The situations in The Pearl relate to my own life and I understand what the main character, Kino, is going through in the book. I understand because he has to make difficult decisions when he finds the pearl. “‘What will you do now that you have become a rich man?’”(Steinbeck 24). Kino’s brother asks him this after he hears the news about Kino finding the Pearl of the World. Afterwards, Kino started talking about the things he wanted. He said that he wanted to get married to his partner, Juana. Also, Kino says that he wants a new harpoon, a rifle, and he wants his son, Coyotito, to go to school. I understand where Kino is coming from because he wants all these new things and wants his son to go to school, but he has other responsibilities. …show more content…
My responsibilities were to pay for my school fees and pay for extra classes that I wanted to take. So, I fully understand where Kino is coming from. “And in the surface of the pearl he saw Coyotito lying in the little cave with the top of his head shot away.”(89). This situation is what the Pearl of the World caused. Juana told Kino earlier in the book that the pearl was evil and it was causing madness. This certain situation is similar to my own that I have had in my life. When I started to do sports, I thought that I was better at it than everyone else. I tried to tell others that they were not doing the sports right. This caused me not to listen to anyone else and I did not listen to what they tried to tell me. In The Pearl, Kino thought because he was rich and he had the Pearl of the World that he was more superior and he did not realize the harm and destruction it was bringing towards his family. “ He struck her in the face with his clenched fist and she fell among the boulders, and he kicked her in the side.”(59). In this final quote from The Pearl, Kino is abusing Juana when she tries to throw the pearl in the
He is driven by greed, so much so that he could even see dreams form in the pearl. Kino is the head of a modest household and until he finds the pearl he lives a satisfied life with all he needs for his family to be happy. As soon as Kino finds the pearl he starts to want possessions he never wanted before. He dreams of education for Coyotito, marrying Juana in a Catholic church, purchasing new clothing for his family, and getting a harpoon and a rifle for himself. “It was the rifle that broke down the barriers . . . for it is said that humans are never satisfied, that you give them one thing and they want something more” (Steinbeck 32). Located within a small poverty-stricken community, a pearl diver named Kino finds “the Pearl of the World” and becomes suddenly rich, he begins to want items that he thought were impossible before. As Kino thinks more and more of what the pearl can do for him, he starts to think that it will raise his social status as well. This is only the beginning of Kino’s greediness, for the more he gets, the more he will want, and this begins to dehumanize him. Kino focuses on the wealth of the pearl and causes him to change his values about life. In the beginning, Kino is only focused on his family, once Kino finds the pearl he becomes more focused on the pearl, rather than his family. Kino cares a lot more about losing the pearl rather than something bad happening to his loved
For all of these reasons, Kino is a fool. The death of his son, the destruction of his house and canoe, and the loss of his pearl is all his fault. He easily could have avoided all 3 of those things by never even taking that pearl and just throwing back into the ocean when he knew and could sense that it was evil. If I was in Kino’s place I would have sold the pearl as soon as I could to have to the highest bidder just to get rid of it and to make some money since the pearl was evil. THat way my family would still be alive and my canoe and house would still be
As a reader one would expect Kino to throw away pearl and to keep his family out of danger. Yet he does not, why? because he is driven by greed.
“Her arm was up to throw when he leaped at her and caught her arm and wrenched the pearl from her. He struck her in the face… He heard the rush, got his knife out and lunged at one dark figure and felt his knife go home,”pg 59. In the previous quote, Kino’s wife Juana steals the pearl and tries to throw it into the ocean but is beaten and punished by Kino. Soon after this two mysterious figures try to steal the pearl from Kino and he violently stabs one of them. The only reason that this happens is because humans love attention, and if somebody has something that you do not have you want it. Juana wishes that Kino would quit worrying about the pearl so much, and focus more on his family. This pushes her to try to steal the pearl and return it back to its rightful home. Whereas, the unknown figures are jealous of Kino’s pearl and they wish that they had it for themselves, this is why they try murdering Kino, and stealing the pearl. This is not the only instinct shown through this quote though, humans are very protective of there stuff and often times violence can ensue if people try stealing what is rightfully yours. Kino is very protective of his pearl and when everybody tries taking it from him he becomes violent and chaos comes soon after. Being protective is why you have to teach babies how to share, and why many wars break out.
