How Does Steinbeck Characterize Kino's Greed

Greed is an intense and selfish desire for wealth, food, or power. In its most powerful form, greed can take control of you or just have a small side affect on your personality. In The Pearl, Kino finds the most magnificent pearl he has ever seen. He becomes very emotionally attached to it and says, “The pearl has become my soul.” (Steinbeck, 65) He said this because the pearl has made him a greedy man that wants everything he can get for his family and for himself. John Steinbeck is able to demonstrate Kino’s greed through foreshadowing, characterization, and symbolism in his amazing novel, The Pearl.

To begin, foreshadowing is shown very well throughout the entire book. It is a warning or indication for what will come. For example, after Kino had found “the

pearl of the world”, he began to have a desire for a marriage, new clothes, a rifle, and school for Coyotito. He believed that this was the only way to change his family’s life for the better and for people to respect him. He begins to develop a problem with greed. Because of the pearl, somebody broke into Kino and Juana’s house to steal it. Kino had become so selfish and greedy, that he struck the mysterious figure with a knife. Juana then said, “‘This thing is evil,’ she cried harshly. ‘This pearl is like a sin!’” (Steinbeck, 37) This foreshadows that the pearl is wicked and will change Kino forever. Another event of foreshadowing is the ant that describes the prejudice between the two social groups of people: the brush house, poor people and the plaster house, wealthy people. The book said, “Kino watched with the detachment of God while a dusty ant frantically tried to escape the sand trap an ant lion had dug for him.” (Steinbeck, 5) This shows that the brush house people are the dusty ants because they have no chance against the ant lions, also known at the plaster house people.
Additionally, John Steinbeck showed how Kino’s character was progressively altered throughout The Pearl. In the beginning, before Kino had discovered the pearl, he was a very poor man, but was very motivated by basic drives: his love for his family and loyalty to the traditions of his people. He was very content with his life. He has his family, shelter, food, clothing, and a job as a pearl diver. However, once he laid his eyes on the pearl, he knew he could change his life forever, but didn’t know that he would change himself. There were many occurrences in the book that represented his change in personality. For example, he stabbed a man, punched and injured his wife, and killed another man. The book describes how attached Kino becomes to the pearl because Kino eventually says, “‘The pearl has become my soul.’” (Steinbeck, 65) This represents how Kino has become evil because the pearl was evil, as well.
Finally, The Pearl gives the reader a great understanding of what is happening through symbolism.

One form of symbolism is when the pearl changed colors from the beginning to the end of the book. In the beginning, the pearl was described as “perfect as the moon. It captured the light and refined it and gave it back in silver incandescence.” (Steinbeck, 20) However, at near the end of the book, the pearl was described as “ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth.” (Steinbeck, 86) This means that the pearl’s evil grew out of control and invaded Kino’s body like a disease. The author is telling the reader that at the end of the novel, the pearl has drained out all of it’s evil. Another form of symbolism is the songs Kino hears in his head. There were songs, such as the song of the family or the song of evil, that would show the reader what the character was thinking about and feeling dread or delight. Before the first evil that the pearl brought into Kino and Juana’s lives, he began to hear the songs again. In the book, it read, “darkness spread over the page, and with darkness came the music of evil again.” (Steinbeck, 36) From that point on, Kino would always hear that song when the pearl brought them

evil.
To conclude, greed is shown all throughout The Pearl. It’s shown through foreshadowing, characterization, and even symbolism. Since Kino had found the most amazing pearl, he believed that this was the only way to receive the respect he deserved and to change his own and his family’s lives forever. If he could sell the pearl and get all of the money he needs, he could have lived a better life with his family. But instead, he keeps it and becomes filled with greed and evil because of the pearl. However, when he finally realizes that the pearl was evil, he threw it back into the deep, blue ocean and was filled with regret. John Steinbeck shows Kino’s journey very well and created an amazing book with a character that changes his life forever.