The Pearl Greed

Ever since B.C. people have been greedy and materialistic. The author of The Pearl decided to write about a traditional Mexican folk tale when he visited Mexico on a marine biology expedition. When he was there he was told about a legendary story about a poor man that found the Pearl of the World, so he decided to write a story about it. The story is about a young poor native Mexican that found the Pearl of the World and how finding this pearl changed him. He became greedy and materialistic which lead to many bad things to happen. The bad things that came from the pearl also affected his family, specifically, his beloved wife and son. The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, illustrates an important theme, what can come from of greed. He does this through
the use of characterization and conflicts in this folktale.
This story exhibits being materialistic by using the literary element characterization in the story. Characterization is what describes the character and their traits. John Steinbeck uses this to show how this once humble and poor man’s personality changes when he gets the pearl. This contrast of Kino’s personality is made throughout the story. A quote that foreshadows Kino’s development of greediness is, “All of the neighbors hoped that sudden wealth would not turn Kino’s head, would not make a rich man of him, would not graft onto him the evil limbs of greed and hatred and coldness.” This shows that the neighbors knew that the riches of the pearl could lead Kino to become materialistic and greedy before Kino and his family even saw this change coming. Characterization is very important to show the theme of greediness which leads to Kino’s downfall because his life transforms for the worse once he becomes materialistic because of the pearl.
Another way Steinbeck shows the theme “being greedy causes downfall” is by having conflicts start because of it.
A conflict is a disagreement or fight caused between two people or nature. Conflict is not necessarily a good thing in situations so the author used it to show the bad things that happen to him and his family. A good example that showed conflict that occurred between Kino and his wife is when she secretly tried to get rid of the pearl; “She burst clear out of the brush line and stumbled over the little boulders toward the water, and then she heard him coming and she broke into a run. 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.” Another important scene in the book was when Kino accidentally shot his own child with the gun he bought after finding out about his new found riches he could get from the pearl; “And then Kino stood uncertainly. Something was wrong, some signal was trying to get through to his brain. Tree frogs and cicadas were silent now. And then Kino’s brain cleared from its red concentration and he knew the sound—the keening, moaning, rising hysterical cry from the little cave in the side of the stone mountain, the cry of death.” This event was a defining moment and also proved that Kino’s life was out of control and being materialistic led to his complete downfall. Kino was so greedy because of the pearl that he even abused his wife when she was simply trying to help their family avert evil. Kino was very materialistic and that caused him to create conflict between him and his
wife.
In conclusion, John Steinbeck demonstrated the theme that greediness can led to ruin. He illustrated this theme by using the elements of characterization and conflict. The author used characterization to display how Kino changed over the course of the story from a humble man to greedy and cruel person. Steinbeck also used conflict to represent how his greediness led to cruelty towards his wife. This story can be applicable to people today because this shows how being greedy and materialistic can led to downfall and destruction. John Steinbeck, when writing The Pearl, revealed a very important theme that shows why people should not be greedy and he makes his point through the use of characterization and conflict.