In the story Kino would not sell the pearl to the pearl buyers because he knew it was worth more than what they were offering them (50). When Kino did not sell the pearl because of his greed, he did not get the money to save his son. This shows that he cared more about the money than his family. If Kino had sold the pearl and gained the money he would have had enough money to save his son and all of the problems would be over, but because he cared more about the pearl and the money than his son, he did not seize the money. Therefore, he puts the pearl and the money above Coyotitio. An example from the text is “Kino’s face grew dark and dangerous. “It is worth fifty thousand,” he said. “ you know it. You want to cheat me” (50). This quote shows that when Kino’s face got dangerous, he had already lost sight of his family values and is only thinking about the money and the pearl. When Kino knew that they were cheating him, he could not help but pick a fight with them. He wanted money, money, and more money instead of wanting to help his son. These pieces of evidence are connected to the theme because they show how Kino chose money over his
At first, the pearl symbolized aa amazing providence. With the discovery of the great pearl, Kino began to have hope for Coyotito’s future and thought of the different possibilities that lead before him. However, as the town found out about ‘“the Pearl of the World”’(Steinbeck, 1947, p. 23), it began to have an injurious effect into Kino’s simplistic life (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). Juana and Kino’s brother began to seek the pearl as a threat rather than a blessing as the pearl began to symbolize and associate more materialistic desires. With Kino’s desire to acquire wealth from the pearl, he altered from a happy and content father into a savage criminal. By Kino’s demonstration of the destruction of innocence from greed and desire, the pearl soon became a symbol of human destruction. Kino’s gluttony shortly leads him to violently mistreat his wife and also to the death of his only son, Coyotito (SparkNotes Editors, 2002). SparkNotes Editors (2002) believed that his greed ultimately isolated Kino from his cultural customs and society. Overall, according to Wheeler (2008), the parable’s moral lesson was that “money cannot buy
Kino and Juana are a married couple in a small pearl diving community, and they have a small child named Coyotito. Kino is the man of the house, and he can be described as gallant but
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.
Readers can tell from the statement that many of the people Kino encounters after finding the pearl become bitter “friends”. At this point, Kino and Juana begin to realize that the pearl is bringing bad luck upon them. They are taken advantage of by the doctor and he decides to visit them after knowing they have the pearl. “This pearl is like a sin”(56). Juana begins to realize the pearl is bringing them bad luck, but Kino still trusts that it’s a gift. Readers can also assume that people are trying to take the pearl when Kino is suddenly attacked during the night. “Blood oozed down from his scalp and there was a long…”(56). Readers can now confirm that the pearl has changed and now represents evil. The pearl also begins to destroy Kino and Juana’s relationship as they have different opinions on what to do with the pearl. After Kino wakes up and follows Juana when she wakes up and walks out, readers know he has started to lose full trust in her. “He rolled up to his feet and followed her silently as she had gone” (58). Through the symbolism of the pearl and what it brings upon Kino and Juana, the author emphasizes how the pearl is not what it first appears to be, which was
After Kino found his great pearl bad things started happening, Kino and Juana's lives were in trouble. Two men notified in the book as the "dark ones" tried to steal the pearl, luckily Kino had been prepared and got rid of the enemies but that was not the end of the misery. Coyotito got very sick and the Doctor had deliberately made things worse. When it was time to sell the pearl, the buyers offered prices that Kino thought were too low. Kino was angry with the pearl buyers for what they had said. "I will not make an offer at all. I do not want it. This is not a pearl - it is a monstrosity." Kino got angry and decided he wanted to go elsewhere and find a buyer for the pe...
