The Theme Of Greed In The Pearl By John Steinbeck

Kino in The Pearl creates the theme of greed and power can make one’s downfall. In the book Juana (Kino’s wife) hears evil music with the pearl and fears it will tear apart the family and the village. So she sneaks out in the early morning with it and tries to get rid of it to free her family from evil but gets caught in the action by her husband who goes savage. “Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side...Kino looked down at her and his teeth were bared. He hissed at her like a snake…”(page 58-59) This shows how greed and power can make one’s downfall because the greed of the pearl and the idea of what riches it could bring to the family and the whole village which makes Kino fill with rage when he sees Juana trying to get rid of

In order to sell his pearl for the highest price possible, Kino was forced to go to the capital. This was due to being cheated by the local pearl buyers. “I have been cheated,” Kino cried fiercely. “My pearl is not for sale here. I will go perhaps even to the capital.” By doing so, Kino wasn’t only risking a long journey, but also putting his family in harm’s

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

I believe that is because Kino thinks that the pearl is worth a lot of money. Therefore, even if Kino had an evil feeling and bad things were happening to him, he still kept moving forward. For example, Steinbeck quotes: “Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.” (Steinbeck, 59). This quote is related to my thesis statement because Kino is trying to stop Juana from throwing the pearl away in order to move

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.

Many people in the world today grow crazy and mad when surrounded by even the slightest bit of wealth and good fortune. Even a strong person who recognizes their priorities can still become corrupt with too much power. There is no better example of a person falling into the path of evil and corruption than in a novel written by John Steinbeck. In the novel The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, the author writes about a poor Indian man named Kino who becomes corrupt from the wealth of a magnificent pearl. Steinbeck uses the motifs of music, light and dark imagery, and values to develop the theme that good fortune, wealth, and prosperity steer even the most innocent of people towards a path of evil and corruption. The reader learns that one

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.

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

However, two vibrant changes occur as the story progresses —Coyotito, his son, getting stung by a scorpion and Kino’s discovery of the pearl—broaden Kino’s horizons and outlook on the world. As Kino begins to strive for wealth and education for his son, the simplicity of his life becomes increasingly complicated by greed, conflict, and violence. Kino’s character then falls through a gradual decline from a state of innocence to a state of corruption and disillusionment. The factors promoting this decline are ambition and greed. Thus, when going got tough for Kinoo and he had to escape town he faced a lot of hardships, since he had to go into hiding and the only immediate help he had was from his brother. This had an adverse effect on his personality as he became increasingly negative, given the way he hit his wife shows how the pearl preoccupied his mind to such a great extent that he grew indifferent to everything else as evil and restlessness eloped him. In addition to these social changes, Kinoo, after attaining the pearl was on the move to gain economic sustenance, but not being able to find the right price to sell his pearl got him feeling even more uncertain and disappointed but he continued to strive and was reluctant to give up because he wanted everything in his reach for his son, who he consequently ended up losing in the

Money, Education, and Equality are major oppressions Kino and the town faced. Kino has experienced a lot in his life, but only one thing has kept him from losing his mind, his family. His family is why he is fighting for the pearl and why he needs it to survive. He feels various emotions throughout the book but he always goes back to why he is doing all the pain and suffering in the first place, his family. Kino is an honest man with good intentions to help his family's needs over his own needs. With or without all the problems Kino faced, he still would chose his family in the

In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, evil transforms certain humble citizens into envious savages. It is this evil which moves the story along and adds drama. It causes the beginning of a happy spirit, but the downfall of goodness and humanity.

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 fighting battles with himself, Kino began to lose his ability to control himself because he was set on his plan for his family that he once saw in the pearl. “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders and he kicked her in the side.” (Steinbeck 59). Multiple instances have occured since Kino first got the pearl, including two attacks to steal it during the night, as well as thousands of eyes that have stared through him and looked into his soul full of secrets, making him feel scared throughout the day and night, worried that those eyes would turn into attacks on his pearl, which holds the future for his family. After Juana, Kino’s wife had enough jealous stares and greedy attacks, she took the pearl and boldly planned to throw it into the water, for it to drown with the wealth and the struggles attached to it. But, as Kino was constantly aware of everything occurring with the pearl, he didn't care whether it was his wife or a stranger, because he knew he had to attack and prevent the loss of the pearl, especially since he has such a close connection to it. “The pearl has become my soul. If I give it up, I shall lose my soul.” (Steinbeck 67). Kino cannot live without the pearl and as everyday goes by, his connection with the pearl grows stronger, and his

Kino knows right from wrong, he knows being obsessive over a pearl is wrong because it puts too much at stake, majorly the whole as is referred to as the way of life in The Pearl. You may also debate that It 's the pearl’s fault for Coyotito’s death because if Kino