In The Pearl, there are many symbolisms that are important to the theme. The pearl that Kino catches is a symbol of many things. The pearl’s symbolism changes throughout the book. In the beginning, the pearl is a sign of hope and the chance to change Kino and his family’s lives. However, as the story evolves, the pearl becomes deadly. The pearl is the surface of greed and evil impulses that everyone experiences. However, many people have different ideas on what the pearl could mean for them, thus creating multiple reactions.The pearl represents a better life, but can also represent greed and selfishness.
The pearl evokes multiple reactions from a variety of people; Kino sees it as a blessing and an opportunity to change his life. In the
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“All manner of people grew interested in Kino-- people with things to sell and people with favors to ask.” When the villagers learn of Kino’s pearl, everyone wants to have it. However, when they know Kino will not give it up, jealousy and hatred bubble under the surface. Juana and Kino are blind to this and believe that the villagers are happy for them. The priest tried to recall if he ever did anything for Kino’s family. He doesn’t think of how the money could help Kino’s family instead he lets his mind wander to what the pearl could do for the church. The priest wants to create the finest church. The shopkeepers found out about the pearl and thought about all the clothes that had not been bought yet. Beggars on the streets know that no one gives as much as a poor man that discovered wealth and become excited. However, the most selfish is the doctor. Before the pearl, the doctor had been rude and arrogant towards Kino’s family and refused to treat Coyotito’s injury. As soon as Kino found the pearl, the doctor was willing to treat them and treated them respectfully. He imagined himself in Paris drinking expensive wine with a woman that he had loved. The doctor treats Coyotito so that he is payed not so that the baby heals. The pearls shows us that everyone has selfishness and greed inside of them. Everyone has the greedy
In John Steinbeck’s, The Pearl, the village of La Paz is alive with greed. Everyone wants something from the main character, Kino. The doctor wants money for treating Kino's baby. The priest wanted money to fix the church. The townspeople also wanted money. The village is over come by evil from this one man's good fortune. The doctor’s greed over money is revealed when he would not treat Kino's baby because Kino had nothing to pay him with. When the doctor heard of Kino's sudden wealth, he said Kino was his client. The Pearl and its fortune transformed the town into something full of continual desire and jealousy. Everyone was affected and wanted something from the p...
Kino found one of the most valuable and precious pearls in the world and being convinced of its worth was not going to be cheated by only minimally upgrading his condition of life. Instead he wanted to break the fixed life and role that he and his family had and always would live. Kino refuses the maximum offer of fifteen hundred pesos that would easily ease his and his family’s pain and suffering for the coming months. Kino is then determined to trek to the capital to find a fair and just offer. Kino continues determined through the mountains after an attempt at the pearl, his canoe destroyed and his hut set a blaze. Continuing to put his family’s life on the line. It eventually takes the death of his beloved son Coyotito to make him realize he needs to stop being so greedy, no matter how hard he tries and to shut his mouth and know his role.
Kino, the main character in “The Pearl”, starts off by being a loving, helpful companion to his lover Juana. The two are so connected they barely feel the need to talk to each other. Their life is almost perfect, until a scorpion stings their baby, Coyotito. Because the couple has very little money, the doctor will not cure Coyotito and says, “have I nothing
One of the most common and prominent themes of The Pearl is greed. One of the first examples of this is when Kino went to the doctor to beg for treatment, but the doctor responded, "‘Has he any money?’ the doctor demanded. ‘No, they never have money. I, I alone in the world am supposed to work for nothing- and I am tired of it. See if he has any money!’” (Steinbeck 11). Many would consider it unethical to refuse treatment to someone simply because of their poverty. The doctor refusing to cure the ill child shows how greed has corrupted him to the point of having an innocent baby die rather than offering up his services for free. Another early instance of greed was when the news of the pearl “came to the priest walking in his garden, and it put a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church. He wondered what the pearl would be worth” (Steinbeck 21). Even the people of God, those believed to have the highest morals, became materialistic. He who is supposed to be satisfied with just the love of the lord suddenly hungered for more. This greed eventually came to Kino when Juana suggested throwing away the pearl, but Kino replied, “‘No,’ he said. ‘I will fight this thing. I will win over it. We
The pearl destroys Kino’s life. How can one object be so powerful? The Pearl is about a man named Kino with a family. Kino finds a pearl that hides his values. Kino’s greed disrupts his and shrouds his values with greed. People, Kino, and the doctor all share motivators that shape their life.
