Aristotle's System Of Tragedy In The Pearl By John Steinbeck
The Pearl By John Steinbeck
You hit the jackpot. Enough to provide for you and your family beyond your wildest dreams. Imagine the riches it would bring, but also the darkness of human nature. Kino lives contently in a small village with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. It’s a simple but happy life. That is until he finds “the pearl of the world”. Although it seems that all of their problems will be gone, in reality it gives way to evil and desire. John Steinbeck creates a remarkable novella following the story of Kino and his family as they are impacted by greed. In the story of The Pearl, characteristics of Aristotle’s System of Tragedy are evident through Kino’s demonstration of hamartia, catastrophe, and catharsis.
Firstly, Aristotle’s System of Tragedy is conveyed through hamartia. Kino shows hamartia through greed. This is his mortal flaw and eventually leads to his downfall. For example, the author includes the statement, “humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more.” This explains that it is in human nature to always …show more content…
want more, no matter what you have. It indicates how Kino is destined to fall under the spell of longing. Another example of this is when Juana attempts to throw the pearl into the river, Kino is consumed by anger and attacks her. “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.” You can see how Kino feels that the pearl is more important than his wife, even though he sees the negative effects it is causing. These examples show Kino’s fatal flaw through hamartia. He is overcome by greed and ends up taking family- what used to be the most important thing to him- for granted.
Next, when awful events occur, Kino finally sees the effect of his greed.
This is the catastrophe. Kino says, “Oh, my brother, an insult has been put on me that is deeper than my life. For on the beach my canoe is broken, my house burned, and in the brush a dead man lies.” His life is turned upside-down and he feels the impact through these terrible incidents. They can be called examples of catastrophe because these events would not have happened if the pearl hadn’t made him the target of these attacks. Additionally, it states “And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the cave with the top of his head shot away.” After his son is murdered, Kino looks at the pearl and sees this image. It is a reminder of what happens when we follow greed and not what is best. As shown through negative events, Kino suffers the consequences of his error which is called the
catastrophe. Finally, society learns
You hit the jackpot. Enough to provide for you and your family beyond your wildest dreams. Imagine the riches it would bring, but also the darkness of human nature. Kino lives contently in a small village with his wife Juana and son Coyotito. It’s a simple but happy life. That is until he finds “the pearl of the world”. Although it seems that all of their problems will be gone, in reality it gives way to evil and desire. John Steinbeck creates a remarkable novella following the story of Kino and his family as they are impacted by greed. In the story of The Pearl, characteristics of Aristotle’s System of Tragedy are evident through Kino’s demonstration of hamartia, catastrophe, and catharsis.
Firstly, Aristotle’s System of Tragedy is conveyed through hamartia. Kino shows hamartia through greed. This is his mortal flaw and eventually leads to his downfall. For example, the author includes the statement, “humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more.” This explains that it is in human nature to always …show more content…
want more, no matter what you have. It indicates how Kino is destined to fall under the spell of longing. Another example of this is when Juana attempts to throw the pearl into the river, Kino is consumed by anger and attacks her. “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.” You can see how Kino feels that the pearl is more important than his wife, even though he sees the negative effects it is causing. These examples show Kino’s fatal flaw through hamartia. He is overcome by greed and ends up taking family- what used to be the most important thing to him- for granted.
Next, when awful events occur, Kino finally sees the effect of his greed.
This is the catastrophe. Kino says, “Oh, my brother, an insult has been put on me that is deeper than my life. For on the beach my canoe is broken, my house burned, and in the brush a dead man lies.” His life is turned upside-down and he feels the impact through these terrible incidents. They can be called examples of catastrophe because these events would not have happened if the pearl hadn’t made him the target of these attacks. Additionally, it states “And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the cave with the top of his head shot away.” After his son is murdered, Kino looks at the pearl and sees this image. It is a reminder of what happens when we follow greed and not what is best. As shown through negative events, Kino suffers the consequences of his error which is called the
catastrophe. Finally, society learns