The Pearl Thesis

A man named George Eliot once wrote, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” In the novella The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, a parable tells of a man named Kino who searches for a pearl in order to pay for medical treatment of a scorpion sting for his child, Coyotito. This pearl later causes much trouble for Kino. Kino learns and grows because of his choice to find and keep the pearl, his choice to leave the village, and his choice to kill several men in order to protect the pearl.

When Kino’s son, Coyotito, is stung by a scorpion, Kino and his family head into the city to receive treatment from a doctor. The doctor refuses to provide medical treatment until Kino has something worth enough to pay for the treatment. Kino heads out into the sea in order to find a large pearl that could pay the doctor for his services. When Kino finds this pearl, he decides to keep it. His decision to keep the pearl affects him in many ways. One piece of evidence that this pearl affected Kino is when the author writes on page twenty-four, “In the pearl he (Kino) saw Juana and Coyotito and himself… they were being married now that they could pay… in the pearl he
He kills one man on page sixty, another on page eighty-six, and two more on page eighty-seven. Kino killed these four men for the same reason: to protect the pearl. Kino is determined to keep the pearl from anyone who may try to steal it. On page sixty-one, the author writes, “‘They have taken the pearl. I have lost it. Now it is over,’ he (Kino) said. ‘The pearl is gone… I was attacked,’ Kino said uneasily. ‘I struck to save my life.’” This proves Kino values the pearl and would fight, even kill, to keep it. This pearl has affected Kino because before he had it, he most likely would not have been violent towards Juana on the beach on page fifty-nine when she tried to throw the pearl back into the sea, nor would he have killed four men unless completely