The news that Kino has found an immense pearl travels fast through La Paz. The doctor who refused to treat Coyotito decides to visit Kino. Kino's neighbors begin to feel bitter toward him for his good fortune, but neither Kino nor Juana realize this feeling they have engendered. Juan Tomas, the brother of Kino, asks him what he will do with his money, and he envisions getting married to Juana in a church and dressing Coyotito in a yachting cap and sailor suit. He claims that he will send Coyotito to school and buy a rifle for himself. The local priest visits and tells Kino to remember to give thanks and to pray for guidance. The doctor also visits, and although Coyotito seems to be healing, the doctor insists that Coyotito still faces danger and treats him. Kino tells the doctor that he will pay him once he sells his pearl, and the doctor attempts to discern where the pearl is located (Kino has buried it in the corner of his hut). That night, a thief attempts to break into Kino's hut, but Kino drives him away. Juana tells Kino that the pearl will destroy them, but Kino insists that the pearl is their one chance and that tomorrow they will sell it.
The pearl was thought to be the stability and prosperity that Kino hoped for his family. However, there were also alternate feelings of jealousy and greed in the community. The pearl was intended to solve all of Kino’s problems, but it ended up destroying his life, dreams, and the death of his son.
The pearl symbolizes many different things. To Kino, at first it symbolized happiness and hope. On page 39 in chapter 3, it has stated, "So lovely it was, so soft, and its own music came from it- its music of promise and delight, its guarantee of the future, of comfort and security. Its warm lucence promised a poultice against illness and a wall against insult. It closed a door on hunger." Kino sought happiness and riches, and as he was desperate he was blind to the greed that was enveloping him. All he saw was impossible hopes and dreams in the pearl. In other words, to him, the pearl guaranteed money and the comfort of a tranquil life.
Kino is a fisherman and pearl diver. He relies so heavily on it that he calls it his, “bulwark against starvation”. When Kino is desperate for funds to help his son he goes pearl diving. Under the Sea he is greeted by the Song of the Pearl but believes it is too good to be true. When at the surface Kino is skeptical of opening the oyster but Juana pushes him to open it . What he sees is something he never imagined, it is the pearl of the world. Right when Kino opens the pearl Juana sees that Coyotito is getting better. To Kino and Juana the pearl had now become a sign of good luck and a sign of hope. Kino still wants to use the pearl to help his son and his motives are
While oystering, Kino finds a gigantic pearl. Upon hearing about this great find, the doctor decides to heal the child. Kino becomes greedy, and wants to see how much money he can get for the pearl. Juana thinks that the pearl is evil, and she does not want to have anything to do with it. He decides to sell the pearl for 50,000 pesos, but his highest offer was only 1,500 pesos. He decides to go to the capitol to see if he can get a higher bid. The pearl only brings him unhappiness. On his way to the capitol, evil men try to steal his pearl. When they do not succeed, they destroy his canoe, and burn down his house.
