The Theme of Class Struggle in The Pearl

The Theme of Class Struggle in The Pearl In The Pearl by John Steinbeck, there are two exceedingly distinct classes: The Indians and the Spanish. Not only are these two classes separated by race, but they are also separated by other factors. A clear struggle is seen between these two classes. The Spanish are superior over the Indians. The Indians have a completely different lifestyle compared to the Spanish and are substantially poorer than the Spanish and because of this the Spanish look down on the Indians.
In fact, living a poorer life than the Spanish, the Indians have a vastly different lifestyle compared to the Spanish. Not able to get any real job opportunities, Indians are usually forced to be pearl divers while the Spanish have high-paying jobs such as doctors or priests. The Spanish live more lavish lives in stone and plaster houses while the Indians live in brush houses. (Steinbeck 8) The Spanish have more than enough food to eat but they do not appreciate it. They are not even truly happy with their lives while the Indians have very little, but they are perfectly content. The Indians may not have stone or plaster houses with rich food, but they do appreciate what they have. The Indians obviously were not educated as the Spanish people. They did not have the means to go to school to learn reading or writing, but they are not completely ignorant. Their knowledge is based around surviving while the Spanish have no clue how to survive themselves. Retrieving their own food instead of having their food handed to them on a silver platter is another way that the Indians live different compared to the Spanish. Even then, the Indians are still limited to food choices. Although the Indians know of the ways of surviving, the Spanish know of textbook knowledge which is something that the Indians do not know. This puts the Indians in a conflict with themselves because they are not sure whether to trust the Spanish or not because no prior knowledge like such was