Kino starts to think about other things that aren’t related to helping Coyotito. “...Kino saw in the lucent pearl and he said, ‘We will have new clothes.’” (pg. 24). He is starting forgot why he wanted the pearl. Now, Kino doesn’t believe his pearl is fake and worth the low price that the pearl buyers offer. “‘ I am cheated,’ Kino cried fiercely ‘My pearl is not for sale here…’” (pg. 52). This shows that Kino is greedy and started to change his mind than using the money for Coyotito. Kino doesn’t listen to his wife and he has became so greedy he has accepted the pearl as a part of him. “‘ This pearl has become my soul’ said Kino. “ If I give it up I shall lose my soul.’” (pg. 67). Kino vows the pearl to never give it
But their extreme poverty causes their chance at happiness to diminish. When finding the pearl, Kino is greatly affected by the new gain in power and begins to change for the worse. His character turns dark and blinded by the influence of the Pearl. He finally sees the negative influence of the pearl when he loses his son and makes the decision to get rid of the pearl. By making the decision to get rid of the Pearl he recognized how his chance at wealth and power destroyed his morals and
This leads to change and, eventually, downfall. Before he finds the pearl, Kino “was a well-liked man” (43), and adored by all of his neighbors. Everyone looked up to his kindness and sympathy, but when he finds the Pearl, he changes. The pearl takes control over him, and he becomes too obsessed with getting his money. He loses his many things over it: “now it is my misfortune and my life and I will keep it” (66). The neighbors even suspect, “‘what a pity it would be if the pearl should destroy them all.’” (43) For example, KIno loses his family when he tries to protect the pearl and defies the pearl buying system, and when he mishandles Juana. Loisng his canoe symbolizes thi sloss of his family. He also loses his sanity. he beats Juana and kills four men. He “‘killed a man’” (61) and joins in many fights. For greed, he turns down the salesman`s offer for the pearl and ends with nothing left. Kino has the chance to take the money offered to him and be done, but he is greedy and he wants more. Then, at the end of the book, Kino throws the pearl into the sea, and with it, all the money he could possibly gain. He also lets the doctor treat Coyotito, even with his doubts, and now can not pay him because the pearl is his payment method, which is now gone. He thinks his money is secure, and in his mind, he is a rich man. This is not necessarily true, as readers learn, and because he was so secure, he must now pay for unnecessary
In the beginning, it seemed to bring good fortune to Kino, Juana and Coyotito. Kino had numerous plans for what he would do with the money made off of “The Pearl of the World” (Steinbeck 23). “We will be married-in the church… We will have new clothes… A rifle, perhaps a rifle… My son will go to school” (Steinbeck 24-25). Kino had expected great things from the pearl, but throughout the novella, all his plans seemed to backfire. When he tried to sell the pearl, he was offered low prices, ones he refused to accept. “I will offer five hundred pesos”(Steinbeck 52) Kino was furious. “I am cheated, my pearl is not for sale here. I will go, perhaps even to the capital” (Steinbeck 52). He was under the impression that he had found the greatest pearl known to man, and that he was becoming a victim of fraud. The family’s perspective of the pearl changed drastically by the end of the book. At first, the saw a bright future and their entire life as positive, in the end, they saw danger and
The hunger for something greater in life made him feel “a shell of hardness drawing over him” and warped his sense of reality (Steinbeck 36). His goal was to improve the lifestyle of his family, but the numerous times that people “[schemed] to get the pearl away from Kino” made him nervous and suspicious of his surroundings (Sugrue 4). After all the time he spent hidden in fear from society, “the light made him afraid” because the pearl took over his actions and made his do unrealistic things that drew danger towards his family. (Steinbeck 63). Kino was paranoid to the point where he could not even trust his own wife or his own judgment on the pearl being a curse to his