From the time we read that Kino has found the pearl, we know he is a changed man. Steinbeck helps us figure this out by saying, “Then Kino’s fist closed over the pearl and his emotion broke over him. He put back his head and howled”(20). This line tells that Kino immediately snapped and became another person. We also get the idea that the pearl is evil and that it might start to do different things to Kino and his family. Throughout the story, many people try to tell Kino to destroy the pearl, but Kino does not listen and he does things his own way. This is foreshadowing that the pearl is evil and is doing bad things to Kino. This is another example of how greed can change and corrupt people if they are not careful about their
Kino, is the protagonist in the novella, who is an honest pearl diver that discovers the sacrifices that comes with the struggle for success. Kino dreams and aspirations are for his son to receive a quality education and his wife Juana to get married in the church which the pearl can provide. As Kino seeks to gain wealth and social position through the pearl, he changes from a jovial, fulfilled father to untamed wild animal of emotions, demonstrating the way avarice and greed shatters purity and innocence. Kino’s desire to acquire wealth distorts the pearl unique elegance and goodness, changing it from a symbol of optimism to a symbol of self-destruction. Kino’s greed and self-destruction leads him to become more dubious and suspicious around his peaceful villagers.
Kino wanted more power, and it eventually made him lose even more than what he started with. The pearl had become so increasingly involved in Kino’s life, that at one point he said, “This pearl has become my soul.” (pg.67) This quote meant that Kino was so dependent on the quote to bring them out of poverty, and to put Coyotito to school, that the pearl was his new number one priority, and his only hope for a higher level of power and wealth. When actually in reality, the pearl was actually his adversary, making him greedy and destructive. Ever since Kino found the pearl, he was hungry for more value in his life, that it eventually took over his life, making him lose the thing he wanted most out of the money, Coyotito and his education. Kino explained after he found the pearl, that he was going to spend the money he would sell it for, for Coyotito’s education, a rifle - to increase their rank in society- and a harpoon. He said that if he put Coyotito in school, then that is how the villagers and him would learn how to read and write. This would make it so that the villagers would know whether or not they are treated fairly when selling their pearls, and to make sure they're not being cheated out of their money. “ …- a rifle - but why not, since he was so rich.” (pg.25) This quote, in other words, means that Kino wanted to buy the rifle just because he was rich. If Kino bought the rifle, his place in society would have more importance, therefore he would gain more power over the people that didn't have one. In short, the events showed that Kino was not satisfied with the amount of money that he had, and even knowing the dangers of the pearl, along with receiving the advice from both Juan Thomas and Juana, Kino continues to keep the pearl. He keeps the pearl because of his need and desperation for more
In the novel, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, we meet Kino, his wife, Juana and their baby, Coyotitio. Kino’s family lives in a grass hut in the poor, fishing village of La Paz, Mexico in the 1920’s. Their lives are disrupted when a vicious scorpion bites Coyotito. The only way that they can get help were they live is to have enough money to pay the local doctor. Kino goes pearl diving and discovers a pearl that is worth “millions.” It appears that Kino has gone from having nothing to being able to get whatever his dreams desire. But in literature, as in life, things are not always as they appear to be, and the pearl ends up bringing them things that they never expected.
In William Saroyan's play The Oyster and the Pearl there is a lot of symbolism. The theme of the play is to take it easy and relax and life will be much happier. Harry Van Dusen is a barber that has a philosophy of "Take it easy." He tries to spread his philosophy by talking to people when he is cutting their hair. It was almost as if the haircuts were just a way of getting people in the barbershop to talk. The hats that Harry wore symbolized the attitude that he was in. The sea symbolizes life. The name of the small town that the story takes place in is called O.K.-by-the-Sea. That name symbolizes that life isn't perfect but by taking it easy it can be more fun. Vivian McCutcheon is a new school teacher that does everything "by the book." She just tries to fit in. This is symbolized by her wanting a poodle haircut. She didn't really want one but she was trying to be like everyone else. Harry knew this and that is why he would not give her the haircut. Harry's philosophy is superior to Vivian's philosophy of fitting in. This is shown by how much happier Harry and everyone else that lives by his philosophy is than Vivian.All the little things in the story have symbolism too. The bottle of sea water stands for the details of life that have to be looked for. Clay and Clark Larrabee symbolize the problems and difficulties that occur in life. Two of the most important symbols in the story are the oyster and the pearl. The oyster symbolizes obstacles that must be overcome to get to hope(the pearl). Beach combing represents looking for the obstacles to get to hope. The pearl is hope. When Clay found the oyster he thought there was a pearl inside.