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Theme of greed in The Pearl
Theme of greed in The Pearl
The Theme Of Greed In The Pearl
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Greed in The Pearl and The Red Pony
The novels "The Pearl ," and "The Red Pony ," both portray a message about life. In The Pearl , Steinbeck tells about a great pearl that is found and lost by a Mexican villager. The value of the pearl is great, and with the value comes much greed from others and troubles for the villager. This is a tale that depicts human nature and the way of humanity. The Red Pony, is a story of a young boy and his great dreams. This book tells the reader about the dreams of a farm boy, the land and about the fulfillment of life. These two novels are both similar to each other, telling of humans strength, and the greed in life.
In The Pearl , the Mexican fisherman, Kino is very poor,
... succeed, what are the consequences of such freedom? Will we get trapped in a plethora of paradoxes and multiple universes that will destroy the fabric of the universe? Einstein said that nothing travels faster than the speed of light, but Khalili negates this statement, using the behavior of entangled particles to counter Einstein.
The aspect of the John Steinbeck novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, that is most comparable is how, in both books, Steinbeck denies the main characters of each book, Kino and George and Lennie to change their role in life or to beat fate. Steinbeck’s grim outlook of life was perhaps brought on through his early failures and poverty, because all three of the pre-mentioned characters had opportunities to change their fate or role but failed. The elements of discussion are Kino, George and Lennie, a comparison and a contrast.
Novels were created to show a very naive view in great depth. The Pearl is a novel in its most complete form. Steinbeck does this by conveying life symbolically. Through symbols, John offers the reader a clearer look at life and it?s content. He shows major imagery in four ways: Kino, music, Coyotito, and the 'Pearl of the World'.
...10 Population Census[1] (No. 1)." Communiqué of the National Bureau of Statistics of People's Republic of China on Major Figures of the 2010 Population Census[1] (No. 1). National Bureau of Statistics of China, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Jan. 2014.
To me, John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, doesn’t really relate to me or my lifestyle in many ways. However, there are a couple of things I found that were similar in my lifestyle. I wake up every morning and strive to reach the best I can be. I go to school, work hard, and try to reach my best in all that I do. I have found this to be similar to Kino. Kino wakes up every morning and tries to give his family everything possible. He works very hard in finding his pearls and always tries to look for the best in his family. However, when Kino found the pearl and after many tries of getting rid of it, his life turned upside down. Juanita warned Kino many times, but he didn’t listen. Kino encountered many hardships including his son’s death, his house burning to ashes, and his family falling apart. From this, I have learned that when a person finds something that he think can bring something good into a family, he might be wrong because it might actually destroy his family and his life. Clearly, family relationships are very important and in this case, Kino was too late and realized this after his son Coyotito died.
Even today, many classically trained musicians play his works, which are known for their appealing melodies. His works are often compared to those of Mozart’s, and are perceived as mostly being happy and appealing scores. Although Stamitz started his music career as a well-trained violinist who came from a long line of violin players and composers, he is now considered one of the top viola players to ever have lived. His fame and recognition resides on his decision to tour with the harmony of a richer instrument. In the end, just as his father had left a trademark behind after his wake, Carl Stamitz brought forth a contribution in their family’s legacy.
To begin, Kino, a brush house Mexican-Indian was poor but satisfied with his life before he found the pearl. Kino lived with his wife and son, which was all he needed. Living off of ancient traditions, when Kino has his pearl the greed begins to creep into him and the music of evil plays in his head and foreshadows what the pearl will lead to. “He smelled the breeze and he listened for any foreign sound of secrecy or creeping, and his eyes searched the darkness, for the music of evil was sounding in his head and he was fierce and afraid”(Steinbeck 35). The pearl, a small yet powerful token, puts Kino on a rollercoaster, that drags his whole family along with him.
I quickly reached boredom, as many young children do when left alone. So I began looking around, and lo and behold - I spied a crayon laying on the floor next to my foot. I picked up the crayon (red, I think it was), and I made a decision. I was going to take action against my cruel punishment! I grasped the crayon in my small hand and I scrawled "HELP ME!" on the wall in my corner! I do not know wh...
The Pearl illustrates how greed brings out the worst in people. Kino begins the story of a simple man. Accustomed to a daily routine, he feels a sense of responsibility for his family and his people. Though he must work to survive, he seems content with his simple life. Kino’s life is turned on it’s head, however, when his son Coyotito is stung by a black scorpion.
Kino, Juana, and Coyotito go back to the beach and row out to an oyster bed, where he begins to search for the pearl. As Kino continues to search, Juana takes things into her own hands after being refused by the doctor and sucks the poison out of Coyotito and then puts seaweed on the wound, unknowingly healing him. Meanwhile Kino gathers several small oysters but suddenly comes across a particularly large oyster. He picks the oyster up and returns to the surface. When Kino opens the oyster he discovers the pearl. Word that the pearl has been discovered travel through the town quickly. People in the town became jealous of Kino and his family which eventually leads to a great deal of harm.
Steinbeck begins his novel by introducing the conflict that puts Kino on his quest. Kino awakens to find his child bitten by a scorpion. After rushing to the doctor’s house, he realizes that he did not have a sufficient amount of money to pay for the doctor’s service. Later that day, the narrator reveals that Kino’s wife, “had not prayed directly for the recovery of the baby she had prayed that they might find a pearl for which to hire the doctor to cure the baby…” Therefore, as Kino was searching, he came upon a pearl that he knew would be enough to save his son. At the end of chapter 2, this is where Kino begins his quest to find a buyer and save his son.
The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, tells the story of a young man named Kino and the great misfortune his family endures upon discovering a magnificent pearl within the waters of his hometown La Paz. Originally perceived as a sign of fortune, the pearl slowly begins to shape the lives of Kino, his family, and the community into a worse state. The pearl quickly becomes a symbol of greed and destruction, a greed that destroys Kino and his family, and a destruction that forever alters the lives of the people living within the community. Many of these symbolic aspects worsen throughout Kino’s journey as he attempts to restore the pearl’s symbolic meaning of hope.
Steinbeck paints a true painting of the pearl through Kino’s eyes when he writes, “And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of the head shot away. And the pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth. And the Kino heard the music of the pearl, distorted and insane (86).” Materialism is nothing but a counterfeit, a lie, an illusion of the true pearl; the family.
“It is wonderful the way a little town keeps track of itself and of all its units.” (41) In The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, a poor fisherman named Kino and his family find the pearl of the world and must defend themselves from jealous attackers. They then go on a life changing journey to seek the right payment for their newfound treasure and encounter many obstacles along the way. Through the use of characterization and symbolism, the author demonstrates that greed and obsession lead to downfall. Steinbeck uses the pearl buyers, the aristocrats, and Kino to illustrate this message.