He finds a great pearl which, if sold, would cover all the expenses he needs for his son’s treatment.

This quote shows the greed in Kino is getting greater and greater. The reader can tell this because Kino is willing to hurt the person who he loves the most, and who loves him the most, just to keep his pearl safe.

In The Pearl, Kino caused the tragedies his family experienced because he only cared about the pearl and therefore put every other concern second. For example, as Kino regained his consciousness after an attack during an attempted robbery, his first

After traveling long and fighting against the whole world, first with his town filled with people trying to steal it, then fighting for the money, then against himself and finally against the trackers, he was left weak, and there was no more strength to fight anymore. “The people say that the two seemed to be removed from human experience” (Steinbeck 88). His struggles with the pearl have left him dehumanized and stripped of emotions because after so many battles with himself and others, it has ruined the pearl’s value by taking away the shine and leaving a dusty grey as all of his original plans of a wedding, new clothes and an education for Coyotito have turned into memories of traumatic moments. “And in the surface of the pearl, he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away.” (Steinbeck 89). Family was the strongest part of his life because it was Kino’s only power throughout his life, which is why when he returns back to his village, people don’t recognize him as he walks through people unbothered by their staring eyes that glare right through the hollowed soul, making them feel scared. Whether Kino can’t feel anymore or chooses to disconnect himself from that battle is a mystery, but, he is still left as a dehumanized