Setting of the Novel Pearl

The setting of the book The Pearl by author John Steinbeck is a Mexican village named La Paz. The time setting for this book is not clear but is assumed to be the late 19th century or early 20th century.

Setting: In all of Steinbeck's books the setting is important. This tale could take place in few other settings, although similar stories could be told in any setting in which the people are oppressed and ignorant. However, Steinbeck uses his setting to help impart his symbolic and thematic messages.

The Village: In many ways, the village in which most of the story takes place, is a symbol of the oppression of the people. To create this symbol, Steinbeck personifies the town. The Gulf Another important element of the setting is the sea. It, too, takes on symbolic importance in the story. The Gulf provides the villagers with their livelihood and sustenance-fish and pearls. However, like the town, it cannot be trusted. Steinbeck uses the sea to make his readers aware that things are not always what the seem. "Although the morning was young, the hazy mirage was up. The uncertain air that magnified some things and blotted out others hung over the whole Gulf so that all sights were unreal and vision could not be trusted....There was no certainty in seeing, no proof that what you saw was there or not there [emphases added]. The novel I have chosen is 'The Pearl'. I will discuss the setting from three aspects - historical, social and geographical. From the historical aspect, the story is set in Mexico. The country has been colonised by the Spanish. The town of La Paz where the story begins is a famous pearl trading centre. The ancient city of La Paz is situated on the southern end of the Baja Peninsula, a narrow peninsula separated from the mainland of Mexico by the Gulf of California. The main character is Kino who is a Mexican Indian. He stays with his wife Juana and their son, Coyotito in a fishing village area in La Paz, where Kino