The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a novel about a young, poor Native American Pearl diver who is originally foolish and eventually regrets his actions. In The Pearl, it tells about how the discovery of a beautiful pearl that deceives, corrupts, and destroys an innocent family. Kino the protagonist, on a day like any other, he finds beautiful pearl in the ocean one day but he becomes paranoid that someone would take the pearl from him. Because Kino knows that the pearl would bring him wealth, he becomes foolish. Consequently, he killed people and his child was murdered. Wealth can’t buy happiness; it could only solve some problems, but mostly becomes a burden, and causes a change in character. One of the reasons why money cannot buy happiness is because it becomes a chain-and-ball. When Kino found the pearl, he gets robbed and beaten many times, and his house gets burned to the ground. “The baby moaned in fright, and Juana’s eyes were wide and terrified. Kino could see the house was gone and he did not question Juana.” The burning of the house symbolizes the destruction of the family. All this happened because a group of people wanted the pearl for themselves. Their greed overcame and made them think that the pearl would buy their happiness. “For a long a moment, Kino looked out to the darkness and the he stepped outside. Juana heard a grunting struggle, the blow”. Once people found out that Kino found the pearl of the world, their greed consumed them so they try to rob Kino in the darkness. As a result, Kino gets cowed for the pearl. Kino was like that when he first found the pearl, thinking of not being poor anymore, but he didn’t think about how money would change and destroy him.
Another reason why the pearl is not able to buy happiness is because it caused Kino to change his character. “The great knife swung and crunched hollowly. It bit through the neck and deep into the chest, and Kino was a terrible machine now”. In this passage, Kino, an once innocent man kills his pursuer. Also, Kino used to be a favorable husband but after he gets the pearl, he beats his wife for being disobedient. “He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders and kicked her in the side”. Although Kino and Juana still love each other at the end of the book, they lost hope on the pearl and their baby was murdered. They are miserable. Wealth has morphed the happy family into a childless, depressed family.
In conclusion, happiness cannot be bought by money. When Kino gets the pearl, he still isn’t happy because he wants more. The Pearl by John Steinbeck is a novel explaining how wealth destroyed an innocent family.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
On page 59, it states “Greedy fingers went through his clothes, frantic figures searched him, and the pearl, knocked from his hand, lay winking behind a little stone in the pathway.” This quote shows how people who were once united as a town turned against one to get money. They all became greedy and wanted the pearl for themselves. This evokes the reader to feel sad that a town that was once a community was almost torn apart by greed. This gets the author’s point across that money and power causes people to become very greedy.…
- 533 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In The Pearl, John Steinbeck tells of the struggles of a native fisherman, Kino, and his family. Kino’s son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion in the beginning of the story. Kino and his wife, Juana, find the pearl of the world, and they hope it will give them the money needed to cure their son. However, this event leads to a tragic journey in which Kino and his family must overcome many obstacles. The main theme of The Pearl is that greed has the ability to destroy a person’s morals. Kino, the doctor, and the pearl buyers all emphasize this theme.…
- 853 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The vital theme that John Steinbeck has examined was Greed, Greed as a Destructive force in Kino’s life. Kino seeks to gain wealth and status through the pearl and he transforms from a happy and comfortable father to a brutal criminal, and it is demonstrating that desires and greed are the root of all evil. As well as it destroys the innocence, and it is found in the New Testament in Paul’s first message to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:10) “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” This was the exact situation that happened to Kino. Kino’s greed led him to behave violently towards his spouse; it also led to his son’s death and it detached…
- 678 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the earliest pages of “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, one wouldn’t have been able to predict the changes that overcome Kino. In chapter 1, we are introduced to Kino who is enjoying the sight of his wife and child, and the beautiful nature that surrounds him. The peaceful description of their family and home lead us to believe that they are living a loving harmonious life. Him and his wife Juana have recently had a baby named Coyotito, and are happily raising him in the brush village. Kino is content with his simple life and does not ask for much more. As events in the book go on, Kino’s personality begins to change in negative ways. From the beginning of the book to the end, Kino’s personality changes drastically from a protective, happy, non-materialistic man to a dangerous, selfish and greedy man.…
- 1343 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
The power of greed can destroy people and their wonderful and simple lives. It is not a physical power that physically kills you, but rather a power that gets in your soul and destroys you from the inside. The greed of Kino, the main character, is shown throughout The Pearl. The author showed greed throughout the book by using foreshadowing, symbolism, and characterization. John Steinbeck, the author, used all of these devices to show that greed was able to take over people's souls and change their state of minds because of the pearl’s ability to change people.…
- 522 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
At the end of “The Pearl” by John Steinbeck, Kino felt guilty and decides to throw the pearl back into the sea. The pearl symbolizes greed and suggests wealth could bring contentment while also teaching a lesson.Kino fantasized all the possibilities for his family when Juan Tomas asked him, “What will you do now that you have become a rich man?” (pg 24) KIno then stated, “We will get married at the church”, “Have new clothes”, “Have a rifle”, and “My son will go to school.” (pg 24-25) When Kino tried to sell the pearl to fulfill his dreams, the dealer stated, “This pearl is like fool’s gold..It is large and clumsy, As a curiosity it has interest; some museum might perhaps take it to place in collection of seashells. I can give you, say, a…
- 314 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
oo much wealth satisfies individual’s heart desires but at times can bring worst out of him or her. The pearl is a novel written by John Steinbeck and examines a man’s own destruction through greed. In this novel, hope and evil consume Kino and the entire city of La Paz immediately information goes around that Kino found the pearl of the world. As asserted by Forman, greed, culture, anger, happiness, luck, death, mystery and evil are all major aspects in this book.…
- 401 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
What if a person's biggest dream became their worst nightmare? What if its ramification was losing what they loved most? The Pearl, a fiction novel by John Steinbeck, encounters the bittersweet situations in life. Steinbeck elucidates the story with a family of three-Kino, Juana, and their baby boy, Coyotito-who lived in La Paz, Mexico. When their son gets stung by a scorpion and they find the pearl of the world, their fate changes. Kino made an injudicious decision throwing away the pearl. Being unwise is about understanding things for a fact, but not comprehending it to see the outcomes. "A smart person knows what to say, but a wise person knows when and what to say"-Mario Karras. If Kino would have kept the Pearl of the World, he could…
- 957 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In the novel, “The Pearl” there was many things symbolizing the pearl its self. The pearl was symbolized to ambition, then at the end of the story the pearl was represented as sinful. The character of the pearl changed because the pearl did harmful/hurtful things to Kino and his family. The symbol of the pearl was different from the beginning of the story till the end of the story. The pearl represented as aspiration in the beginning but was known to be dishonorable at the end of the story. As Kino appeared to have found the pearl himself, the pearl was a huge success for anyone who had it. The pearl had much value to it. But I think that the pearl was known to have troubles in the first place because once someone has a lot of money, people…
- 696 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Kino had a scuffle with and intruder trying to take the pearl. After the vigorous battle between both Kino and the intruder, Juana explains that the pearl is an evil plague. An extent of time passed after the incident, Kino is mugged again. Juana again desperately tells Kino to get rid of the pearl. The following morning they set out to sell the pearl. Kino’s mood changes when Juana wanted to help in the business process. Kino said, “I am a man!” this quote shows the pearl is changing Kino. It also relates to my views on the world. Greed can drastically change people for the worse.…
- 630 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In the beginning he saw the pearl as this great thing that would help his family live on and be happy. "Our son must go to school. He must break out of the pot that holds us in," he said this with hopes of using the pearl for Coyotito’s schooling and giving him a better future with that knowledge. Toward the end of having the pearl he becomes insane and insecure. Juana realizes that the pearl is evil and says to Kino, "Kino, this pearl is evil. Let us destroy it before it destroys us. Let us crush it between two stones. Let us - let us throw it back in the sea where it belongs. Kino, it is evil, it is evil!” Kino then starts taking into consideration of Juana is saying and becomes more into the thought that the pearl is really evil. Kino believes different things about the pearl from the beginning to the end, he goes from seeing it as hope to destruction and…
- 603 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
What price would one be willing to pay to achieve all of their wildest dreams? 1,000 pesos? 50,000 pesos? What about the respect of their community? Even worse, the life of their child. While Kino did not intend to lose any of these attributes in his quest for a better life, his stubbornness guided him to murder and ultimate heartbreak. It leaves the reader questioning, what price should be paid to attain the luxuries one wants from life? John Steinbeck’s novella, The Pearl, follows a poor Indian/Mexican pearl diver as the best find of his life slowly morphs into the greatest misfortune he had ever known. Blinded by opportunity, Kino discovers too late that his treasure is a magnet for destruction. Through Kino’s adversity, the reader understands what Chaucer once conveyed, greed is the root of all evil. Moreover, it is made apparent that family is the greatest pearl of all .…
- 1771 Words
- 8 Pages
Good Essays -
The Pearl by John Steinbeck coordinates back to “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, as Kino discovers the pearl of the world and comes to understand that innocence may not always remain through his experiences of a given opportunity, life continuing to move on, and the theme that change is inevitable. With a line of blood on his blade, Kino wakes up the next morning to the sight of the pearl and the great promises it held. The glisten of the alluring pearl brought “its music of promise and delight, its guarantee of the future, of comfort, of security” (39). Kino sees through the pearl that it means importance and that life will significantly depend on the accident of a grain of sand. When flames blaze from his brush house in the village,…
- 345 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Steinbeck skillfully uses the Pearl as a symbol to illustrate the emotion of defiance. First, Kino sees his wife leave the house and takes the Pearl and made kino mad. When Juanna hears kino footstep,” she got up leaped and kino took the Pearl and kick Juanna”(Steinbeck 21). Kino sees his wife took the Pearl which made Kino angry. This made the reader angry because he don’t care for his wife and made him change when he kick his wife. This happen in the world because many families fight each other's for valuables.…
- 997 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
“This pearl has become my soul,” (Steinbeck 65), said Kino, the main character in John Steinbeck's wondrous book, The Pearl. Kino is a lowly, poor brush house villager given a chance to become rich and accomplish feats that only a wealthy white man at the time could do. When he found a pearl that could make him rich, everything changed. Greed overcame Kino and lead him to hope and wish for things no brush house man would think of. Greed can lead us to do many things, even when people try to stop or warn you, unlucky events occur that are caused by the greed, and your family or friends are endangered.…
- 781 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays